Will Howard shines, Jeremiah Smith bounces back: Lessons learned from OSU’s CFP title win

Will Howard shines, Jeremiah Smith bounces back: Lessons learned from OSU’s CFP title win


The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff gave us what we wanted. It’s the definitive national champion in a tournament filled with deserving players for the crown.

with Ryan Day ohio state buckeyes It turned out to be the last team left alive on Monday night. notre dame cathedral Aiming for a come-from-behind victory, they achieved a memorable 34-23 victory. fighting irish They became the second team since 1960 to win the national championship with two losses in one season.

And while Monday night’s CFP national title game tilted from a blowout loss to a balanced game with less than a minute left, Ohio State and Notre Dame revealed facts about their past and future.

Here are five takeaways from Monday night’s CFP National Championship game.

1. The Fighting Irish looked ready when the game kicked off.

Notre Dame’s game plan worked. Get the ball and let Ohio State do something it hasn’t done the entire College Football Playoff: play from behind.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock wrote a perfect first series script. His offense careered for the Buckeyes on the opening drive, and it was methodical. They totaled 18 plays and gained 75 yards in 9 minutes and 45 seconds, putting Ohio State on the scoreboard for the first time in the 2024 CFP.

and riley leonard I couldn’t stop it. On the opening drive, he ran 9 times for 34 yards and finished with a rushing TD. Against Penn State, Leonard ran the ball 12 times on designed rushes. But it was clear to everyone that Leonard was already feeling sick from the punishment he received for carrying the ball.

Yes, Notre Dame crossed the finish line. Yes, Notre Dame led 7-0. However, Leonard vomited on the sideline from exhaustion and was asked to return to the game after Ohio State tied the game just 22 minutes later. At that point, it looked like Leonard and as a result, Notre Dame’s tanks had little left to finish the fight.

The Fighting Irish then ran for 20 total yards in just nine plays to end the first half.

2. Ohio State QB Will Howard It was wonderful.

Will Howard, who was brought to Columbus to lead Ohio State into this game, surgically dissected Notre Dame’s defense Monday night. The senior QB completed his first 13 passes, setting a record for consecutive completions in a College Football Playoff championship game.

His eighth completion earned him the honor of a senior wideout. Emeka Egbukaa 12-yard completion for a first down, marking Ebuka’s 202nd reception at Ohio State and becoming the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in receptions.

In the first half alone, Howard led the Buckeyes with three straight TD-scoring drives, completing 14 of 15 passes for 144 yards and two passing TDs against the No. 2 pass defense in the country. .

Howard only attempted six passes in the second half and completed three of them, finishing 17-of-21 passing for 231 yards, two passing touchdowns, and 57 rushing yards. He was selected for the offense. MVP.

3. jayden greathouse It’s power.

The Fighting Irish were over, but Jaden Greathouse reemerged when they needed him most. After putting together the first 100-yard receiving performance by a Notre Dame wide receiver this season, he forced two Buckeye defenders to miss on his way to Notre Dame’s second touchdown. With less than five minutes remaining, he re-emerged with a 30-yard TD reception to make it a score on one possession.

Greathouse, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound sophomore at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, caught just one pass in Notre Dame’s final three regular season games and in the CFP opener against Indiana. He had just two in the game and just one against Indiana. Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. But in the two most important games of the season, he had at least five catches and 100 receiving yards. And the service was incredible. Greathouse is an explosive star and Notre Dame would benefit from someone like him. Jordan Faison next year.

4. jeremiah smith He showed up right when Ohio State needed him most.

With 2 minutes and 45 seconds remaining, after three consecutive rushes by Howard, Ohio State OC Chip Kelly successfully set up the game with the game stranded at its own 36-yard line. With Notre Dame sucked into the penalty area and one-on-one coverage on the outside with freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, Howard hit the go ball and Smith caught it 54 yards down the field to put the Buckeyes ahead. The goal was secured.

The most anticipated and most hyped player was called upon to shut down the play that set up the game-clinching field goal. And then he came. It’s rare for a true freshman to mean so much to a national title team, but Smith has nevertheless become one of the most impactful freshmen in the history of the sport, along with Trevor Lawrence and Maurice Clarett.

5. The balance of power has shifted north of the Mason-Dixon Line for the first time this century.

For the first time this century, two members of the Big Ten, Michigan and Ohio State, won national titles in consecutive seasons.

It was also the first time since 2004 and 2005 that the SEC missed the national title game in back-to-back seasons.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” please follow him @RJ_Young.

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