Some Looks For Ohio State Vs Notre Dame

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 ET

We've reached the final game of the College Football season. I would love to tell you that there were 1,356 games played in college football this season, but it would be a number I made up or stole from someone else. However, there have certainly been a lot of games played this season and when the season started, everyone had their hopes of playing for this game. Some were realistic hopes, and others just pipe dreams. Either way, the schedule has played out and we are left with Ohio State taking on Notre Dame for the College Football Championship.

Ohio State enters tonight as a massive favorite for a championship game. I suppose it is understandable considering they are 13-2 for the year, and have looked great in their College Football Playoff games. Let's talk first a bit about their losses. Their first loss was against Oregon, at that time ranked as the third-best team in the country, and Ohio State had to go on the road to play them. The Ducks barely escaped with a win, besting Ohio State 32-31. It was a good battle, but the Buckeyes couldn't score that last field goal they needed to take the win. The other loss they experienced was against Michigan. In that game, they somehow lost, at home, to an inferior Michigan team. I get that the Wolverines were playing better at the time, but it was still surprising to see them fall to Michigan. That cost them the Big 10 Championship. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter when you're still playing for the National title. Their three games in the playoffs have been outstanding. They blew out Tennessee in their first game. Then they had a rematch against Oregon in their second game, winning by 20 this time. In their third game, against Texas, it was a bit closer, 28-14, but the Buckeyes were still clearly in control for the majority of the game. Now they face a stingy defense, and a team that loves to run the ball.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 10: Jack Sawyer #33 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball after recovering a fumble in the fourth quarter against the Texas Longhorns during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on January 10, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Notre Dame is a worthy opponent for Ohio State but I have a few questions on just how great this team really is. Looking just at the regular season, we see the loss against Northern Illinois which stands out, but ultimately is the only blemish on their record. Looking at everything else on their schedule, they didn't really have any other close call. In fact, during the regular season only one game was decided by one-score outside of the Northern Illinois game. That was against Louisville. In the playoffs, they faced a (in my opinion) highly over-rated Indiana squad, and won by 10. They then beat Georgia, this was a bit surprising to me, but considering Georgia didn't have their starting quarterback, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. The most recent game was against Penn State. In that one, Notre Dame won with a last-second field goal. Penn State was a good team this season, so this is certainly a win I can respect. 

I've said this before, I'm a Notre Dame hater, but I really like money so I can put that aside. I do feel like they are getting too many points. These are the top two defenses in football playing each other so it isn't like there is a massive edge for either of them there. I do think that Ohio State wins this game. I think their offense is more versatile than Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are going to try and run the ball, whereas Ohio State can pass better and is still competent on the ground. This is likely a running game and a field goal contest though so I feel better about the under than the over. I'm going to split a unit on Notre Dame and on the under 45.5 in this one.