CFP National Championship takeaways: Ohio State holds off late Notre Dame rally

Ohio State now has the distinction of being the first champions of the four-team playoff in 2014 and the 12-team playoff in 2024.

Here are three takeaways from the first championship game of the 12-team playoff:

Knee-jerk reaction: Ohio State is not going anywhere

Although this was Ohio State’s first national title since 2014, it is hard to imagine the Buckeyes going anywhere anytime soon.

The Buckeyes lost two games this season and still made the inaugural 12-team playoff as the eighth seed. With the expansion of the playoff and Ohio State’s ability to bring in talent, expect them to be back for several years to come. According to Sports-Reference, Ohio State had the best defense in the country this season (12.2 PPG) coming into the title game. 

To show how impressive their season was, Ohio State became the first program with five top-five wins in a single year, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. That speaks to the talent on this Ohio State team to win that many quality games in one season.

This is the second consecutive season a Big Ten team won the championship after Michigan’s triumph a season ago. Not only is Ohio State not going anywhere, but it also appears the Big Ten is here to stay after back-to-back national titles. In fact, this is the first time the conference has won consecutive national titles since 1940-42.

When next season rolls around, don’t be surprised to see Ohio State even better after all the adversity it dealt with during the 2024 season.

MVP: Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins

This honor could have gone to Buckeyes QB Will Howard after completing his first 13 passes of the game and going 17-of-21 for 231 yards and two TDs.

Instead, Judkins gets the nod due to his three-touchdown performance. 

Judkins finished off a 12-play, 80-yard drive with this six-yard catch just before the half to extend Ohio State’s lead to 21-7.

Notre Dame went three-and-out on each of its two prior possessions. That score gave Ohio State a two-score lead along with possession of the ball coming out of the locker room, which completely shifted the momentum.

Judkins’ 70-yard run, which was the longest run in CFP title game history, set up Ohio State’s TD out of the half.

This one-yard run just over two minutes into the third quarter extended Ohio State’s lead to 28-7 and gave Judkins the hat trick in the title game.

This was Judkins’ third game in the playoff with multiple TDs and his seventh game of the season accomplishing the feat. The score to begin the second half gave the Buckeyes a TD on each of their first four drives and put Notre Dame in a deep hole after its opening drive TD to start the game.

With 11 carries for 100 yards and two TDs on the ground along with a pair of catches for 21 yards and a TD, Judkins eclipsed 1,000 yards for the season, played like an MVP and was a driving force behind the team’s success against the Fighting Irish.

Play of the game: Ohio State’s 3rd-and-11 conversion with 2:45 remaining

With Ohio State’s lead trimmed to 31-23 and facing a third-and-long, Howard dropped this dime to the sensational freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard gain to pick up a huge first down.

Ohio State ran the clock down to 29 seconds and kicked the game-sealing field goal to clinch their first title since 2014.

This capped a phenomenal season for Howard, who passed for 3,779 yards and 33 TDs coming into Monday night. Smith had five catches for 88 yards and a TD in the title game to go with his 1,227 yards and 14 TDs during the season.

The game may have been closer at the end than the Buckeyes would have liked. However, that should not take away from a dominant playoff run and a ninth national title for the storied program.