College Football Playoff title game matches Ohio State, Notre Dame: Three keys to game

The stage is set for one of the most highly anticipated national championship games in modern college football history.

You know the names. Notre Dame, perhaps the sport’s defining program, fresh off College Football Playoff wins against Indiana, Georgia and Penn State. Ohio State, another heavyweight, which has responded brilliantly to another loss to Michigan to end the regular season.

The Fighting Irish needed some help from Penn State to win 27-24 in the Orange Bowl. Down 10-0 late in the first half and 24-17 in the fourth, Notre Dame tied the game on a 54-yard touchdown pass with under five minutes to play and then took advantage of a costly interception by Drew Allar to hit the go-ahead field goal with 7 seconds remaining.

After rolling over Tennessee and Oregon, the Buckeyes’ 28-14 win against Texas in the Coton Bowl wasn’t put away until an interception by safety Caleb Downs late in the fourth quarter. Despite the unclean performance, Ohio State will be the favorite against the Irish.

Another source of pregame hype comes from the conclusion of the debut 12-team playoff format. While the new format has come under scrutiny for the selection and seeding process, the tournament has yielded a marquee matchup to decide the national championship — in other words, the playoff has been a success.

Here are the early keys and biggest storylines leading into the matchup on Monday, Jan. 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta:

Which Riley Leonard shows up?

For a time on Thursday night, Leonard was in line to shoulder the blame for a painful loss. His costly interception five minutes into the fourth quarter allowed the Nittany Lions to take a touchdown lead, though Leonard’s scoring pass to Jaden Greathouse on the ensuing possession evened the score.

Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) makes catch in the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-playoff-title-game-124229143.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-11 12:42:00

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