Ohio State holds off Notre Dame for national championship; way-too-early top 25; Bears hire Ben Johnson

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🏆 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

When Ohio State seemed on the verge of a stunning collapse, the Buckeyes, full of experienced stars, went to a freshman.

But Jeremiah Smith is no normal freshman. In fact, he’s no normal college football player. He’s a superstar, and he shined brightest — and called game, as the kids say — in the biggest moment. The 19-year-old wide receiver reeled in a 56-yard catch on third-and-11 late in the fourth quarter to all but clinch Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

• After Notre Dame opened the game with a touchdown drive, Ohio State not only answered with a touchdown drive of its own — capped by Smith — but a touchdown on its first four drives overall. The Buckeyes led 31-7 halfway through the third quarter.
• But the Fighting Irish fought back, as they have all season: Jaden Greathouse caught a touchdown pass from Riley Leonard, and Drayk Bowen forced a fumble on the Buckeyes’ ensuing drive. Notre Dame was in business … until it wasn’t. Mitch Jeter missed a 27-yard field goal. It was a questionable decision to kick by Marcus Freeman considering his team trailed 31-15, meaning it still would have been down two possessions even with a make.
• But Ohio State quickly punted, and Greathouse reeled in another remarkable touchdown — 31-23, Ohio State after the two-point conversion.
• But that simply set the stage for Smith. He beat Christian Gray deep and hauled in a high-arching pass from Will Howard, Smith’s only catch of the second half. Jayden Fielding clinched it with a 33-yard field goal.

Ohio State’s tremendous resilience — and overwhelming talent — was on display all CFP long.

• Howard was terrific throughout but especially so in the championship game (17 for 21, 231 passing yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers; 51 rushing yards).
• Smith might be the best receiver in the game, which makes the fact that he’ll be in college two more years absolutely terrifying.
• Quinshon Judkins, who committed to the Buckeyes moments after nemesis Michigan‘s title last year, ran for 100 yards and a pair of scores, completing a remarkable journey.

But we’d be remiss to mention them all without mentioning Ryan Day. He couldn’t win the biggest games, they said. Well, he just won the four straight biggest ones, and now he’s led the Buckeyes to its first title in a decade. Dennis Dodd says Day could create a dynasty in Columbus or, *gasp*, take his talents to the NFL.

• Dodd: “Maybe not right away. His son, RJ, has two more years of high school quarterbacking to do. The Jaguars, Cowboys, Jets, Saints and Raiders are still open and we’re not sure if those are great city/owner/roster fits for him. … But eventually, perhaps soon, Day will land an NFL match that suits him best, because the rest of the country knows what those keyboard warriors in your own state sometimes forget: You’re a damn good coach, particularly a damn good offensive mind.”

But for now, Buckeyes fans, don’t worry about that. Revel in this championship, one we always knew a roster of this caliber could pull off, if only it could get over those pesky big-game letdowns. It did and then some. Ohio State is back on top in emphatic fashion.

Here’s more:

👍 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

THE NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH

When Notre Dame went 75 yards on 18 plays — the most in CFP/BCS title game history — for a touchdown on the opening drive, maybe you saw a path. Maybe they could out-tough Ohio State, shorten the game, get a bounce here or there and win. Heck, it would make for an amazing story: Leonard puking on the sideline and then lifting the trophy.

Then Ohio State scored the next 31 points, and Notre Dame had no answer on either side of the ball. When the Fighting Irish finally made a play, it proved too little, too late. The Irish were understandably disconsolate in the locker room, and Richard Johnson explains where they go from here. They might have to go there with a new defensive coordinator.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Way-too-early 2025 college football Top 25

You call it “way-too-early.” I call it “never-too-early,” because I’ll take all the content I can get during another long offseason. Dennis has his way-too-early 2025 Top 25, and, yes, it might be too early given the transfer portal and other uncertainty, but I love the call at No. 1 regardless.

