Why Ohio State Will Beat Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Title Game

Ohio State Football enters the national championship game as big favorite over no. 5 Notre Dame. The Buckeyes have been on a tear recently, posting three dominant wins over legitimate title contenders. This included Ryan Day‘s team gets something much needed revenge over No. 1 Oregon at the 2025 Rose Bowl.

On the other side of the court, Marcus Freeman’s team showed a resilience Notre Dame hasn’t had since a century ago. The Fighting Irish also had to win three straight games against top ten opponents to reach this point, which included 2025 Sugar Bowl over no. 2 Georgia and the 2025 Orange Bowl over no. 4 Penn State. The first of those two wins was the first time the Fighting Irish had won a New Year’s Six bowl game since 1994.

While Marcus Freeman has improved this storied program in his third year, now comes the Fighting Irish’s toughest test against an Ohio State team firing on all cylinders. ever since their home loss to MichiganThe Buckeyes looked completely different. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was much more aggressive in the passing game, getting the ball to talented tailbacks like Jeremiah Smith.

Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard was also in elite form. The Kansas State transfer has posted a KBR above 90.0 in all three of Ohio State’s playoff wins. That aggression in the passing attack is critical, as Ryan Day’s team has had inconsistencies with the ground game at times. Overall, Ohio State will beat Notre Dame in New Orleans for a number of reasons. Here’s why the Buckeyes will hold their ninth national championship on Jan. 20.

Ohio State’s defense can take advantage of Notre Dame’s offensive weaknesses

Ohio State football simply has the best defense in the country. The Buckeyes just let it 12.2 points per game, which occupies the first place in the nation. This unit has no clear weaknesses and was only exposed in one game at Oregon in October. The Ducks weren’t nearly as successful the second time around, with most of the 21 points coming in the garbage.

The Buckeye front is led by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who may have played in the 2025 Cotton Bowl season. The two-time All-Big Ten selection had An 83-yard scoop and a field goal to seal the deal against No. 3 Texas. Savier, along with All-Conference Linebacker Cody Simon, will be critical in this matchup.

The Fighting Irish enter the national championship game with one of the deadliest field games in the country. Led by quarterback Riley Leonard and star running back Jeremy Love, Notre Dame’s rushing attack has multiple threats for the Buckeyes to worry about. Leonard, in particular, is the most mobile QB the Buckeyes have faced so far after rushing 866 yards and 16 touchdowns. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles could eventually stack the box and put Notre Dame in obvious passing situations.

Riley Leonard sometimes took advantage of coverage breakdowns in Penn State’s secondary when the Nittany Lions sold out to stop the run. However, the Buckeyes’ secondary is on a different level than their Big Ten rivals. Leonard also had two interceptions in the 2025 Orange Bowl, something that can’t happen on Monday night.

Unfortunately, the Fighting Irish lack a consistent, game-changing receiver to keep the Buckeyes honest in their rushing defense. While sophomore Jayden Greathouse had a great game against the Nittany Lions, looking for the 20-year-old to repeat that stunning performance is a lot to ask at this stage of his career. Therefore, Ohio State football’s ability to gamble and contain Notre Dame’s offense is unique to any team the Fighting Irish have faced thus far. Introducing why Marcus Freeman’s program is against the odds this Monday.

The Buckeyes’ receivers can take advantage of the short-handed Fighting Irish secondary

Notre Dame announced that star cornerback and captain on Oct. 14 Benjamin Morrison was officially out for the season with a hip injury. The junior will be selected in the first round of this year’s NFL draft. If healthy, Morrison would definitely be the guy lined up opposite freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith.

Still, despite this injury, the Fighting Irish are second in the nation in yards allowed per game through the air. And this secondary has maintained its stellar form throughout the College Football Playoff. In the first round, Notre Dame stifled the elite passing attack of the Indiana Hoosiers. In the Sugar Bowl, the secondary bent several times against Georgia backup quarterback Gunnar Stockton, but didn’t break, holding the Bulldogs to just ten points. And Penn State quarterback Drew Allar had by far his worst playoff game in the Orange Bowl.

It remains debatable whether Will Howard is the best quarterback Marcus Freeman’s team has faced. However, Ohio State arguably has the best receiving corps against the Fighting Irish this season. This elite group will burn this secondary at times if Ohio State’s offense gets a lot of possessions in this game.

If the Buckeyes can’t get theirs defense off the field, like against Michiganit changes the whole dynamic of this conflict. Still, it’s entirely reasonable to expect Notre Dame’s loss of Benjamin Morrison to fall against an opponent with NFL talent all around the perimeter.

Ohio State is the more talented team and has been dangerous in the College Football Playoff thus far

Overall, if Chip Kelly and the Ohio State offense follow a similar game plan to the Michigan loss, Notre Dame can absolutely win this game. For some reason, the Buckeyes were shy in the passing attack and super stubborn in trying to run the ball against the Wolverines. This strategy resulted in Ohio State scoring just ten points that afternoon. Notre Dame’s defense has the personnel, talent and coaching to capitalize on such mistakes by Chip Kelly.

But Ohio State was a different team than that score. The Buckeyes have been airing it as aggressively as they have all season, and it’s worked. It would be shocking to see anything different, even against potentially the best secondary they’ve faced. The time has come for this program to win its first title below Rian Day, weeks after many people called his shooting. Ohio State football won the national title in the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff format. Now is the time for the Buckeyes to begin this new era with their ninth championship in school history.