Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: OHIO STATE 60 FEBRUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F Notre Dame in the national title game. The Irish will take on the Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 20 at Mercedes- Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with a chance to bring home their first championship since 1988. DOMINANCE IN DECEMBER (AND JANUARY) With one throw from the 45-yard line, Will Howard changed the narrative. Howard, just more than 2 minutes into Ohio State's first-round matchup with No. 9 Tennessee in Columbus, Howard launched an absolute dime toward the left corner of the end zone, where fresh- man wide receiver Jeremiah Smith beat his man. The ball landed exactly where it needed to be, and Smith caught it for a 37-yard touchdown. The Buckeyes went 75 yards in 5 plays, and for the first time all season, they showed the world what they were truly capable of. Ohio State scored on its next two drives, too, with one touchdown each for the running back duo of senior TreV- eyon Henderson and junior Quinshon Judkins, and Ole Miss transfer. Smith finished with 6 receptions for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the Buckeyes won 42-17. "You're defined by the way you han- dle adversity in life, as a person, as a man, as a dad," Day said after the game. "To see the way that they responded in this game, you can tell from the jump that they had the look in their eye that they were going to win this game." Smith, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class, was just getting started. In the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Oregon on New Year's Day, he caught 7 passes for a whopping 187 yards and another 2 touchdowns. He was simply unguardable. "You guys see his ability, but to me it's the work ethic every day," Day said. "He comes in. He's serious. He doesn't say a whole lot. But when he does, people listen. His maturity, physically, emo- tionally and mentally has allowed him to play like this." Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said af- ter the game that Smith is NFL-ready, de- spite turning 19 years old the day before the Michigan game. He entered the national semifinals with 70 receptions for 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Howard did his part, too, dropping more touchdowns in the bucket to Smith and senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. The Egbuka throw showcased jaw-drop- ping accuracy, sailing nearly 40 yards into an extremely tight window. Oregon beat Ohio State at home in Eugene during the regular season. The Buckeyes might have been thinking about that game when they blitzkrieged the Ducks. They jumped out to a 34-0 lead and won 41-21. Finally, on Jan. 10, Ohio State beat Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl and punched its ticket to the title game. "At the end of the day, we wanted to win a national championship, and the way we got here wasn't what we ex- pected," Day said after the Rose Bowl. "But the players have stuck together and they're fighting to stay together, because the winner gets to play together another week. The loser doesn't." UNDENIABLE FAVORITES After Ohio State's complete demoli- tion of the Ducks, there was no longer any doubt about who had the most talented team in the country. NBC Sports' Nicole Auerbach wrote from Pasadena, Calif., that the Buckeyes became the "undeni- able favorite" to be the last team standing. "This is the Ohio State football team that was promised — and these Buck- eyes are more than capable of winning it all," Auerbach said. "There appears to be nothing anyone can do once this offense gets going this way." Oregon learned that the hard way. The Buckeyes gained 500 yards of total offense against the previously unde- feated Ducks, who had no answer for Howard or the running backs. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde agreed, writing that Ohio State looked "poised to roll to a national championship." "That shocking defeat [against the Wolverines], as a three-touchdown fa- vorite, was deemed the ruination of the Ohio State season," Forde wrote. "As it turns out, it was the salvation. Given three weeks to regroup and a playoff bracket that lacks Michigan, everything flipped." It's too strong to say — as Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said about his own cataclysmic loss — that falling to Michigan was the best thing that could have happened to Ohio State. There are fans in Columbus who will still want Day gone for that if he wins it all. But what it did do was awaken a sleeping giant, whom the Irish will have to slay in Atlanta. ✦ 2024 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Texas A&M W, 23-13 Sept. 7 Northern Illinois L, 16-14 Sept. 14 at Purdue W, 66-7 Sept. 21 Miami (Ohio) W, 28-3 Sept. 28 Louisville W, 31-24 Oct. 12 Stanford W, 49-7 Oct. 19 vs. Georgia Tech# W, 31-13 Oct. 26 vs. Navy^ W, 51-14 Nov. 9 Florida State W, 52-3 Nov. 16 Virginia W, 35-14 Nov. 23 vs. Army* W, 49-14 Nov. 30 at USC W, 49-35 Dec. 20 Indiana& W, 27-17 Jan. 2 vs. Georgia! W, 23-10 Jan. 9 vs. Penn State+ W, 27-24 Jan. 20 vs. Ohio State$ (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. # at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta ^ at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. * Shamrock Series at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y. & First round of the College Football Playoff ! CFP Quarterfinals in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans + CFP Semifinals in the Orange Bowl at Miami Gardens, Fla. $ CFP Championship Game at Atlanta 2024 OHIO STATE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Akron W, 52-6 Sept. 7 Western Michigan W, 56-0 Sept. 21 Marshall W, 49-14 Sept. 28 at Michigan State W, 38-7 Oct. 5 Iowa W, 35-7 Oct. 12 at Oregon L, 32-31 Oct. 26 Nebraska W, 21-17 Nov. 2 at Penn State W, 20-13 Nov. 9 Purdue W, 45-0 Nov. 16 at Northwestern W, 31-7 Nov. 23 Indiana W, 38-15 Nov. 30 Michigan L, 13-10 Dec. 21 Tennessee* W, 42-17 Jan. 1 vs. Oregon^ W, 41-21 Jan. 10 vs. Texas! W, 28-14 Jan. 20 vs. Notre Dame$ (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. * First round of the College Football Playoff ^ CFP quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl at Pasa- dena, Calif. ! CFP semifinals in the Cotton Bowl at Arling- ton, Texas $ CFP Championship Game at Atlanta