Traditional powers Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will meet with the national title on the line on Monday night. These two know each other well. It’s the third straight season they will face each other on the gridiron. But unlike the previous two, this one will mean so much more.
Ohio State had a highly entertaining roller coaster of the season heading into the year’s most important game. Here’s how the Buckeyes got to this point.
How Ohio State Made the CFP National Championship Game
It all started on Aug. 31, when the Akron Zips came to The Horseshoe. It was not a good day for the Zips. They were held to just 177 yards of total offense, and the Buckeyes rolled to a 52-6 win. Will Howard had a strong debut in the Scarlet and Gray, throwing for 228 yards and three touchdowns.
The Western Michigan Broncos were the next opponent to try their luck in Columbus. The Buckeye defense pitched a shutout, giving up just 99 total yards, while the offense had 683 total yards and 30 first downs. Quishon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson each had two rushing touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had his first career 100-yard, racking up 119 and a score.
The Buckeyes opened with three consecutive home games, with the Marshall Thundering Herd coming to town in Week 4. Marshall took the opening drive down the field for a touchdown. However, the Buckeyes would out score the eventual Sun Belt champions 49-7 the rest of the way for a 49-14 win. Ohio State ran for 296 yards as a team led by Judkins, who had 175 on 14 carries and two scores.
The Buckeyes started Big Ten play the next week in East Lansing against the Michigan State Spartans. Ohio State continued its dominance over the Spartans, winning their ninth straight matchup in convincing fashion 38-7. The defense forced three turnovers, and the offense racked up 483 yards, led by Howard, who had 258 total yards and 3 scores.
Back in Columbus, the Buckeyes had no issues with the Iowa Hawkeyes. They scored the first 35 points en route to an easy 35-7 victory over the Hawkeyes. Iowa had just 226 yards of total offense, 10 first downs, and five turnovers. Howard had a hand in all five touchdowns, four rushing and one throwing.
The first setback of 2024 came in Eugene against the Oregon Ducks. The two traded punches throughout the game, but the Ducks got a 19-yard field goal from Atticus Sappington with 1:47 left to play. The Buckeyes raced down the field, trying to take the lead late, but poor clock management and a Howard mistake cost them down the stretch.
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The Buckeyes would face more adversity the following week back at home. The Nebraska Cornhuskers took the lead with 10:47 left in the game on a Dante Dowdell one-yard touchdown run. Judkins and Ohio State would answer, getting a nine-yard score with 6:04 remaining. The defense would step up big in the waning moments, with a Jordan Hancock interception sealing a 21-17 win.
The next game would be another tough road game as they visited the Penn State Nittany Lions in State College. The Nittany Lions scored the first 10 points, led by Zion Tracy’s 31-yard pick-six.
The Buckeyes responded as Howard threw a pair of scores to take a 14-10 lead into halftime. Neither side did much offensively in the second half as Ohio State cruised to a 20-13 victory. The defense held Penn State to 270 yards on the day and just 15 first downs.
The next two games were easy conference wins as they shut out the Purdue Boilermakers at home 45-0 and dominated the Northwestern Wildcats at Wrigley Field in Chicago 31-7.
Another big test came the following week as the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers made its way to The Horseshoe. The Hoosiers started strong, taking their opening drive for a score.
That’s when the Buckeyes woke up. Howard went 22-26 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka had 80 yards receiving and a score. The defense held Indiana to a season-low 151 yards total offense as they picked up a signature 38-15 win. The following week, however, would bring heartbreak in the worst possible way.
Michigan Defeat Lights a Fire Inside the Buckeyes
Their most hated rival, the Michigan Wolverines, came to Columbus. Ohio State was aiming to end a three-game losing skid to “That Team Up North.” However, the Wolverines had other plans. They held the Buckeyes to a season-low 252 yards. Howard threw two costly interceptions and Dominic Zvada’s 21-yard field goal sealed the deal for Michigan to plant the flag at midfield with a 13-10 upset.
Most Buckeye fans wanted the school to fire Ryan Day. He went from a potential Big Ten title-winning coach to one on a very hot seat. But that all would change in the next three games of the College Football Playoff.
Starting first on a cold night in December as they hosted the Tennessee Volunteers, the Buckeyes scored on their first three possessions and did not let up on the way to a 42-17 drubbing. Howard threw for 311 yards and two scores. Smith had 103 yards and caught both Howard touchdowns. The defense held the Volunteers to a Josh Heupel-low 104 yards passing.
The Rose Bowl was the next stop on the Ohio State revenge tour, in a rematch of the loss to Oregon. The Buckeyes scored the first 34 points en route to a 41-21 win over the Ducks. Howard threw for 319 yards and three scores. Henderson had 96 yards on just eight carries and two touchdowns. Smith continued his postseason dominance with 187 yards on seven catches and two scores.
The College Football Playoff semifinal featured a showdown with the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Class. The Buckeyes started strong with an opening drive touchdown. Texas tied the game with just 29 seconds remaining in the first half. However, Ohio State running back Henderson took the first play on the next drive 75 yards to the end zone off a screen as they led 14-7 at the half.
The Longhorns would tie the game with just three minutes left in the third quarter. Judkins got the go-ahead score with 7:02 remaining in the game. Emotional leader Jack Sawyer put the exclamation point on a 28-14 win as he scooped up a Quinn Ewers fumble and took it 83 yards of a touchdown.
Players to Watch vs. Notre Dame
The Buckeyes have been led all year by quarterback Will Howard. The Kansas State Wildcats transfer threw for 3,779 yards with 33 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. He also added 169 yards on the ground with seven scores.
Judkins and Henderson each rushed for just under 1,000 yards on the season. Judkins has 12 touchdowns, with 10 for Henderson.
Freshman Smith leads the way with 1,227 yards on 71 catches and 14 touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka is right behind him with 946 yards and 10 scores.
Defensively, the Buckeyes are led by Cody Simon, who has a team-high 104 tackles. He also has seven sacks. Sonny Styles is close behind with 94 tackles and five sacks. JT Tuimoloua leads the group with 11 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. Caleb Downs has been a welcome addition with 76 tackles and tied for the team-high with two interceptions.
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