Updated January 20, 2025 at 14:52 PM ET
In a previous era of college football, the two teams in Monday night's championship game — Ohio State and Notre Dame — wouldn't have been in the playoffs at all.
For most of the history of the top level of college football, a team had to go undefeated in the regular season, or else get very lucky, in order to contend for a title. A single bad regular season loss often would doom those chances.
But college football is changing, every year. A new 12-team playoff format has opened the door for a new kind of champion.
Both Ohio State and Notre Dame have been strong all season long. But each team dropped a confounding loss in the regular season: the Buckeyes in a rivalry game against a mediocre Michigan team, and Notre Dame in a stunning September upset by Northern Illinois.
Under the old system, those L's might have doomed both teams' title hopes. Instead, they're poised to face off on the sport's biggest stage to claim the first-ever championship in the expanded playoff era.
Here's what else to know about the matchup:
Both teams are among college football's most successful programs of all time
In college football, it doesn't get much more iconic than Notre Dame or Ohio State. These two programs are both among the top-five winningest teams of all time: Ohio State is second in total wins, and Notre Dame is tied for fourth.
Ohio State has had more success recently, including titles in 2002 and 2014. During the 10 years that the playoff included four teams, Ohio State qualified half the time, while Notre Dame made it twice. Notre Dame last won a championship in 1988.
"Every season you go into the season wanting to be national champions. Obviously Ohio State has achieved that goal in more recent years than we have, but those are the expectations, to be at the mountaintop," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said Sunday.
Another notable thing in college football's modern era: Both teams are from the Midwest. College football has come to be dominated by teams from the South, which have won all but two of the last 19 title games.
With a Notre Dame win, head coach Marcus Freeman would make history
No matter the game's outcome, this playoff run has already made the 39-year-old head coach a star.
In the history of college football, no Black or Asian American head coach has ever steered his team to a national title. Freeman, whose father is Black and mother is South Korean, is already the first to coach in the title game — a Notre Dame victory would make him the first to win.
When it comes to the achievement of Black head coaches, college football lags far behind the NFL, and even further behind college basketball and the NBA — even though roughly half of players in the top level of the sport are Black. Today, 16 of 134 head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision are Black, a number that has barely budged in a decade.
In the run-up to Monday's game, Freeman has deflected questions about the milestone, attributing his success to the team as a whole. But his players, including running back Jeremiyah Love, say it's meaningful to them.
"It's inspiring. Coach Free sets an example for people that look like us, just lets them know that you can get to the big stage," Love said this weekend. "I love to see it. Black boys, Black men having success. Shoot, if we win this game, he's going to be a legend."
Ohio State's star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith says he "can't wait to put on a show"
The jewel of Ohio State's $20 million roster is the 19-year-old budding superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a 6-foot-3 true freshman who has lived up to the hype that surrounded his recruitment out of high school.
Smith has racked up 1,227 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns this season. His biggest game yet came when Ohio State smoked the then-undefeated Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinal. Smith caught 187 yards on seven receptions, two of them for touchdowns. And he did almost all of it in a dominating first half.
Then, in the semifinal against Texas, the Longhorns' defense held Smith to just one reception for three yards. But the Buckeyes won anyway, in part because the focus on Smith freed up his teammates.
That was "frustrating," Smith said Saturday. "You watch the film. They doubled, tripled me," he said.
"But just being a decoy out there helped us win the game," he said. "If I've got to be a decoy this game, as well, all I want to do is win, so if that's what it takes, that's what I'll do."
Smith's big-play capability has been key to Ohio State's success this season. Some NFL analysts say he might be picked first overall in this year's upcoming NFL draft, were he eligible — but players must play in college for at least three years, so Smith has a chance to dominate college football for a while longer.
"Just to be able to play in the National Championship as a freshman is something that I dreamed of as a kid," he said. "I'm here now and can't wait to put on a show Monday."
The game may come down to which team makes the most explosive plays — or mistakes
Ohio State has the better offense and is favored by more than a touchdown. Notre Dame is the big defensive team — but will it be enough?
Ohio State's 28-14 semifinal win over Texas may look lopsided from the final score. But two of Ohio State's touchdowns came on long plays — a short screen pass that turned into a 75-yard touchdown just before halftime, and the game-clinching 83-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the final minutes of the game.
Texas hung around because its defense otherwise neutralized Ohio State's ability to make explosive plays. Ultimately, the Texas offense couldn't convert when it mattered.
Notre Dame is more of a grind-it-out team. The Irish focus on the run game, dominating the line of scrimmage and limiting costly turnovers. They lead the nation in takeaways, averaging more than nine points per game off their opponents' turnovers. That's of concern to Ohio State, who were undefeated when the Buckeyes had fewer than two turnovers — but only 2-2 when turning the ball over twice or more.
For the Fighting Irish, quarterback Riley Leonard's legs have been a difference-maker all season long. But in the semifinal against Penn State, it was his arm that came through in the game's biggest moments — including a 54-yard touchdown to tie the game late, then a key first down completion with 17 seconds remaining that put them in easy field goal range for the game's final score. Can he come through for the Irish again?
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