• Dodd: “1. Texas — The Arch Manning Era begins with all the expected hype. Thanks for the memories, Quinn Ewers, but the ‘Horns will be more dangerous at quarterback because of Manning’s overall athleticism and smarts. Steve Sarkisian gets back national freshman of the year Colin Simmons at defensive end as well as star linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. Injured running back C.J. Baxter should make the backfield more productive.”

It’s actually Ohio State, though, that’s the early betting favorites for next season’s title.

You can check out Dennis’ entire top 25 here … and start getting excited already.

🏈 Bears hire Ben Johnson, take Lions offensive coordinator from division rival

Ben Johnson, arguably the most coveted head coaching candidate from the past two seasons, made his choice: The Lions‘ former offensive coordinator is staying in the NFC North and heading to Chicago as the Bears‘ coach.

• Detroit’s offense posted NFL bests in points per game (28.2) and yards per game (394.8) under Johnson from 2022-24. That included a league- and franchise-best 32.4 points per game this season.
• The Bears, meanwhile, endured another disastrous campaign, going 5-12 and firing Matt Eberflus midseason. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams was sacked 68 times, tied for the third-most in a season in NFL history, and Chicago was 29th in scoring offense.
• Johnson interviewed for several jobs this year — he was thought to be the frontrunner for the Raiders job, leaving Las Vegas in a lurch — and in years past.

The obvious lure for Johnson is Williams. He was inconsistent (to put it kindly) given the high expectations Chicago had. The sacks were an obvious issue — though those weren’t solely his fault — and his downfield accuracy was a major disappointment. Over 41% of his throws at least 20 yards downfield were considered “off target,” second-worst in the NFL behind only Mac Jones.

But Williams’ highlights still show the traits that made him the top pick: improvisation, arm talent, athleticism, scrambling, etc. Johnson had his pick of jobs, and he chose this one. That says a lot about how much Johnson believes in Williams (and shows how much he didn’t believe in another potential suitor, Will Brinson notes).

Johnson rebuilt Jared Goff‘s career, and while Goff and Williams are nearly polar opposites, I believe he can get Williams back on track, too. He’ll need to address the offensive line, assemble a staff for the first time (here are two names he’s eyeing) and, of course, coach up Williams. Jared Dubin outlines how he can most effectively do that last part.

• Dubin: “The single-biggest thing Johnson can do for Williams is give him some easy answers. Those were almost never available to him during his rookie season, and it showed. … The Lions ran play action or a screen pass on nearly 50% of Goff’s dropbacks, per Tru Media, while the Bears did the same on only 33.4% of Williams’ dropbacks. … Having a defined system with real structure and goals on a down-to-down basis should also make Williams feel more comfortable than he often did during his rookie year, when he at times looked like he was more focused on avoiding making negative plays than on making good ones.”

Here’s our updated coaching tracker.

⚽ Champions League Matchday 7 preview, picks

Today kicks off the penultimate week of the first ever UEFA Champions League league phase, and what a phase it’s been. More teams, more teams advancing and more games has led to more drama, James Benge writes, and there are zero teams locked into the top eight, which automatically advance to the round of 16.

Liverpool (vs. Lille) and Barcelona (vs. Benfica) can change that today. The Red Devils need a draw or better, and Barca needs a win.

Then there’s a large group of teams vying for spots in either the top eight or at least No. 9-24, which enter a playoff for a spot in the top 16. Bayern Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid both fall into that category (standings here), and our experts are split. Here’s Jonathan Johnson’s take:

• Johnson: “Atleti 1, Leverkusen 1 — A draw between these two feels about right given their respective positions which are separated by seven places, albeit just one single point with one game to go after this. A point or better here could make all the difference in terms of a top 8 finish — especially for Xabi Alonso‘s men who are currently in that band.”

You can see the full Matchday 7 schedule here and our experts’ predictions here.

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

⚽ We’re watching the UEFA Champions League. Here’s how.
🏀 Vanderbilt at No. 4 Alabama (M), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 14 Mississippi State at No. 6 Tennessee (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Knicks at Nets, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Arizona State at No. 23 West Virginia (M), 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 76ers at Nuggets, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV