College Football

College Football Fans Respond To Will Howard, Ohio State Overcoming Notre Dame, Claiming CFP Championship

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Ohio State quarterback Will Howard wanted to prove he was the best quarterback in the CFP playoffs, if not college football. 

The transfer ed the Buckeyes last offseason envisioning an opportunity to play for a national championship. 

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was in a similar situation. 

Entering Monday’s title game matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, much of the pregame revolved around the two signal-callers: Howard vs. Leonard. 

Howard turned his vision into reality as the Buckeyes overcame a fourth consecutive defeat to rival Michigan in the regular-season finale to romp through the postseason, capped by a 34-23 victory over the Fighting Irish. 

Before 77,660 in attendance, the second-best crowd in the CFP era, Howard started strong, completing a title-game record 13 consecutive first-half es. Howard guided the Buckeyes to 31 answered points and withstood a late rally. 

Facing a third-and-11 situation with 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter the Fighting Irish crawling back to within eight points, Howard clinched the title with a 57-yard bomb to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.  

The Buckeyes, who were also paced by running back Quinshon Judkins’ three touchdowns, settled for a field goal, clinching the program’s ninth national title and first since 2014. 

X (Twitter) s responded to the high cost of witnessing a national championship game. Worth it? … 

The Fighting Irish had the look … 

The stars came out to the Buckeyes … 

Here’s a pregame breakdown on the opposing two quarterbacks … 

Leonard engineered an 18-play, 75-yard drive on Notre Dame’s opening possession. Leonard carried the ball on half of the calls and converted two fourth-down rushes on draws. He had 65 all-purpose yards on the series …  

The Buckeyes, who have scored on their opening possession during all four playoff outings, responded with Howard connecting with Smith off a creative 8-yard screen play…  

A holding call in the Buckeyes? Really. On a 2-and-15 play at the 13:57 mark of the second quarter, Notre Dame’s Charles Jagusah was called for the elusive penalty, the first against a Buckeyes opponent since Sept. 21, covering 12 games and 747 snaps. It aided in forcing Notre Dame to punt … 

The Buckeyes started 2-for-2 on TD drives as Judkins scored on a 9-yard run …  

The Buckeyes finished the first half 3-for-3 on TD drives as Judkins scored a 6-yard from Howard … 

Did Someone forget about Michigan the past four seasons? …

The Buckeyes opened the second half by going 4-for-4 on TD drives, highlighted by Judkins’ 70-yard run. Three plays later the transfer running back notched his third score on a 1-yard run … 

 The Buckeyes continued their scoring spree by going 5-for-5. This time, however, they were held to a 46-yard field goal by kicker Jayden Fielding, extending their lead to 31-7 with 6:10 remaining in the second half … 

Pausing the Buckeyes avalanche of 31 consecutive points 3:07 later, Leonard connected with slot receiver Jaden Greathouse on a 34-yard TD. Leonard then hit Jeremiyah Love for a 2-point conversion to breathe a little life into the game … 

The Fighting Irish took bigger breaths of life after Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa recovered an Emeka Egbuka fumble on the Buckeyes’ next possession. The Buckeyes’ all-time leading receiver could hold on to the punch out … 

Down by 16, the sudden change led to a missed 27-yard field goal by Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter. Not going for a TD"> 

Final score: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23 …

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Jeff Hawkins
Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He ed the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on Get to know Jeff Hawkins better

Author photo
Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He ed the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on All posts by Jeff Hawkins