Ohio State football enters the National Championship game as the heavy favorite over No. 5 Notre Dame. The Buckeyes have been on a tear recently, coming off three dominant victories over legit title contenders. This included Ryan Day's team getting some much-needed revenge over No. 1 Oregon at the 2025 Rose Bowl.
On the other side of the field, Marcus Freeman's team has shown a resilience that Notre Dame has not had since before this century. The Fighting Irish also had to win three straight games over top-ten opponents to reach this point, which included the 2025 Sugar Bowl over No. 2 Georgia and the 2025 Orange Bowl over No. 4 Penn State. The first of those two victories marked the first time the Fighting Irish have won a New Year's Six bowl game since 1994.
While Marcus Freeman has elevated this historic program in his third year, now comes the Fighting Irish's stiffest test against an Ohio State team firing on all cylinders. Ever since their home loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes have looked entirely different. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has been way more aggressive in the passing game, getting the ball out to talented wideouts like Jeremiah Smith.
Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard has also been in elite form. The grad transfer from Kansas State has posted QBRs above 90.0 in all three of Ohio State's playoff victories. That aggression in the passing attack is critical, as Ryan Day's team occasionally has had inconsistencies with the ground game. Overall, Ohio State will beat Notre Dame in Atlanta for a multitude of reasons. Here's ultimately why the Buckeyes will hoist their ninth national championship on January 20.
Ohio State's defense can exploit Notre Dame's offensive weaknesses

Ohio State football simply has the best defense in the country. The Buckeyes have only allowed 12.2 points per game, which ranks first in the nation. This unit has no distinct weaknesses and was only exposed in one game at Oregon in October. The Ducks were nowhere near as successful the second time around, with most of their 21 points coming in garbage time.
The Buckeyes' front is led by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who had perhaps the play of the season in the 2025 Cotton Bowl. The two-time All-Big Ten selection had an 83-yard scoop and score to seal the deal against No. 3 Texas. Sawyer, alongside All-Conference linebacker Cody Simon, will be critical in this matchup.
The Fighting Irish enter the National Championship game with one of the most lethal ground games in the country. Led by quarterback Riley Leonard and star running back Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame's rushing offense has multiple threats that the Buckeyes will have to worry about. Leonard, in particular, is the most mobile QB the Buckeyes have faced so far, having rushed for 866 yards and 16 touchdowns. Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles ultimately might stack the box to put Notre Dame in obvious passing situations.
Riley Leonard sometimes took advantage of coverage busts in the Penn State secondary when the Nittany Lions sold out to stop the run. However, the Buckeyes' secondary is on a different level from its Big Ten rivals. Leonard also had two interceptions in the 2025 Orange Bowl, which is something that cannot happen Monday night.
Unfortunately, the Fighting Irish lack a consistent game-changing receiver to keep the Buckeyes honest in their rushing defense. While sophomore Jaden Greathouse had an excellent game against the Nittany Lions, asking the 20-year-old to replicate that stunning performance is a lot to ask at this stage in his career. Therefore, Ohio State football's ability to gamble and contain Notre Dame's rushing offense is unique to every team the Fighting Irish have faced so far. Showcasing why Marcus Freeman's program is up against the odds this coming Monday.
The Buckeyes' receivers can exploit a short-handed Fighting Irish secondary

On October 14, Notre Dame announced that star cornerback and captain Benjamin Morrison was officially out for the season with a hip injury. The junior is set to be a first-round pick in this year's NFL Draft. If he were healthy, Morrison would definitely be the guy lined up across from freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith.
Still, despite this injury, the Fighting Irish are second in the nation in yards allowed per game through the air. And this secondary has maintained its stellar form throughout the College Football Playoff. In the first round, Notre Dame stifled an elite passing attack from the Indiana Hoosiers. In the Sugar Bowl, the secondary bent against backup Georgia quarterback Gunnar Stockton a few times but did not break, holding the Bulldogs to just ten points. And Penn State quarterback Drew Allar had far and away his worst game of the playoff in the Orange Bowl.
Whether Will Howard is the best quarterback Marcus Freeman's team has faced remains debatable. However, Ohio State has undoubtedly the best-receiving core the Fighting Irish have lined up against this season. This elite group will occasionally burn this secondary if Ohio State's offense gets a lot of possessions this game.
Should the Buckeyes not be able to get their defense off the field, like against Michigan, that changes the whole dynamic of this clash. Still, it is entirely reasonable to expect Notre Dame's loss of Benjamin Morrison to be consequential against an opponent with NFL talent all around the perimeter.
Ohio State is the more talented team and has been a buzzsaw so far in the College Football Playoff
Overall, if Chip Kelly and the Ohio State offense follow a similar game plan to that of the Michigan loss, Notre Dame can absolutely win this game. For some reason, the Buckeyes were timid in the passing attack and super stubborn about trying to run the ball against the Wolverines. This strategy resulted in Ohio State only scoring ten points that afternoon. Notre Dame's defense has the personnel, talent, and coaching to exploit those types of mistakes from Chip Kelly.
But Ohio State has been a different team since that result. The Buckeyes are airing it out as aggressively as they have this whole season, and it's worked. It would be shocking to see anything different, even against potentially the best secondary they've faced. The time has come for this program to win its first title under Ryan Day, weeks after many people called for his firing. Ohio State football won the national title in the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff format. Now it's time for the Buckeyes to kick off this new era with their ninth championship in school history.