There’s nothing bigger in college football than the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Assigning the best of the best officiating crew to call the game is something that happens behind the scenes — but is as important as anything related to the production of a clean and exciting game.
The National Championship Game Officiating Crew Revealed A Week Before the Big Game
The CFP National Championship Game will be played between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes, each having won three games in the College Football Playoff to reach this point.
Nearly as important as the teams in the game is the officiating crew that is selected for the title game. Action Network HQ‘s Brett McMurphy broke the news on X.
SEC officials will work Monday’s @CFBPlayoff national title game b/w Ohio State & Notre Dame. It’s the same crew that worked the Fiesta Bowl b/w Penn State & Boise State #CFBPlayoff
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 13, 2025
All playoff games are officiated by the Power Four conference crews — the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and ACC. The crew assigned to the national championship game couldn’t be in the same conference as the represented teams. Ohio State is a part of the Big Ten while Notre Dame is an FBS Independent.
Additionally, the crews that worked the semifinal games could not work the title game. The ACC and Big 12 crews officiated those matchups, which left the top SEC officials as the only choice.
As McMurphy mentioned, the SEC crew officiated the Fiesta Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Boise State Broncos. The flags were flying in that matchup — 23 accepted penalties in fact, for a total of 188 penalty yards. According to stats across the season for the title game participants, it should be a cleaner game on Monday night.
Ohio State committed the 12th fewest penalties in the nation in 2024, with only 4.4 accepted penalties per game. Although Notre Dame tied with five teams for 73rd in the country, they still committed only six per game. Each of those numbers is a far cry from the 10 and 13 accepted penalties by Penn State and Boise State, respectively.
The hope is that the title game will be a cleaner contest than the Fiesta Bowl, and the officials will not be a part of the story at the end of the game, something officials strive for.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.