Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: OHIO STATE BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2025 61 C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F 1. All They Do Is Win Not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Ohio State has won at least 11 games in 12 consecutive seasons. That's the longest streak in the nation, and Georgia is second with seven. Ohio State has punched a ticket to the College Football Playoff six times in the 11 seasons it has existed. That ranks as the third-most behind Alabama (eight) and Clemson (seven). Ryan Day, who owns a 68-10 record, got off to a shaky start in CFP games, going 1-4 in his first five cracks at it, but the Buckeyes' first two wins to begin this year's playoff run were as dominant as it gets, a 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round and a 41-21 win over No. 1 seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl. 2. Jeremiah Smith Is Unreal Jeremiah Smith is a true freshman. But he isn't like most other players his age. He's truly one of one. The No. 1 player in the class of 2024 per the On3 Industry Ranking, Smith had 70 catches for 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns entering the CFP semifinals. The Buckeyes have even given him the ball on the ground five times, and, of course, he took one of those carries into the end zone. Notre Dame yearns to have a player like Smith at his position, but the truth is the Fighting Irish don't even have a player like Ohio State's WR2. Senior Emeka Egbuka had 70 catches for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns going into the Cotton Bowl. 3. Will Howard Has Been Satisfactory There was some worry among Ohio State fans the Buckeyes' most talented (and paid for) roster of the Ryan Day era would not be taken full advantage of because Day put all of his eggs in the basket of a transfer quarterback from Kansas State, Will Howard. Obviously, Howard has made sure those worries haven't been completely well founded. He's got OSU in the national title game. Most impressively, Howard passed for 311 yards in the first round of the playoff versus Tennessee and 319 in the quarterfinals against Oregon. Five touchdown passes, no interceptions. He only hit 300- plus passing yards once in Ohio State's first 12 games. He's playing his best football of the season at just the right time. 4. The Defense Is Legit There aren't many defenses that make you question if Notre Dame has the edge on that side of the ball. Ohio State has one of them. The Buckeyes had the No. 1 scoring and total defense in the coun- try coming out of the quarterfinal round of the CFP. The playmakers the Buckeyes possess on that side of the ball are aplenty, from Alabama safety transfer Caleb Downs to linebackers Cody Simon and Sonny Styles to defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer. Notre Dame saw some of them in the two regular season games the Irish played against the Buckeyes in the last three seasons. In those games, the Irish only scored 10 points in 2022 and 14 points in 2023. Yep. Ohio State's defense is dang good. 5. Watch Out For RB Duo For the second game in a row, Notre Dame has to combat an elec- tric pair of running backs. It was Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Single- ton for Penn State, and now it's Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. The former had 174 carries for 924 yards and 10 touchdowns through the quarterfinals. The latter, who Ohio State would not have beaten Notre Dame without in 2023, had 126 carries for 925 yards and also 10 touchdowns. Judkins and Henderson are elite ball carriers, good enough players to give Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden and his group of guys headaches in the national title game. — Tyler Horka Five Things To Know About Ohio State Quarterback Will Howard was playing his best when it counted the most, throwing for 630 yards with 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in Ohio State's first two playoff victories. PHOTO COURTESY OHIO STATE