National Championship – Syndication Server

ESPN projects Notre Dame performance in 2026 College Football Playoff

See how the Irish would go here.

Notre Dame fans might still be smarting over the outcome of the 2025 College Football Playoff title game, but it’s time to look to 2026. At least that’s how ESPN sees it.

Very quickly after the Irish’s loss to Ohio State concluded, Mark Schlabach presented his 2025 Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings and placed the Irish fourth. Now, Bill Connelly has presented his initial projections for the 2026 College Football Playoff, something he safely could do given the format will be unchanged from 2025.

The Irish are slotted as the seventh seed and host of a first-round game, but the bigger story in this scenario is their first opponent would be LSU. What’s more, this projection has the Irish beating the Tigers in a game that Brian Kelly surely never would live down.

Alas, this projection also has Penn State getting revenge on the Irish in the Rose Bowl en route to winning the national title. At least there’s no shame in losing to the last team standing:

https://www.instagram.com/on3/p/DFYLrobx-b9/?hl=en

Welcome to college football, where predictions never take time off.

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Stetson Bennett’s national championship performance remains top mark

Former UGA football QB Stetson Bennett still has the No. 1 national championship performance in the CFP era

Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett still has the highest graded national championship game performance according to Pro Football Focus.

Bennett completed 18 of 25 passes for 304 passing yards and threw four touchdowns and no interceptions in Georgia’s dominant 65-7 national title win over TCU. Bennett also added 39 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on three carries.

Bennett finished the national championship with a QBR of 99.5. No other quarterback has a highest QBR against a Power Four opponent (includes regular and postseason) over the past three seasons.

PFF graded Bennett’s national championship performance as 94.1, which is significantly higher than any other quarterback.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota posted a grade of 90.8 in 2014, which is the second-best mark. LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow has the third-best grade in a national title game at 90.6 in 2019. Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard recorded a 88.6 grade in the Buckeyes’ recent national title win over Notre Dame.

Bennett’s national championship performance against TCU was one for the ages and any other quarterback will have a hard time topping his QBR grade or PFF grade any time soon.

Of course, Bennett’s first national championship victory against Alabama did not have as high of a grade, but that doesn’t matter to Bennett or Georgia fans. What matters is that UGA won two national championships.

Shane Gillis spoke with Notre Dame ahead of College Football Playoff title game

The man loves his Irish.

Whether you enjoy Shane Gillis or can’t stand him, there’s no questioning his Notre Dame fandom. This past season especially, Gillis was seen around the Irish or talking about them often. As long as he’s at the height of his popularity, we should expect to see a lot more of him when it comes to the Irish.

To that end, Gillis was involved with the Irish in the hours leading up to the College Football Playoff title game against Ohio State. In an appearance on “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” he revealed he spoke to the team that morning.

While Gillis didn’t disclose the nature of his speech, he said most of the Irish players were excited to see him. Clearly, his fandom is known among those on the Irish’s roster, and it’s great to hear he received that reaction.

Here’s the portion of the podcast where Gillis talks about his experience:

Hopefully the next time the Irish get to play for a national championship, Gillis’ luck rubs off a little better.

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Final 2024 Big Ten football standings after Ohio State’s national title win

A Big Ten program hoisted the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy for the second consecutive season. That became the case on Monday night when Ohio State defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in the title game.

The result creates an interesting end-of-year look at the Big Ten landscape. The Buckeyes finished the regular season in fourth place before making the 12-team CFP as the No. 8 seed and going on a historic run to the title.

That result will redefine how we discuss the sport and its regular season. Ohio State lost critical regular-season games to Oregon and Michigan. Those losses held it out of the Big Ten title game. But given the reality of the new format, they weren’t a hindrance to the team’s national title quest.

Aside from that upcoming discussion about what Ohio State’s title means, it did clearly maintain the Big Ten’s position as the best conference in the sport.

