Previewing the 2025 College Football National Championship

Only two years ago, the Ohio State Buckeyes marched into Indiana and defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 17-14 in a crucial game for both programs. Now two years later and two major turnaround for both programs, they faceoff in the first ever 12-team playoff.

First, let's see how each team got to the National Championship.

Notre Dame came into this playoff with a dream matchup, facing an Indiana Hoosiers team that was too dull for the bright lights. But before they even got to the playoff, they were doubted from the very start of the season.

After former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard transferred to the Irish, expectations grew fast, but crumbled even quicker. In their second matchup of the season, chaos ensued. Riley Leonard would throw two crucial interceptions and only add on 16 total rushing yards against Northern Illinois in a 16-14 loss. Notre Dame's postseason hopes vanished due to the lack of a conference championship title and automatic playoff bid. But after 10-straight regular season wins, the Irish would find themselves as the seven seed in the CFP.

They would then march to the Sugar Bowl to take on the Georgia Bulldogs and defeat them in clean fashion. But with their hardest test on the line, the Irish, led by head coach Marcus Freeman, demanded respect from the doubters, defeating Penn State 27-24 in dramatic fashion. Now the Irish are looking for a pot of gold against their former foes on the biggest stage this season.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are no strangers to the greediness of success and this season is no different.

Ohio State led by head coach Ryan Day had the highest expectations going into the season after a "gold star" performance in the transfer portal. Adding former Ole Miss superstar and potential early Heisman candidate Quinshon Judkins. The Buckeyes would also add Kansas State QB Will Howard, who was one of the highest sought after quarterbacks in the portal. Early on, Howard and the rest of the Buckeyes showed promise of becoming national champions by blowing out team after team. But after a mental mistake and poor time management from Howard against the Oregon Ducks, Ohio State was deemed to be the "little brother" once again by the media. On the same hand, Ryan Day's job seemed more unsecure by each mistake.

Ohio State would get back on the rails against five more opponents before facing their biggest rivals; the Michigan Wolverines. From bad play calling to general poor play, the Buckeyes stayed in this game for too long and it bit them from behind.

The Buckeyes would end up losing to their foes for the fourth straight season. Two losses on the board and no Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes were staring down the wrong end of the barrel, heading to the CFP. Drawing the pesky Tennessee Volunteers in the first round, Ohio State came out guns blazing. True Freshman wide receiver Jeramiah Smith man handled the SEC bias and tossed it right back to the doubters. Racking up six catches for 103 yards and two scores. The Buckeyes would end up winning in blowout fashion 42-17.

With a chance to redeem themselves from earlier in the season, this game was much of the same for Smith and the Buckeyes. Smith tallied an absurd seven catches for 187 yards and two scores with Ohio State beating Oregon 42-21. The Buckeyes were back.

Although Smith wasn't effective against the Texas Longhorns, he frankly didn't need to be. With 175 total yards and three scores from the Buckeyes' running back duo of Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State topped the Longhorns 28-14 in their biggest game yet.

With the final game of the 2025 college football season only days away, one final prediction has to be made; who will win it all?

My preseason pick for the National Championship this season was the Ohio State Buckeyes. Although it may be a chalk pick, it's hard to beat talent. In tight games, you always have to rely on talent and the Buckeyes are loaded with it. Ohio State has the best backfield in the country with Howard, Henderson, and Judkins. Not to mention their receiving core with Smith, Emeka Ebuka, Carnell Tate, and Gee Scott Jr. All are phenomenal playmakers and can add a spark at any point during any game. This game is no different.

But it's not just the Buckeyes offense that has led them here, but their defense too. This year, the Buckeyes have reinvented their defense, becoming the hands down best defensive unit in all of college football. Led by Cody Simon and Jack Sawyer, this Buckeyes defense is no joke. Ohio State ranks first in opponent points per game, yards per game, points per play, yards per play, and red zone scoring percentage. They only allow an NCAA-best 161.1 passing yards per game along with the third best run defense in the country (90.3 rush yards/game).

Notre Dame's defense is good, but they aren't as good as the Buckeyes offense. The Irish offense is very good too, but that Buckeyes defense is magical this season.

Final score prediction: Ohio State beats Notre Dame 31-17.