Bleacher Report
It’ll be Ohio State and Notre Dame for the national championship after the Buckeyes defeated Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl on Friday evening.
Ohio State went 10-2 in the regular season, defeating eight of its opponents by 23 or more points. However, the Buckeyes suffered two devastating losses, a 32-31 road game at eventual CFP No. 1 seed Oregon and a 13-10 home loss to arch rival Michigan, a near three-touchdown underdog.
The Buckeyes limped into the CFP as the No. 8 seed with terrible vibes after the Michigan loss, but those have all been wiped away.
OSU first took care of business against Tennessee, defeating the Vols 42-17 after nearly doubling their yardage total. Will Howard threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith.
Then Ohio State visited Oregon in a rematch in the Rose Bowl. This one was no-contest as the Buckeyes took a 34-0 lead en route to a 41-21 win. This was the Smith show all the way as he caught seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
Then the Buckeyes visited AT&T Stadium to play Texas. A back-and-forth game saw Ohio State lead 21-14 with just under four minutes left. Texas had a first-and-goal from the Ohio State one-yard line but lost seven yards and soon had a fourth-and-goal. Buckeyes captain Jack Sawyer delivered college football’s play of the year with an 83-yard scoop-and-score off a Quinn Ewers fumble to seal the game.
In South Bend, all looked lost in Week 2 when Notre Dame lost to massive underdog Northern Illinois, 16-14 at home. The Fighting Irish rallied though, winning 13 straight games ever since. A well-balanced attack has done the trick, with the team currently sixth in scoring and second in points allowed.
Notre Dame earned a No. 5 seed in the CFP and first took down Indiana 27-17 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The Fighting Irish led 27-3 before two late garbage time touchdowns. Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run early on set the tone.
The Fighting Irish then played Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and beat the Bulldogs 23-10. Notre Dame scored 17 points over 54 seconds of game time at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to turn a three-all tie into a 20-3 edge.
Then Notre Dame eked out a tough 27-24 win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl. A back-and-forth affair went Notre Dame’s way after Christian Gray’s interception of Drew Allar with 30 seconds left. Mitch Jeter knocked home a clutch 41-yard field goal, and Notre Dame is now shooting for its first national title since 1988.
The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish will kick off the national championship from Atlanta on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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