Here is a final look at its standings after Monday’s national title result:

Full Big Ten football standings after the 2024 season

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and his team celebrate with the CFP National Championship trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Oregon Ducks (13-1, 9-0 Big Ten) — conference champion, CFP quarterfinal loss to Ohio State
Penn State Nittany Lions (13-3, 8-1 Big Ten) — conference runner-up, CFP semifinal loss to Notre Dame
Indiana Hoosiers (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten) — CFP first round loss to Notre Dame
Ohio State Buckeyes (14-2, 7-2 Big Ten) — CFP national champion
Illinois Fighting Illini (10-3, 6-3 Big Ten)
Iowa Hawkeyes (8-5, 6-3 Big Ten)
Michigan Wolverines (8-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
USC Trojans (7-6, 4-5 Big Ten)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-6, 4-5 Big Ten)
Washington Huskies (6-7, 4-5 Big Ten)
Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-6, 3-6 Big Ten)
UCLA Bruins (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten)
Michigan State Spartans (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten)
Wisconsin Badgers (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten)
Northwestern Wildcats (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten)
Maryland Terrapins (4-8, 1-8 Big Ten)
Purdue Boilermakers (1-11, 0-9 Big Ten)

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2025 NFL draft: CFP National Championship full of Steelers prospects

The Steelers could put together a great draft just from players in the CFP National Championship.

If you watched the CFP National Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, you got to see some truly impressive talent, many of which are going to be in the 2025 NFL draft.

In fact, if you are the Pittsburgh Steelers, you could probably build the bulk of your 2025 draft out of players in this game. Here are the top prospects from the game the Steelers could target.

Ohio State

QB Will Howard (3rd round)

RB Quinshon Judkins (2nd round)

RB Tre’Veyon Henderson (3rd round)

WR Emeka Egbuks (1st round)

OT Josh Simmons (2nd round)

G Donovan Jackson (2nd round)

DT Tyleik Williams (1st/2nd round)

CB Denzel Burke (4th round)

Notre Dame

QB Riley Leonard (4th round)

DT Howard Cross (4th round)

DT Rylie Mills (4th round)

CB Benjamin Morrison (1st round)

S Xavier Watts (2nd round)

If the Steelers went with Egbuka in the first, Judkins in the second and Howard in the third, it would look quite unusual but would work to get the Steelers offense on track.

Notre Dame might not have the same caliber of players but we love safety Xavier Watts and his ability to play corner and safety would make him a great option for the Steelers as well.

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Photos of Notre Dame loss to Ohio State in CFP title game

Images from a night that was memorable despite the unhappy ending.

Notre Dame players, coaches and fans will vary in reaction to losing to Ohio State, 34-23, in the College Football Playoff title game. Some will be able to look past it and instead focus on the incredible season that allowed the Irish to get to this point. Others will be angry and upset, lamenting over what could have been.

Whatever the case, this will be a night to remember if only for the fact that the Irish got to play in the final game of the season and nearly completed a late comeback. Only time will tell whether this was their best shot at breaking their national championship drought for awhile or motivation to finally finish the job next season. Either way, their path to redemption will start with their 2025 season opener at Miami.

While you might not necessarily want to reminisce about a night that will sting, we thought you might enjoy some photos from this game anyway:

Notre Dame’s furious 4th quarter comeback falls short against Ohio State in CFP Championship game

The Irish’s luck ran out

For three quarters it looked like Ohio State was going to win the first 12-team College Football Playoff Championship fairly easily over Notre Dame, a late rally by the Irish put some doubt into that but the Buckeyes prevailed and won 34-23.

Ohio State led 31-7 midway through the third quarter, but the Irish started its comeback. Notre Dame would score 16-unanswered points to cut the lead to 31-23, but time wasn’t on their side.

The Buckeyes would bleed out of clock after the final Notre Dame score, and would kick a 33-yard field goal to seal the deal.

It was a great season for the Irish, who went 14-2, defeated the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs, and two Big Ten foes in Indiana and Penn State in the CFP.

Notre Dame earned plenty of respect nationally, as they overcame an early loss to Northern Illinois then reeled off 13-straight wins to make the championship game. Unfortunately, the final game didn’t go their way, but it was still a great season.

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

So close, and yet, so far.

For a fleeting moment, Notre Dame still had a chance in the College Football Playoff title game. In a season where the amazing has happened repeatedly, why not one more such occurrence?

We’ll never know the events that occurred in another universe, but in this one, Ohio State is the national champion after beating the Irish, 34-23.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Emeka Egbuka was on his way to a long reception, but [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] knocked the ball out of his clutches, and [autotag]Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa[/autotag] recovered it. Suddenly, the Irish had the ball in a 31-15 game.

