It has been a wild season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, full of ups and downs and many great moments. This is what every fan expected going into this season: the Buckeyes playing in the National Championship. This game is a rematch of last season’s nail-biter in South Bend, in which the Buckeyes came out on top 17-14. 

OSU vs ND History

The Buckeyes come into this matchup riding a 6-0 record against the Fighting Irish in the two programs’ history against each other. Both teams are playing their best football right now, making this game the most intriguing game of the season. Ohio State comes into this game at 13-2, while Notre Dame is riding a thirteen-game winning streak after a loss to Northern Illinois in week one, bringing their record to 14-1. 

The past matchups have been competitive and down to the wire, with the last game coming in the 2023-24 season in South Bend where the Buckeyes were able to pick up a huge victory after scoring with one second left on a Chip Trayanum rushing touchdown. It was a must-win game for Notre Dame to be in contention for a College Football Playoff spot when it was a four-team playoff; the Fighting Irish would go on to lose two more games, one to Louisville and another to Clemson. 

In the 2022-23 season, both teams faced off in the first game of the season for the first time since the 2015 Fiesta Bowl where Ohio State pulled off a forty-four to twenty-eight victory. In this game the leading receiver for the Fighting Irish was now Buckeye Lorenzo Styles Jr, who finished the game with one reception for fifty-four yards in the twenty-one to ten Buckeye victory at The Shoe.

Storylines 

There are several key storylines to keep track of for this game, whether that be “I want to know where is Lou Holtz right now” which is the famous quote Ohio State head coach Ryan Day passionately said last year after a comeback against the Irish. Earlier this week, Day mentioned that he has not spoke to Holtz since the game last year. Another storyline is that Fighting Irish Head Coach Marcus Freeman is an Ohio State alumnus and is known as one of the greatest linebackers in Buckeye history, Freeman has also said how he regrets the decision to come to Ohio State and wishes he became a Fighting Irish twenty-years ago. 

 

And here’s Ryan Day fired up over Lou Holtz: pic.twitter.com/kYkGAn5BAt

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 24, 2023

 

Both Programs Recent Championship History 

Ohio State and Notre Dame are two of the greatest collegiate programs in college football history. The Buckeyes come into this matchup with eight National Championships, while the Fighting Irish have eleven National Championships in their program history. The last National Championship for Ohio State came in 2014 when the team led by Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones went into the first-ever College Football Playoff as a four-seed after a beatdown victory against the Wisconsin Badgers 59-0. Notre Dame’s last National Championship came in 1988 when Holtz led the Fighting Irish to a 34-21 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Fiesta Bowl. 

 

Exactly 10 years ago today, Ohio State took home the championship in the first year of the 4-team College Football Playoff.

Today, they’re one game away from the first ever 12-team CFP championship. pic.twitter.com/9wlFAyKm6p

— The Silver Bulletin (@tSilverBulletin) January 12, 2025

 

What The Game Means For Both Teams

Both Programs have nothing to lose, and everything to gain from winning on Monday. The Buckeyes returned eleven seniors whose main goal was to beat Michigan after losing for four consecutive seasons. After a disappointing loss to the Wolverines at home, the key captains Emeka Egbuka, TreyVeon Henderson, Cody Simon, and Jack Sawyer all came out to the media and said that the focus shifted to a National Championship.

While Notre Dame is coming into this game on a thirteen game winning streak after a disaster of a loss against Northern Illinois at home in early September. The Fighting Irish are looking to cap off one of the best seasons in their program history with a National Championship under the leadership of Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard. 

This game will determine how both programs go about the next few seasons, a National Championship not only helps recruiting but now with N.I.L. it would draw in more donations to help build both rosters through the transfer portal.