Notre Dame Was Good, But Not Good Enough to Win It All

Notre Dame gave it everything and proved it was good enough, but Ohio State was just better.

Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate their 34-23 win over Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame needed more than it had in the tank to defeat Ohio State

After Week Two, Notre Dame had a magical run in 2024.

The Irish won 13 games in a row, including three playoff games and a stretch where they beat every team by double digits. This was good enough to make Notre Dame one of the last two teams standing in college football. But it wasn't enough to become champions.

Notre Dame lost to a better football team in Ohio State. Period.

The Buckeyes were healthier, deeper, featured many more elite playmakers and played a great game. While this game was extremely frustrating for Irish fans, there are some valuable lessons to be learned about what the Irish must do to win their next title.

From better health luck, to more depth, to adding more elite playmakers, there's still work to be done for Marcus Freeman's maturing program.

BUCKEYES BACK ON TOP‼️

OHIO STATE BECOMES THE FIRST CHAMPION OF THE 12-TEAM CFP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rxVvpKOauS

— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025

Although the Irish didn't hoist the trophy, major progress was made in 2024

While Notre Dame fell short of the ultimate goal, the 2024 Notre Dame team took significant strides toward becoming an elite program. Marcus Freeman and his team won more major postseason games in three weeks than the program has won in the last 30 years. That's real progress.

The mission for Notre Dame moving forward is to find a way to build off of the successes of 2024. Regression cannot be an option. The Irish must take a serious look at areas where they can catch up to build a roster that is more capable of playing and beating a team like Ohio State.

The Irish are closer than they have ever been to the top in the modern era of college football, but aren't quite at the summit yet.

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SI CFP Championship Commemorative | Sports Illustrated

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