The Notre Dame football team came oh so close to winning it all this year as they fell just short in the national championship game on Monday night. The Fighting Irish ended up putting up a good fight, but Ohio State was the best team in the playoff, and it showed. The Buckeyes got out to a big lead in the game, and despite a good comeback effort from Notre Dame, Ohio State came away with a 34-23 win to capture the national championship. Now the offseason is here, and it's back to the drawing board for the Fighting Irish as they look to take the next step.
Notre Dame didn't end the season the way they wanted to as they weren't able to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning the national championship. Still, this was a good season for the Fighting Irish, and they put up a good fight against Ohio State when not very many people gave them a fighting chance.
After the first drive of this game, it really looked like the Notre Dame football team might have a shot in this one. The Fighting Irish chewed up over nine minutes of game clock and they scored a touchdown to go up 7-0. However, Ohio State started to dominate after that drive.
The Buckeyes quickly responded with an impressive drive of their own to make it 7-7 early in the second quarter, and Notre Dame wasn't able to get anything going offensively in the first half after that first drive. Ohio State got stops, and then they went down and got scores. By the time the second quarter ended, the seven-point lead that the Fighting Irish entered with turned into a 14-point deficit.
Ohio State started the second half strong as well as they scored a touchdown on their first drive, and then they kicked a field goal after Notre Dame failed to convert a fake punt. It was 31-7, and the Fighting Irish were showing no signs of life. Then, everything changed.
Notre Dame scored a touchdown and got the two-point conversion to make it a two-score game, but they were still in a big hole. Then, with just under five minutes to go in the game, they did the same thing. All of a sudden, it was a one-score game, and Notre Dame just needed one stop to get the ball back with a chance to tie it.
The Fighting Irish found a way to get Ohio State into a third and 12 situation, but a deep ball to Jeremiah Smith crushed the comeback effort. Ohio State kicked a late field goal and won the game 34-23.
Now the game is over, and it's going to be interesting to see what Notre Dame football players will return and who will go pro. Let's take a look at the draft stock for a couple important players.
Riley Leonard

One Notre Dame football player that improved their draft stock during Monday's national championship game is quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard didn't have a big season by any means, but he did play a good game against Ohio State as he was 22-31 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Leonard was a big part of the comeback.
There are definitely a lot of QBs projected ahead of him, but Leonard could end up getting picked in the middle or late rounds in the NFL Draft. This is a weak QB class compared to most years, so that bodes well for Leonard.
Xavier Watts
On defense, Xavier Watts is a player that continues to rise and should be one of the first Notre Dame players to hear his name in the NFL Draft. Watts had a good game on Monday as he finished with a team-high eight total tackles. He also had one pass defended and one tackle for loss.
Watts has been one of the best players on this defense all season long, and he is currently projected to be taken in the early rounds of the NFL Draft.
There are a few other players that played in the national title game that are projected to be late-round picks, but those two guys are the most notable ones of the players that were actually on the field. Benjamin Morrison is expected to be the first Notre Dame player off the board, but he did not play on Monday.
College Football Playoff recap
Now, the college football season is over, and the Ohio State football team is the last one still standing. It was a year unlike anything we ever seen in college football, and a big reason for that is the new College Football Playoff format. Let's recap what went down in the final month of the season.
It feels like forever ago that we watched this Notre Dame football team kick off the College Football Playoff with a win over Indiana at home in the first round. The Fighting Irish were joined by Ohio State, Penn State and Texas as winners of first round games.
All four of those first round winners went on to advance to the semifinals as well. What we learned this year as that the first-round bye might not have been a good thing as all four teams that got one lost. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas all advanced.
The semifinal round was definitely the most entertaining of the four rounds in this year's College Football Playoff. Ohio State took on Texas, and Notre Dame played Penn State. Both were fantastic games that came down to the wire. The Buckeyes beat Texas on a late scoop n' scoop touchdown as the Longhorns were threatening to the tie the game, and the Fighting Irish won on a field goal in the final seconds.
Those wins in the semis set the stage for Monday night's national championship game, and it ended up being a better game than a lot of people thought. Outside of Columbus, everyone was hoping for Notre Dame to get the ball with a chance to tie it as the people wanted chaos, but the Buckeyes didn't let that happen. They are on top of the college football world until a new champion is crowned.