CFP Championship Game Preview
Our three and a half month journey will be coming to an end on Monday night as the first ever 12 team College Football Playoff has commenced. A season filled with upsets, rising stars, surprise teams, close games, and jaw dropping plays. It’s all down to 60 minutes. No matter what some people are going to want to say, I am extremely happy with how the first season of the 12 team playoff went. I am very excited to see how the future seasons look. While I could spend hours reliving some of the greatest games and moments of this 2024 season, we have a championship game to get ready for.
Both these teams faced gut wrenching losses that questioned how the team would be able to respond. I know each team will portray confidence and claim they knew how they’d respond. However, give these guys truth serum and I think they’d react like the Paul Rudd gif. With all that being said, we have a fantastic matchup ahead of us. Two historic universities looking to secure yet another National Championship. For Ohio State, they are looking to get Ryan Day his first Championship with one of the most talented rosters in the country. The Fighting Irish are looking for their first National Championship since 1988. They have overcome injury, a devastating loss to Northern Illinois, and being doubted by nearly everyone. It’s safe to say that the NCAA script writers have been on a heater this season, regardless of the outcome of this game.
Through this College Football Playoff I have been pretty on point with my predictions. There has definitely been a lot more success here than my NFL Playoff predictions. My championship projection might surprise you, but see how my playoff predictions have gone so far:
Round 1: 4-0
Round 2: 3-1
Round 3: 2-0
Overall: 9-1
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame (National Championship)
Ohio State
Best Players: Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, TreVeyon Henderson, Donovan Jackson, and Jack Sawyer
Best Wins: @ Penn St, vs. Tennessee, vs. Oregon, vs. Texas
Losses: @ Oregon & vs. Michigan
Keys to Victory:
Dominant both lines of scrimmage
Get Jeremiah Smith the ball
Force Riley Leonard to be a pocket passer
Notre Dame
Best Players: Jeremiah Love, Xavier Watts, Riley Leonard, Howard Cross III, and Jack Kiser
Best Wins: @ Texas A&M, vs. Indiana, vs. Georgia, vs. Penn State
Losses: vs. Northern Illinois
Keys to Victory:
Get Jeremiah Love going early
Stop the Ohio State rushing attack
Win the turnover battle
Key Matchups:
Ohio State WRs vs. Notre Dame DBs
Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate vs. Leonard Moore, Christian Gray, and Jordan Clark
Charles Jagusah vs. JT Tuimoloau
Ohio State OL vs. Notre Dame DL
Game Analysis:
The Buckeyes enter this matchup as heavy favorites. Despite my immense amount of respect for Notre Dame, Ohio State deserves to be favored in this championship showdown. They dominated Tennessee and Oregon in their first two games of the College Football Playoff and then imposed their will in a hard fought game against Texas. This team is one of the most balanced teams I’ve seen in years. Offensively, Ohio State likes to lean on their two headed monster at running back. Judkins is a skilled player that runs hard and also has the ability to make people miss in the hole. Henderson, as we saw with his 75 yard screen pass to the house, is a home run threat at any time. The real key to this offense however, is star Jeremiah Smith. He is quite possibly the best Freshman wide receiver we have ever seen and routinely makes the impossible look easy. If you are lucky enough to stop him, as Texas did, then you’ll have trouble with Egbuka and Tate. Despite a dynamic offense, their defense might be their strongest unit. Players like Jack Sawyer, Caleb Downs, and JTT get a lot of the attention. Despite all their recognition, this defense has playmakers at all three levels. Throughout this season, we’ve seen each starter and key role player have their moment in the sunlight which is why this defense is so dominant. If Ohio State can keep up with the brand of football they’ve played since the Michigan loss, they’ll likely be hoisting the trophy come Monday night.
The Fighting Irish have made an incredible run to the Championship in their own right. Despite the final score, they dominated Indiana in their opening round matchup in South Bend. In the next two rounds, Notre Dame had the two biggest wins in recent program history. They knocked off both Georgia and Penn State in hard fought wins. Notre Dame plays a different brand of football than Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a lot more star power and play an exciting style of football. The Irish play a lot more old school brand of football where they are fighting tooth and nail for every yard. Offensively, Notre Dame is almost solely focused on running the ball. They want to impose their will and get Jeremiah Love and Jadarian Price the ball as frequently as they can. Riley Leonard is a battering ram running the ball, but has been hit or miss as a passer. This was exemplified in the Orange Bowl where he threw some incredible passes but also threw two interceptions. The Irish weapons do not compare to the Buckeyes pass catchers but Mitchell Evans, Jordan Faison, and Jaden Greathouse could all be difference makers in this game. Their other identity, outside of pounding the rock, is their elite defense. Similar to the Ohio State defense, Notre Dame has playmakers at all levels. This unit will need to come up big in order for the Irish to win their first title since 1988. Freshman corner Leonard Moore has been a revelation this season but now has his hardest test yet against the skilled Buckeyes receivers. The key, in my opinion, is stopping the run. We saw in Ohio State’s game against Texas that they struggled facing 3rd and long situations. The Irish are backed against the wall and will need to win the turnover battle and muck up this game in order to win.
Despite the big spread, I am very excited for this game. Notre Dame comes in as heavy underdogs, but they have proved the doubters wrong throughout this playoffs. They will look to make this game tough and low scoring, while Ohio State will look to put up a ton of points like they did against Tennessee and Oregon. On the field, Ohio State has more talent and has outperformed the Fighting Irish in this playoff. According to 247 Sports, Ohio State has 14 5-Star players compared to Notre Dame’s 2 former 5-Star recruits. Ohio State will look to Uno-reverse card Notre Dame and turn their game plan of a low scoring battle into a track meet. Jeremiah Smith will be a focal point for both teams, as the Buckeyes look to get him involved and feed him the ball. All signs are pointing towards Ohio State winning this game and riding off into the sunset after an up and down season (for Ohio State’s standards). However, for reasons beyond what I can explain, I think Notre Dame pulls off the upset in this game. The Fighting Irish have won with grit, heart, strategy, and the luck of the Irish in all of their games this season. I’ve picked them to win in each round and I’m not stopping today. This prediction could go horribly wrong as that Ohio State team is a juggernaut. I think Notre Dame finds a way to force a couple turnovers, use Riley Leonard in the run game, and take advantage of Jeremiah Love being the healthiest he’s been in this playoffs. We’ll see if I’m right and if the Fighting Irish party like it’s 1988.
Prediction: Notre Dame 23 Ohio State 20
Thank you to those of you that have read throughout the entire season. This has been the most exciting season of college football that I can remember. The return of College Football 25 and the welcoming of the 12-Team playoff added excitement and made each game feel that much more meaningful. No matter the result of the game on Monday night, this will be a season that I always remember. Enjoy the last collegiate game of the season and I’ll check back in here in a week or so to review my preseason predictions.