Atlanta The longest and most bizarre college football season anyone has ever witnessed comes to an end Monday night. The teams vying for the championship—Ohio State and Notre Dame—are about the only thing that seems typical about it.
The sport’s first 12-team playoff will conclude with a championship game between two of the nation’s most illustrious institutions. The previous latest finish in history was seven days earlier than the one on January 20.
For both teams, this is Game No. 16, which is an almost unprecedented number for a sport that, for decades, concluded with 11 or 12 games on or around New Year’s Day.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden remarked, “I feel like we’ve been in the postseason since Week 3.”
In most seasons, the Fighting Irish’s hopes of winning a championship would have ended in Week 3. Marcus Freeman, their head coach, has the opportunity to become the first African American coach to win college football’s top honor.
The modest, unknown Northern Illinois had defeated Freeman & Co. the week before. With that kind of loss on the resume, it was difficult to see any route to a championship if the playoffs had remained a four-team competition, as they had been for the previous ten years.
Things have changed now that 12 teams are involved, the result of years of backroom deals fueled by billions of dollars in television revenue, some of which will soon be distributed to the players. Not just Notre Dame is appreciative of that.
In addition to feeling like a season-ending defeat, Ohio State’s 13–10 setback to rival Michigan over Thanksgiving weekend had many screaming for the dismissal of Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.
Day lost to the Wolverines for the fourth time in a row, and this time, Ohio State was favored by 20 points and seemingly headed for a Big Ten championship. According to the tale, winning the national championship was the coach’s only chance to keep his job after the defeat.
And now we are.
According to Day, there are some amazing tales of what was discussed behind closed doors and some of the issues brought up following the Michigan game. But only if a banner is raised will their stories be told.
Inside the numbers
In the game, keep an eye out for the following:
Riley Leonard, the quarterback for Notre Dame, is a two-way threat. He has ran for 16 and thrown for 19 touchdowns. To account for Leonard’s potential, Ohio State’s defense, which leads the league in both points and yards allowed, may need to add a defender near the line. … This season, Notre Dame’s defense has forced 32 turnovers and scored 151 points off of them, which is a national high. The Irish’s chances of pulling off an upset are likely to depend on winning that struggle once more. … In the semifinals, Ohio State’s most prolific playmaker, receiver Jeremiah Smith, was bottled up. Against Texas, he made one catch for three yards. Five starters for Notre Dame’s defense have suffered season-ending injuries. The replacements will need to find a method to silence Smith once more if they want to win.
— AP National Writer Eddie Pells
