Coach Ryan Day shushed the critics, running back Quinshon Judkins scored three touchdowns, and the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes held off a furious second-half rally to beat No. 7 seed Notre Dame, 34-23,

The Buckeyes beat the Fighting Irish 34-23 to win the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, their first national championship since the 2014 season

Ohio State’s defense has been hard to score on all season and that remained true even in a College Football Playoff National Championship game where it surrendered 23 points to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are one of just four teams in the last two years to score more than 17 points with the others being eventual nation champions Georgia (2022) and Michigan (2023) plus Oregon this