2024-25 NCAA CFP National Championship
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NCAA CFP National Championship
All times Eastern
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CFP Semifinals
Monday, January 20:
7:00 pm Ohio State Buckeyes (-8, 45) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (ESPN) - Finally, this is the way it should be. The two best defenses in the country (defense wins championships, you know)head-to-head after wending their ways through a rugged regular season and a testy playoff scenario.
The 14-1 Fighting Irish and the 13-2 Buckeyes meet to decide the national championship Monday night in Atlanta.
Both teams had to qualify for the initial 12-team playoff format and win three games to reach the apex of college football in the 2024-25 season. While the Buckeyes appeared to cruise past Tennessee and thump Oregon, Texas gave them more of a tussle, at least for three quarters. Quinshon Judkins' second rushing touchdown of the game gave Ohio State a 21-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Longhorns got to within yards of the goal line before a critical Quinn Ewers fumble resulted in a 83-yard run to the opposite end of the field by linebacker Jack Sawyer to seal the deal for the Buckeyes.
Notre Dame's path through the playoffs was similar in that they handled Indiana with relative ease in a 27-17 win and put the clamps down on an undermanned Georgia squad, 23-10 in the quarterfinals.
The semifinal game against Penn State would prove to be one of the best games of the season, both defenses resolute, both offenses striving for yardage, the Irish eventually hooking up for a 54-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Jaden Greathouse to tie the score late in the fourth and win it, 27-24, on Mitch Jeter's 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left on the clock.
Statistically speaking, there's little separating the two teams on defense. Ohio State led the country in points allowed, giving up a mere 12.2 per game, while the Irish were number two, allowing opponents just 14.3.
On offense, the popular delusion is that the Buckeyes are superior to the Irish, but Notre Dame is sixth in scoring nationwide, putting up an average of 37.0 points per game. Ohio State is 12th, averaging a healthy 35.8. The Buckeyes threw for 1000 more yards than Notre Dame, but the Irish outgunned Ohio State by just more than 700 yards through the regular season and playoffs.
The line that was initially set at -9.5 in favor of Ohio State has swung lower, and it could even get to -7 by game time, which would be closer to reality rather than the perceived favoritism awarded Ohio State. The Buckeyes showed they were human and that their offense could be corralled to some degree in the Texas game. Notre Dame rallied twice from behind in their semifinal win over the Nittany Lions, displaying grit, nerve, determination, and solid coaching. The Fighting Irish are not going to roll over. They've won plenty of championships throughout a storied history, as have the Buckeyes.
Notre Dame wins in a defensive squeaker.
Coin Flip: Notre Dame
Fearless Rick's Pick: Fighting Irish 23 Buckeyes 20
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Results: Rick: 2-0; Flip: 2-0
Cumulative: Rick: 112-138; Flip: 115-135
The fact that the teams vying for the national championship were the #7 and 8 seeds is a tribute to the wisdom of the fledgling playoff format. Neither team played a conference championship game nor received a bye, and maybe those are flaws, but there's little doubt that these two belong here.
