Ohio State vs. Notre Dame score, highlights: How the Buckeyes won the national title

Re-live how Ohio State took down Notre Dame to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.,
Ohio State takes down Notre Dame to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Ohio State takes down Notre Dame to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. / Kevin D. Liles | Sports Illustrated

Ohio State made history by winning the first ever College Football Playoff national championship, and it made history again by claiming the inaugural title determined by a 12-team playoff field.

Notre Dame opened up an early lead on the Buckeyes, and withstood a scoring run from Ohio State to make it a game again late in the fourth quarter.

But Jeremiah Smith came through with the clutch play to help the Buckeyes clinch a historic 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the National Championship Game.

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Notre Dame strikes first

Riley Leonard put Notre Dame on his back on the team’s epic opening drive, wiping more than 9 minutes off the clock and culminating in the quarterback’s touchdown from 1 yard out.

Leonard ran 9 times for 35 hard-earned yards on the possession, driving through Ohio State’s front line defenders with remarkable ease, proving the more physical team on the field in the opening frame.

The 18-play drive made some history in the process.

Score: Notre Dame 7, Ohio State 0

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Jeremiah Smith answers

Ohio State did what it does best, target freshman phenom wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who ran a fake reverse and came into the open over the right side for an easy touchdown play.

Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard was 5 for 5 passing on his initial possession and also had an important run that converted a first down.

Score: Notre Dame 7, Ohio State 7

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Irish stall on 2nd drive

As polished and dominant as Notre Dame’s offensive line was on its first drive, it wasn’t quite as efficient on its second time out in the face of an aggressive Ohio State front seven.

The drive featured something we hardly ever saw this year: an actual holding call made against an Ohio State opponent, a penalty that hadn’t been called in quite some time.

Score: Notre Dame 7, Ohio State 7

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Buckeyes take the lead

On its second drive, Ohio State scored its second touchdown.

Quinshon Judkins cashed in from 9 yards out to complete a 76-yard drive over 10 plays and lasting over 6 minutes of game time that showed off the Buckeyes’ diversity of skill options.

Emeka Egbuka broke the Ohio State record for most career receptions on the possession, bringing in his 202nd catch while wearing the scarlet and gray.

Howard took the ball himself over the left side on a 3rd and 2, boasting some physical quarterback play that mirrored what Notre Dame was able to do early on.

The quarterback was 9 of 9 passing up to that point, and the Buckeyes were averaging 7.2 yards per play and 5.8 yards per carry while Howard had 100 yards passing.

Score: Ohio State 14, Notre Dame 7

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Irish thwarted again

“The operation got a little sluggish,” ESPN’s Chris Fowler said of Notre Dame’s next drive, in which the offense’s usually-crisp motion game didn’t look its customary self.

The possession stalled when tight end Mitchell Evans inadvertently ran into the ball when it was snapped, but he was able to land on it and prevent a turnover.

Still, it wasn’t enough for the Irish, who went three-and-out on its second-straight possession.

Score: Ohio State 14, Notre Dame 7

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Three straight for the Buckeyes

Three drives, three touchdowns.

Will Howard and the Buckeyes went on another long drive, this one for 81 yards over 12 plays, spotting Judkins in the end zone with 27 seconds left in the first half.

Howard drew some Irish defenders towards him when he appeared to be interested in running the ball, but in the process opened a big hole for Judkins to step into.

Howard threw his first incompletion on a pass to tailback TreVeyon Henderson, but in the meantime set a CFP national championship game record by starting 13 of 13 passing.

Still, his 14 of 15 start passing was the best effort in a national championship game since Vince Young went 13 of 15 for Texas against USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.

Score: Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 7

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Judkins breaks free

Coming out of the halftime break, Ohio State got back to work as Judkins ripped off a 70 yard rush through the heart of the Irish defense to put the Buckeyes on the ND 5-yard line.

From there, Judkins pulled off the hat trick by barrelling through Notre Dame’s line for his third touchdown of the night, and a big lead for the Buckeyes.

Score: Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 7

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Irish fake fails, Buckeyes settle for 3

Notre Dame faked a punt early in the third quarter deep in its own territory, but the attempt failed when the pass fell incomplete, putting Ohio State within striking distance again.

Despite the pristine field position, the Buckeyes were unable to take advantage after Howard threw too long for Carnell Tate in the end zone, and OSU took 3 instead of 7.

That was enough for Ohio State to come away with points on every possession of the game, against a Notre Dame scoring defense that ranks No. 2 in the country.

Score: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 7

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Notre Dame gets back in it

Down big in the third quarter, Notre Dame went on a badly-needed scoring drive, aided by an Ohio State penalty on defense, going 75 yards in 10 plays.

Leonard connected with Jaden Greathouse, who ran through the Buckeyes’ coverage on a long 34-yard touchdown play, and Jeremiyah Love executed a two-point conversion.

It was a crucial momentum swing for the Fighting Irish, who were able to profit from Ohio State’s failure to score a touchdown earlier in the quarter.

Score: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 15

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Turnover!

At long last, college football’s best defense at taking away the football did just that.

Ohio State wideout Emeka Egbuka fumbled the ball on a long play and the Irish were there to pounce with what became their 33rd takeaway on the year, the most in the country.

Score: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 15

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Doink!

Jaden Greathouse became Notre Dame’s passing offense in the second half, propelling the Irish down the field on plays of 30 and 11 yards.

Ohio State’s defense helped by getting called for two costly penalties that aided the Irish even more, landing the offense into a goal-to-go situation from the OSU 9-yard line.

But Leonard’s third down pass failed to connect, and Notre Dame notably settled for a field goal attempt, one that doinked off the left upright and fell no good.

That marked the 25th time an Ohio State opponent had a 1st and Goal and the ninth time said opponents came away with no points.

Score: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 15

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Irish storm back

Notre Dame’s passing attack came alive late in the fourth quarter as Leonard located Greathouse for a critical touchdown play that made the game close again.

Jordan Faison then tossed a clean two-point conversion to Beaux Collins that brought the Irish suddenly within 8 points of the Buckeyes.

Score: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 23

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Ohio State goes deep

Who else but Jeremiah Smith? Ohio State’s stud freshman wideout went long and brought down a 57-yard pass from Howard to put the Buckeyes in a 1st and Goal at the 2 minute timeout.

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Ohio State is the national champion!

Ohio State was the most dominant team in the College Football Playoff, and proved it in the final, completing the first-ever national championship in a 12-team postseason field.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.