Ohio State beats Notre Dame for NCAA Title

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One of the worst feelings in life is to be the subject of teasing. As a youth or an adult, no one ever forgets the sting of being teased.  I use that thought to describe what it must feel like to be a Notre Dame fan following their latest postseason loss in a college football playoff game. This one, a 34-23 beating, suffered at the hands of Ohio State in the game to decide the national champion of Division 1 college football.

This tease came in the form of the Fighting Irish taking the opening kickoff and marching 75 yards in 18 plays with quarterback Riley Leonard running eight times, with the final rush producing a touchdown, to take a 7-0 lead while taking nine minutes and 45 seconds off the game clock.

Then came the boom of an offensive avalanche by the Buckeyes of Ohio State led by the passing of quarterback Will Howard, who had a record 13 straight completions to start a championship game, and the running and pass-catching of Quinshon Judkins, who had 11 rushes, 100 yards, two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, which produced 31 straight points and essentially put the game out of reach.

Notre Dame WR Jayden Thomas psychs up his team. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

The Fighting Irish cut the deficit to 31-15 before kindling hope with their faithful with two fourth-quarter drives that made the game interesting. The first ended with a missed field goal with the ball ricocheting off the goalpost, a questionable call by Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, who had that deer in the headlights look for most of the game. The second produced a 30-yard touchdown catch by the wideout Jaden Greathouse, who had six receptions, 128 yards, two touchdowns, and a two-point conversion, which cut the deficit to 31-23 with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The dominant Ohio State offense racked up 445 yards on the Irish defense. The tease factor was laid to rest as quarterback Will Howard hit freshman wide receiver sensation Jerimiah Smith with a 56-yard bomb on a third and 11 situation with two minutes left. That play led to the field goal with 26 seconds left, producing the final score of 34-23. 

Buckeye quarterback Will Howard, who threw 17 for 21 for 231 yards and two touchdowns, was the game’s offensive Most Valuable Player. Cody Simon, who recorded eight tackles, with one for loss, took Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. 

Buckeye Defenders helped seal the win. PHOTO: COURTESY OF OHIO STATE FOOTBALL

Coach Ryan Day wins his first national championship, becoming the fifth different Ohio State coach to win a title. This is the seventh national championship in OSU history and the first since 2014, the debut year of the College Football Playoff. It looked like curtains for 45-year-old coach Day when his team suffered their fourth straight loss to archrival Michigan on November 30 at Buckeye Stadium. Many Ohio State alumni were calling for his job, even though he possessed the third highest win percentage, .873, of any college coach with 50 victories, trailing only Walter Camp with a winning percentage of .924 at Yale and Stanford and Knute Rockne with a winning percentage of .881 at Notre Dame.

A much-publicized close-door meeting with just Day and his players produced four playoff victories, a national championship, and a silencing of his critics until next year’s rivalry game at Michigan. Coach Day said, “The story can now be told. This squad came together after that meeting following the loss to Michigan. A lot of feelings were aired out in that room. The result was that we came together as a family, put our feelings on the table and formed an ‘us against the world’ mentality that brought us to this heightened moment.” That statement proved to be predictive.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame fans continue their wait for national title number 12, the last one coming back in 1988. That is 36 years and counting for a demanding fan base that was once again lulled into thinking their football team was good enough to beat powerhouse Ohio State. The crew from Columbus now holds a seven-game winning streak in this competition between two of the longest-standing members of the collegiate gridiron elite. 

Ohio State QB Will Howard was the Offensive MVP in the game. PHOTO: COURTESY OF OHIO STATE FOOTBALL

Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman, the first Black man to lead a team into a division one national championship game, spent most of the week dealing with his racial background, which is of African American/Asian heritage. The 39-year-old did his best to handle the incessant racial questions from the national media and the fact that his historical moment coincided with the national holiday of civil rights legend Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was also the fact that Freeman was an alumnus of Ohio State, gaining distinction as a linebacker in the Buckeyes football program from 2004-2008.

Then, there is the legacy and/or burden of the famous Notre Dame coaches Rockne, Lahey, Parseghian, and Holtz, who have won national titles in their first three years on the job. Freeman is in his third year at Notre Dame and inherits that legacy whether he wants it or not. When his team lost its second game of this season to unranked Northern Illinois on its home field in South Bend, Indiana, he received vitriolic insults from Notre Dame alums, including far too many laced with racial epithets, and had to be escorted to his home. His team would win 12 straight games to get to the national championship game, temporarily silencing his critics.

Even if Notre Dame had won the game, their coach would still be under fire for his job.  It happens to all the prominent school gridiron leaders, but the truth is that things are different for Black coaches, and Marcus Freeman is no exception. The fact that his team failed on the national stage puts a brighter spotlight on his race. That is not fair, but true.

He was gracious in defeat, knowing that he shares the same fate as Ryan Day, his coaching counterpart in this historic game, ironically played on Martin Luther Day, but for different reasons. I think the knowledgeable among us know the issue.

Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes, who finish at 14-2, tying the program record for wins in a season. They also have seven victories over top-ranked teams, a first in NCAA history.