Monday P.M. Clicks: Are You Ready for the National Championship?

National Championship Preview

Ohio State's Road to the National Championship

Ohio State 34, Navy 17 (Aug. 30)

Al Tielemans/SI

The J.T. Barrett era began with neither a bang nor a whimper, but instead a calm, conservative victory. The redshirt freshman completed 12-of-15 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and a blunder of an interception.

Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21 (Sept. 6)

Khris Hale/Icon Sportswire

Disaster struck early for the Buckeyes as Virginia Tech -- which went on to barely get to bowl eligibility -- took down Ohio State in Columbus, breaking through a porous Buckeyes offensive line for seven sack while limiting Barrett to 9-of-29 passing with three interceptions.

Ohio State 66, Kent State 0 (Sept. 13)

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Ohio State took out its frustration from the loss to the Hokies on a hapless Kent State squad, as Barrett tied a school record with six touchdown passes -- five in the first half.

Ohio State 50, Cincinnati 28 (Sept. 27)

Al Tielemans/SI

Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel kept the Bearcats in it with 352 yards passing and four touchdowns, but the Buckeyes exploded for 710 yards of offense behind Barrett and running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Ohio State 52, Maryland 24 (Oct. 4)

Daniel Kucin Jr./Icon Sportswire

The Buckeyes gave Maryland a cold welcome to the Big Ten in the Terrapins' first home conference game. Barrett continued to show his rapid improvement, passing for 267 yards with five total touchdowns, and Ohio State's defense forced four interceptions.

Ohio State 56, Rutgers 17 (Oct. 18)

Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire

The Buckeyes scored 50 or more points for the fourth consecutive game, setting a school record as they trounced the Scarlet Knights. Barrett racked up five total touchdowns with 261 yards passing and 107 yards on the ground.

Ohio State 31, Penn State 24 2OT (Oct. 25)

Scott Terna/Icon Sportswire

With Barrett struggling through a sprained MCL, the Buckeyes blew a 17-0 lead but escaped Happy Valley with a double-overtime victory. Joey Bosa picked up 2 1/2 sacks, the last one ending the game by forcing a turnover-on-downs.

Ohio State 55, Illinois 14 (Nov. 1)

Jay LaPrete/AP

After the scare against the Nittany Lions, the Buckeyes took no chances against the Fighting Illini, building a 48-0 advantage en route to the lopsided win.

Ohio State 49, Michigan State 37 (Nov. 8)

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

In a College Football Playoff elimination game, Ohio State proved its superiority with a dominant victory in East Lansing. Barrett passed for 300 yards, rushed 86 and scored five touchdowns while Elliott tallied 154 yards on the ground with two scores. The Buckeyes never trailed in the second half.

Ohio State 31, Minnesota 24 (Nov. 15)

Ann Heisenfelt/AP

The Buckeyes picked up their second road victory over a ranked team in as many weeks, surviving heavy snow and a 145-yard, three touchdown effort from Golden Gophers running back David Cobb. Despite Barrett setting the Ohio State record for total touchdowns in a season, the Buckeyes needed a late onside kick recovery to seal the win.

Ohio State 42, Indiana 27 (Nov. 22)

Jay LaPrete/AP

Tevin Coleman (228 yards rushing and three touchdowns) and the Hoosiers gave the Buckeyes all they could handle and might have pulled the stunning upset if not for Jalin Marshall. Ohio State's redshirt freshman score four straight second-half touchdowns, including a 54-yard punt return late in the third quarter that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good.

Ohio State 42, Michigan 28 (Nov. 29)

Khris Hale/Icon Sportswire

The joy of a closer-than-expected win over their biggest rival was muted by the Buckeyes' sorrow over J.T. Barrett's injury, a fractured ankle that ended his season. After the quarterback went down on the first play of the fourth quarter, Ohio State scored twice to pull away for the victory.

Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0 (Dec. 6)

Jeff Haynes/SI

No Braxton Miller and no J.T. Barrett? No problem for the Buckeyes. Third-stringer Cardale Jones engineered an annihilation of the Badgers as Ohio State dominate every facet of the game and leapfrogged TCU while holding off Baylor to earn the No. 4 seed in the playoff.

Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (Jan. 1)

Al Tielemans/SI

Jones delivered again for the Buckeyes, picking up 286 yards of offense as the Ohio State stunned Alabama to win Sugar Bowl and advance to the national title game. Elliott's fourth-quarter, 85-yard touchdown run and Tyvis Powell's interception on Blake Sims' Hail Mary helped seal the upset.

College football's National Championship game is tonight. Perhaps you heard. SI's experts are pretty split about which team will come out victorious. As you decide, check out Ohio State's and Oregon's road to the national championship. Also of note: OSU players have been told to personalize all autographs .... Buckeyes QB Cardale Jones has blocked every contact in his phone (except coaches and his mom) ... Marcus Mariota attributes his success to a love of golf ... Oregon cheerleaders went bull riding ... Stadium parking will not be cheap.

Tennis in Unusual Places

Thought a tennis match on the roof of a 1,000-foot building was weird? How about a floating court in the Middle East? Neither were as exciting as Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt playing against each other while on moving speedboats in Sydney Harbour.

Meet Miss Kentucky

Meet Katie George, the newly-crowned Miss Kentucky and member of the Louisville volleyball squad.

P.M. Lovely Lady of the Day

Have you purchased your 2015 Hooters Calendar yet? Emily Phelps is the centerfold and also the star of Hooters' new "Greatest Month of Football" ad. And if all that isn't enough, she also earns today's P.M. LLOD honors (click here for full-size gallery). FYI: The good people at Hooters are sending me some 2015 calendars for a giveaway next week. Stay tuned.

Hot Clicks Giveaway: Oregon/OSU Gear

My friends at 47 Brand emailed to see if I wanted to give away any Ohio State or Oregon gear before tonight's game. It wasn't a difficult decision. I will send these playoff "We're All In" hats (you choose the team -- here's Ohio State and Oregon) to the 25th, 50th, 100th, 150th and 200th person who emails me (andy_gray@simail.com) the name of the LLOD in this morning's Hot Clicks. Please make the subject line "47 Brand."

Update (6:23 a.m.): Contest is closed. Winners will be notified. Thanks for playing.

Speaking of Ohio State/Oregon Gear

Columbus Zoo Makes Its Prediction

Crazy Stat of the Day

Tom Brady is Ready for the Colts

Post by Tom Brady.

Hank at the World Dog Awards

Odds & Ends

Lionel Messi brought his A-style game to the Balloon d'Or Gala ... Jerry Jones' suite did not seem like a fun place to be after the Dez Bryant reversal ... Adam Dunn retired after 14 seasons and 2,379 strikeouts ... Sergio Brown's Ric Flair impression is quickly becoming my favorite thing about the Colts ... Bret Bielema laughs at your team's "No Gun" rule ... Eugene Levy (the dad from American Pie) has a new show out called Schitt's Creek ... A 9-year-old in Idaho was arrested for stealing a pack of gum ... What if Leonardo DiCaprio starred in Boogie Nights?

Congrats to The Macho Man

On Monday Night Raw tonight, Randy Savage will be named the newest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. Here's my first memory of him.

The Chris Christie Hug

Packers fans re-enact the Chris Christie-Jerry Jones hug before Sunday's game. [H/T Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Never Seen This Before

A KHL game was stopped because a player's jersey got caught between two panels of glass.

Kate Hudson, Broncos Fan

The actress celebrates a touchdown before last night's Golden Globes.

Click here for previous versions of Hot Clicks