Ohio State wins its first national championship since 2014 after thwarting Notre Dame’s comeback.

In a tense CFP championship game, Ohio State had to withstand a Notre Dame comeback to win 34–23. It was Ohio State’s first national championship since the 2014 campaign and their sixth overall.Picture: Following a touchdown, Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is hoisted into the air.

Ohio State celebrated their first national title win in eleven years by thwarting a Notre Dame comeback.

At Atlanta, Georgia’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish in a thrilling 34-23 victory.

Late in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame overcame a 31-7 deficit to cut the game to one score after scoring two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions.

A seven-week journey from the depths of a loss to 20-point underdog Michigan to the top of college football culminated when quarterback Will Howard reached wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for 56 yards on a third-and-11 to lock down the game and set up a field goal that began the celebration in earnest. The Irish stopped Ohio State on the first two plays of the next drive and used their timeouts to pile on the pressure.

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The highlights of the CFP National Championship final between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Ohio State will return to the Horseshoe in Columbus with their sixth national championship, and its first since the 2014 campaign.

Nothing will compare to the pass to Smith with everything on the line, even though Howard, a Kansas State transfer-portal success story, threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

After being stifled by Texas in the semifinals and remaining relatively quiet for the majority of this game, the receiver finally let loose for the type of play he has been putting on all season, finishing with five catches for 88 yards.

Ohio State rushed into a commanding lead after scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions and adding a field goal on its fifth.

Pictured is Ohio State quarterback Will Howard running with the ball during the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff National Championship game.

This game appeared to be over when Quinshon Judkins (100 yards, 11 carries, three touchdowns), a transfer from Mississippi who demonstrated Ohio State’s prudent use of the ever expanding portal, broke off a 70-yard run to set up the score that made it 28-7.

It wasn’t, and Irish coach Marcus Freeman will now have to respond to some difficult questions. One is about Mitch Jeter’s short field goal attempt when the team was down 16 and facing fourth-and-goal from the 9; the other is about the failed fake punt in the third quarter that ended up being a field goal for a 31-7 lead. If Jeter’s kick hadn’t clanged off the left upright, it could have appeared like a superior choice.

However, Notre Dame lost to the Buckeyes 445 yards to 308. Howard never really got stopped throughout his first 13 passes. The superior team was Ohio State.