The Buckeyes enter Monday night’s national championship affair on a six-game winning streak over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with Notre Dame’s last win in the series coming all the way back in 1936. Ohio State will be seeking its first national title in ten years, while a nearly unfathomable 36 years have passed since Notre Dame last experienced championship glory.
Both teams endured heart-breaking losses in the regular season, as Notre Dame fell to Northern Illinois in Week 2 and Ohio State fell to Michigan in a bitter rivalry weekend defeat. But it has been these losses that the two championship teams have credited for sparking their now impressive postseason runs.
The Buckeyes have dealt with several key injuries along the offensive line but have found replacements that have performed admirably thus far in the playoffs. Notre Dame has battled a much higher number of injuries along both the offensive and defensive lines. The offensive line will now be faced with protecting quarterback Riley Leonard from a ferocious Buckeyes defense that has allowed 12.2 points per game (first in the Football Bowl Subdivision), 251.1 yards per game (first), and has garnered 51 sacks this year (third).
For the Irish to win, they will have to rely on the formula that has worked so well thus far in the playoffs: they have to score touchdowns in the red zone, they have to win the turnover battle, and they have to take advantage of exceptional special teams play that can set their offense up for success. If everything goes right, Notre Dame may have a chance, but I believe the luck of the Irish will finally run out under the lights of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ohio State 28 Notre Dame 16
By Cort Street | @cort_street
We made it! The 2025 College Football Playoff game is tonight. In what has been a historic year, for the second year in a row a team based in what is considered the “Midwest” will be crowned as champion. With two blue bloods in Notre Dame and Ohio State, you know you are in for a great battle. Two programs with arguably the best two defenses in the country, betting lines dictate that this game could be one of the lower-scoring championships we have seen since the start of the four-team format during the 2014 season.
A lot of people believe that this is Ohio State’s game to lose, Las Vegas even has the game spread at 8.5 in favor of the Buckeyes. That makes sense, as injuries continue to complicate plans for the Fighting Irish and a high-powered Ohio State offense has not been stopped in the playoffs. But what no stat can account for is adversity. What this Notre Dame team has had to endure during the playoffs shows how ready this team is for these moments.
Even with all these injuries, the X-Factor of the Irish offense says he is back to 100%. Jeremiyah Love showed just how bad he wanted it last week against Penn State, breaking numerous tackles and lunging into the endzone to give the Irish their first lead of the game. With him at full go, give me Notre Dame in what will be an instant classic that will see Notre Dame’s special teams outshine Ohio State’s.
Notre Dame 25 Ohio State 23
By Jeffery Green | @Jeffery_Agreen
