CNN
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The longest college football season in history has just one game left. One hundred and thirty-two teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) saw their seasons end, and only two remain: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The Fighting Irish will look to end a long drought, having not been national champions since 1988. The Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014, but they will have been disappointed not to add at least one additional title in the series. years since thanks to their always strong teams.
Monday evening is the opportunity to change all that. Here’s everything you need to know about the CFP National Championship.
The national championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame begins Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Recent results indicate that Ohio State is the heavy favorite for the title. The Buckeyes have beaten the Fighting Irish in each of the last two seasons, haven’t lost to Notre Dame since before World War II and have had an easier postseason.
After comfortably defeating Tennessee and Oregon in the first round and the Rose Bowl respectively, Ohio State beat an excellent Texas team 28-14 in the semifinals thanks to two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
In Will Howard, the team has a quarterback whose rating is just behind Cam Ward, Miami’s star this season. The 23-year-old has accumulated 3,779 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions to add to his 169 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Receiver Jeremiah Smith is often on the end of Howard’s passes – the true freshman has 71 receptions for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns.
On paper, the Buckeyes simply have more quality than their opponents. But the Fighting Irish’s playoff run has been characterized by grit and determination, and head coach Marcus Freeman will instill that same never-say-die attitude in his players.
A comfortable 27-17 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers was followed by a 23-10 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in difficult circumstances – the Sugar Bowl was delayed a day due to the New York terrorist attack. Orleans.
In the semifinals, the Fighting Irish found themselves trailing Penn State 10-3 at halftime, but a big second half from Riley Leonard and a Mitch Jeter basket with seven seconds remaining proved the difference then that Notre Dame won 27-24.
Leonard will once again be crucial if ND wants to get anything out of this game. The senior has 2,606 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns and just eight interceptions this season. Combined with his 16 rushing touchdowns and leadership skills that his teammates and coaches regularly highlight, it’s no surprise that Leonard was named offensive MVP of the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl.
In a twist of fate, Leonard and Howard were roommates at Manning Passing Academy last summer. The former revealed this week that he even texted Archie Manning every day before the finale.
However, despite the offensive quality of the field, there is a good chance that Monday’s match will be decided by the team with the better defense.
Statistically, the Buckeyes have the best defense in college football this season, by a number of metrics. This was never more evident than in the semifinals, when Jack Sawyer beat Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth down with two minutes left, forcing a fumble before recovering the ball and running 83 yards for the touchdown to secure the victory. as well as his own place as a school legend.
The Fighting Irish are also excellent defensively, second only to Ohio State in points allowed average and passing yards average allowed. But Notre Dame fans are hoping long-term injuries to Benjamin Morrison, Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore don’t finally catch up with their defense.
“We have to play our best against Notre Dame. It’s a very, very good team. It’s a very resilient team. They play together. I think Riley Leonard is a tremendous leader, a tremendous player and a winner, and his coaching staff does a great job. I have a lot of respect for their players and their coaches. This is going to be an all-out battle, and we know it. We have to play our best game this season in the last one.
“These are the types of games where this scene is on the verge of becoming legend. I think these guys know that. But again, all the focus, and I know I sound like a broken record on this, has to be on the next game. If we think that everything we’ve done so far has anything to do with what’s going to happen in this game, we’re dead wrong. So completely wipe that slate clean, and then we’ve got to go back and have the discipline to continue to do the job that we’ve done over the last three games before this one.
“There will be time to tell the story after the season, but the only way to tell the story is to win.”
“I have to pinch myself sometimes and say, ‘Man, I’m in the national championship.’ But at the same time, it’s where we expected. We prepared for this season saying that if we wanted to come out of it saying it was a success, we would have to play 16, 17 games, and here we are. So I’m just proud of our guys, that we got to this point. But as I said last week, the work is not done. It’s not over until we win.
“We’ve come this far, but it really doesn’t mean anything if we don’t finish it the right way and win this one. It’s the national championship, hopefully we won’t need much more motivation than that. All our goals and aspirations are here before us.
“(Notre Dame’s defense) is doing a great job. They face a lot of men and want to challenge you. I think they do a really good job of being physical, but also smart. They don’t get a lot of penalties. They follow the guys very well. Obviously they’re missing their guy, Morrison, but I think 29 (cornerback Christian Gray) and 15 (cornerback Leonard Moore) do a great job as well. Number 1 (safety Jordan Clark) in the slot is a solid player. Number 0 (safety Xavier Watts) is a stud. They have guys everywhere. But we also have guys.
“If you need that (Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State last year) to motivate you to get ready for this game, then you’re the wrong person. This is reality. We don’t need motivation to prepare for this match.
“We are fortunate to be in the national championship game. It’s not about the past. This is the opportunity we have in front of us, and we will continue to focus on this opportunity in front of us.
“It would be something special. Obviously, this place hasn’t won a national championship since 1988, and every year the aspirations are to win a national championship. That’s why all these players choose to come to Notre Dame, one of the reasons is to be part of a program that can win a national championship.
“I think that’s something they’ll be able to say for the rest of their lives is that they were part of a national football team. There’s a lot of work to do to get to this result, and that’s what we need to focus on, but it would be special for this university and for these players who have put in so much work to get the results we have . »
“I thought it (advancing the national championship) would happen. That’s why I came here. Even my girlfriend, I was talking to her the other day, and a bunch of people were texting her like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you made it, it’s crazy.” Even she said, “Riley, that’s not that surprising. We expected this.
“It’s really cool to have those nightly conversations with him (Ohio State quarterback Howard, when the two were roommates at Manning Passing Academy) about life and whatever. Seeing where we are now, it’s really cool because he’s a person that I respect a lot, and obviously, I always try to support other quarterbacks in college, especially after meeting them at this camp because that you realize we’re all just guys. , they’re just kids trying to play the best they can for our teams and our universities. Every time I get a chance to see how he’s doing, I try to watch.
“Obviously it would mean everything to me (to win). It’s kind of something I’ve dreamed of my whole life. Being at a school like this and being able to represent a school like this and lead them so far to a national championship, it’s truly an honor and something I don’t take for granted.
“I am very proud to wear the blue and gold. I know our fans have been very loyal to this program for a very long time, through the ups and downs since 1988. It would be an honor to offer them another one.