Ohio State is still projected to cruise to a national title.
Just after leaving AT&T Stadium with a hard-fought 28-14 victory over No. 5 seed Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals, the Buckeyes opened as overwhelming 9 ½-point favorites over No. 7 seed Notre Dame, which advanced to the national title game with a come-from-behind 27-24 win over Penn State at the Orange Bowl on Thursday night.
Although this would have been unthinkable in late November, this now comes as no surprise as the Buckeyes have stampeded through the College Football Playoff, defeating No. 9 seed Tennessee (42-17), No. 1 seed Oregon (41-21) and now Texas all by at least two scores.
History is also on Ohio State’s side in this matchup, as the Buckeyes have taken each of the first two games it played against Notre Dame with former Buckeye Marcus Freeman manning the sidelines for the Fighting Irish, first a convincing 21-10 win in 2022 in Columbus and then a last-second 17-14 win in South Bend, Ind., in 2023. The Fighting Irish also have not beaten the Buckeyes since 1936, with the Scarlet and Gray boasting a 6-2 overall record in the all-time series.
The CFP National Championship Game will take place on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Atlanta, with kick off at 7:30 p.m.
