Now that the college football playoffs are over (you can see my previous article, which offered predictions and a little on the first round here) and Ohio State University has been crowned the national champions, let’s talk about Ohio State’s road to victory and how the other teams fell short. 
There were four games in the first round of playoffs, which were played December 20-21. Game 1 saw the Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish playing on Notre Dame’s home field, and the Fighting Irish came out victorious, beating the Hoosiers by a score of 27-17. Indiana trailed Notre Dame the whole game, but in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers scored two touchdowns. It was too little too late, though, so while Notre Dame went on to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, Indiana went into their offseason.
The next day, the Ohio State Buckeyes faced off against the University of Tennessee Volunteers, a game I was lucky enough to watch from the front row at the Horseshoe (Ohio State’s stadium)! Ohio State came ready to play, scoring 21 points in the first quarter and maintaining that energy all the way through the game to beat Tennessee by a score of 42-17. This game really showcased Ohio State’s talent as a program and gave fans like me hope of claiming the national championship. After their decisive win, the Buckeyes moved on to the Rose Bowl, but the Volunteers headed home to Tennessee.
ACC champion Clemson faced Texas, the SEC runner-up, in Austin on the Longhorns’ home field in Game 3. The first quarter was promising for the Clemson Tigers with a tied score of 7, but after the first quarter, the Longhorns took the lead and ran with it, not allowing the Tigers to score another touchdown until the end of the third quarter. This touchdown brought the score to 31-17 and gave the Longhorns a steady lead. Each team scored again in the fourth quarter, but the lead the Longhorns gained in the second and third quarters was enough for them to come out on top, so Texas moved on to play in Atlanta in the Peach Bowl.
The final first-round game was a snowy one in Happy Valley at Beaver Stadium (Penn State’s stadium). The first round was full of big wins from outstanding teams, and Penn State’s win against Southern Methodist University (SMU) was no exception. Penn State not only had a home-field advantage, but the weather also threw in another factor that the Mustangs–who are used to Texas’ weather–were not prepared for. The Nittany Lions pounced on SMU early in the game with three touchdowns, putting the Lions up 28-0 going into the second half. The Mustangs were unable to recover, and the final score was 38-10, a disappointing ending to SMU’s season that sent Penn State to the Fiesta Bowl.
The first round of the tournament eliminated 4 of 12 teams, and the victors moved on to play in the second round’s Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, and Rose Bowl games against the teams who had a first-round bye: the University of Oregon, University of Georgia, Arizona State University, and Boise State.
To kick off the second-round games, played on December 31 and January 1, Boise State played Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State, who was favored to win, did just that, beating the Boise State Broncos in a decisive 31-14 win that secured Penn State a spot in the third round’s Orange Bowl. Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who was in the running for the Heisman trophy, had a lackluster performance in the playoffs with 30 carries and zero touchdowns.
Arizona State and Texas welcomed the new year with a double-overtime game in Atlanta’s Peach Bowl. The Longhorns jumped to a steady lead in the first half of the game with 17 points, while Arizona State trailed with just 3 points. However, the Sun Devils turned the game around after halftime, scoring 21 points and only giving up 7 in the second half, tying the score 24-24 going into overtime. Both teams scored in the first overtime, making the score 31-31, but in the second overtime, the Longhorns took the victory by putting eight points on the board.
This nail-biting game in Atlanta was followed by a much less tense Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. Ohio State faced off against the number one-seeded Oregon Ducks. Oregon’s defense was no match for Ohio State’s explosive offense, so Ohio State took an easy victory, defeating the Ducks by a final score of 41-21.
After an impressive first-round win against Indiana, Notre Dame met the number-two seed Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame was on fire in the first round and carried it through the second round, defeating the Bulldogs 23-10. This was Notre Dame’s twelfth straight win, and they moved on to play in the Orange Bowl.
At this point we were down to four teams who all had a good shot at making it to the national championship and even winning it. The semi-finals were split into the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl, with the winners of each moving on to the national championship.
On January 9, Penn State competed against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. It was a back-and-forth game, and there was no clear answer as to who was going to win. Notre Dame was leading 27-24 in the fourth quarter, but they had not yet secured the victory because Penn State still had one more possession. Ultimately, Penn State’s quarterback, Drew Allar, threw an interception that led to Penn State barely missing their chance at making it to the national championship.
The next day, Ohio State and Texas competed to see who would meet the Fighting Irish in the national championship. This game was also a close one, with the score 14-14 going into the final quarter, but Ohio State pulled ahead, scoring two touchdowns while preventing the Longhorns from scoring, giving Ohio State the go-ahead into the National Championship.
The 2024-2025 national championship was held on January 20 in Atlanta between two very talented teams. Ohio State had been trampling over teams on the way to this game, while Notre Dame had won their last thirteen consecutive games. This meant both teams were at the top of their game, but only one could walk away champions. Ohio State was off to a slow start, not scoring in the first quarter, but came alive in the second quarter, scoring 21 points and allowing the Fighting Irish none. Notre Dame outscored the Buckeyes in the second half, bringing the final score to 24-23, but it wasn’t enough. The Buckeyes were crowned national champions, claiming their ninth national title–an outcome I predicted but didn’t share with you earlier so as not to jinx my favorite team.
