Photo Courtesy: Dominic Ceraldi
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
National Championship Game Presented by AT&T
The new playoff format this season has proven to be a success. The college football playoff committee allowed deserving teams to have a shot. This game is where it all comes together. The final two teams deserve to play in this game and the country will see both programs on the grandest stage Monday night. The payoff will be 20 million dollars! If Notre Dame wins, they will pocket every dime of it because they are independent and won’t share the winning purse with a conference. If the Buckeyes win, the Big Ten conference will receive the money. This will be huge for all of college football as a whole. The biggest payoff? Bragging rights for the winning team’s fans, school and athletes.
How They Got Here
Ohio State took Tennessee, Oregon and Texas to the woodshed and put all that harsh talking to bed. The Ohio State Buckeyes got written off this season with their loss to Michigan. That didn’t stop the Buckeyes from storming back and making it to the title game. Notre Dame might not belong to a conference but that doesn’t mean the played some decent opponents this season. In the playoffs Notre Dame destroyed Indiana and then went on upset alert by beating Georgia and Penn State to get to this game. There’s no looking back for the Irish.
Game Info
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes vs #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Monday – January 20 – 6:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, GA
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#8 Ohio State University Buckeyes (13-2 Big Ten)
The Buckeyes beat three incredibly talented teams in football to get here. They beat Tennessee 42-17, Oregon 41-21 and Texas 28-14. You can say that they earned every victory to play in this game. The key for the Buckeyes has been quarterback Will Howard. He has passed for 3779 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He will be the x-factor for a Buckeyes victory. His play alone lifted the team against Texas, a team he has never defeated dating back to when he was quarterback at Kansas State. Players to watch: RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Jeremiah Smith, LB Cody Simon and CB Denzel Burke.
#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-1 Independent)
The Fighting Irish has been the Cinderella team of the first college playoffs in the new format. In their last 5 games, the Fighting Irish are 5-0 with wins over Army, USC, Indiana, Georgia and Penn State. Notre Dame is led by senior quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard has 2606 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His numbers won’t blow you away. It’s his drive that lifts his team. Running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price have been workhorses for the offense. Players to watch: WR Jaden Greathouse, LB Jack Kiser, S Xavier Watts and S Jordan Clark.
Prediction
ESPN has the Buckeyes with a 55.3% chance of winning it all in Atlanta. Well guys I’m here to tell you that Notre Dame will upset the Buckeyes. Notre Dame is solid and they apply pressure from start to finish. The over/under is 45.5, so take the under! I’m taking the Fighting Irish by 3 in. a really close game!
Final Score
#7 Fighting Irish – 33
#8 Buckeyes – 30