[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] completed a 30-yard pass to [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], and a couple of defensive holding calls against the Buckeyes set the Irish up with a first-and-goal. Three plays went nowhere, and instead of going for it on fourth down like most teams in such a situation should, the Irish opted to send [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] out for a 27-yard field-goal attempt. The kick doinked off the left upright, and the chance for points off turnovers was gone.

The Irish’s defense then forced the first Buckeyes punt of the game, and the offense badly needed points to still have a chance. It got them when Leonard fired another 30-yard pass to Greathouse, this time with Greathouse making a great catch in the end zone. Leonard then flipped the ball to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag], who fired to [autotag]Beaux Collins[/autotag] to complete the two-point conversion and make it a one-score game.

Again, the Irish placed the Buckeyes’ offense in a tough spot, third-and-11 to be exact at their own 34-yard line. But that’s when Will Howard decided to air it out and fire a 56-yard pass to an open Jeremiah Smith, who caught the ball before being stopped at the Irish’s 10. Any real hope the Irish had was snuffed out on a play that Buckeyes fans will reminisce about forever.

The Buckeyes ran the ball a few times, milked the clock, and the matter officially was put to rest with a Jayden Fielding 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left. The Irish were left to wonder what could have been, and the party in Columbus was underway.

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Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Third-Quarter Analysis

It’s not over yet, but the Irish better do something quickly.

If Notre Dame wants to win the College Football Playoff title game over Ohio State now, it better make its move quickly. Only 15 minutes remain, and the third quarter showed the Irish are no closer to slowing down the Buckeyes. They trail, 31-15.

Any hopes of the Irish seizing momentum after halftime were snuffed out on the second play of the quarter, which saw Quinshon Judkins run for 70 yards. Three plays later, Judkins had his fourth touchdown since the Irish had gotten a first down when he ran into the end zone from right next to the goal line.

On the Irish’s first possession of the second half, they promptly turned the ball over on downs after [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] couldn’t handle a fourth-down pass from [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag]. That set the Buckeyes up in good field position, but to the Irish’s credit, they allowed only one first down this time. Still, the Buckeyes added onto their lead when Jayden Fielding kicked a 46-yard field goal.

The Irish finally broke their first-down drought when they took the ball back, albeit on a third-down pass interference call. But that proved to at least momentarily spark something within the Irish’s offense as it moved the ball better than it had since the opening drive.

This particular drive culminated with [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag]’s pass to [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], who had enough space to score a 34-yard touchdown. Leonard then threw a short pass to [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] for the two-point conversion. Just like that, the Irish had life again.

The momentum was snuffed out on the next possession though when [autotag]RJ Obe[/autotag]n was penalized for roughing the passer. The Buckeyes already were starting to drive, and this put them in Irish territory. That’s where we stand, and the Irish are in trouble.

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Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Second-Quarter Analysis

Do the Irish have a miracle in them in the second half?

If Notre Dame thought the opening drive of the College Football Playoff title game meant the whole thing would be easy, it was wrong. Even if it didn’t think that, it knew what Ohio State was capable of once it got the ball. Case in point, the Buckeyes have a 21-7 halftime lead.

Early in the second quarter, the Buckeyes finished their first offensive drive that began in the first quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins to tie the game. So both teams have drawn blood during their first turns with the ball.

The tide finally turned when the Irish, aided by a couple of damaging penalties, couldn’t pick up a first down on their second possession. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, saw their second possession last over six minutes wit a mix of runs and passes, and they converted on two third downs en route to Judkins scoring his second touchdown on a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line.

The Irish responded by going three-and-out again, and they nearly had a costly turnover when [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] got in the way of a snap while in motion. While there was no turnover on the play, it was a metaphor for what had become of the Irish’s offense.

The defense was a little better when the Buckeyes got the ball back, but it still gave up a couple of third-down conversions. That allowed the Buckeyes’ offense to find its footing, and it never saw another third down the rest of the drive. That meant another touchdown, and it was Judkins’ third of the quarter, this time on a 6-yard pass from Will Howard.

The Irish’s offense conceded the rest of the half, even with the knowledge that the Buckeyes will get the ball to begin the second half. Needless to say, the Irish have a lot of work to do to regain control of this game. Otherwise, the Buckeyes will be celebrating at the end of it.

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