Good morning, and welcome back to CFB Roundup from CFB Home – the first daily newsletter that’s all college football, all the time with no bias, no slant, and no fluff.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS:

Ohio State Scores 31 Straight, Then Fends Off Notre Dame’s Comeback Attempt to Win National Championship

Ohio State looked like it was quite literally running away with the National Championship before Notre Dame made it interesting in the 4th quarter. Ultimately, it was a play made by true freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith that iced this one away as the Buckeyes are National Champions once again.

Notre Dame opened with an 18-play drive that took up almost 10 minutes of clock to go up 7-0 before Ohio State responded with an 11-play drive of its own that brought the game into the second quarter. That Ohio State touchdown was the first of 4 unanswered touchdowns plus a field goal. It wasn’t until late in the 3rd quarter that Notre Dame looked alive again, scoring a touchdown with about 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter to make the score 31-15. With a little over 9 minutes to go, one of the biggest decisions of the game came on a 4th and Goal from the 9, when Marcus Freeman sent out kicker Mitch Jeter to try and make it a 13-point game, instead of attempting to make it a one-possession game. Jeter missed, so the score was still 16.

Notre Dame would make it 31-23 with a touchdown later in the 4th, with just over 4 minutes to go and still having all 3 timeouts to try and get the ball back. After getting the ball back, Ohio State was facing a 3rd and 11. With the Irish selling out to stop the run, Ohio State made a gutsy call and threw a go route to Jeremiah Smith, well over 50 yards down the field. Howard made the throw and Smith made the catch, and Ohio State tacked on a field goal after running down the clock as much as they could, making it 34-23 with 26 seconds remaining.

Ohio State looked so strong, finishing 9/12 on 3rd down (compared to 5/12 on 3rd down and 8/16 on conversion downs for Notre Dame). The Buckeyes also finished with more yards by a decisive 445-308 edge, averaging 7.18 yards per play to Notre Dame’s 5.31 yards per play.

For the Irish, QB Riley Leonard and WR Jaden Greathouse were the most impactful Notre Dame players offensively. Leonard finished 22/31 for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns while also leading the Irish with 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. RBs Jadarian Price (3/13) and Jeremiyah Love (4/3; 2/5 receiving) did not really do much. In the receiving game, Jaden Greathouse led all receivers in the game, with 6/128/2.

For Ohio State, the offensive player of the game was Will Howard. Howard finished 17/21 (including 13/13 to start) for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also contributing 57 rushing yards. RB Quinshon Judkins led all rushers in this game with 11 carries for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a massive 70-yard rush that looked like it might blow this game open for the Buckeyes in the 3rd quarter. Judkins also finished with 2 catches for 21 yards and a receiving touchdown to complete the hat trick.

Jeremiah Smith (5/88/1) and Emeka Egbuka (6/64) were Howard’s main targets, getting a majority of the receptions.

With the win, this is claimed National Championship number 9 (1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014, 2024) and the first since winning the first 4-team Playoff in 2014. 14 wins in one season also ties a program record (2014: 14-1, 2002: 14-0).

For Notre Dame, 14-2 is still the most wins in program history, as the previous high was 12 in 2018, 2012, 1989, and 1988, though 1988’s 12-0 effort was awarded a National Championship, which is certainly worth more than the extra couple of wins.

This will also likely be another Top 4 finish in the AP Poll for Notre Dame, the Irish’s 20th such season but the first since 2012. This would be the 17th Top 3 finish if Notre Dame finishes 2nd or 3rd, and the 14th Top 2 finish if Notre Dame finishes ranked behind only Ohio State, but the first time since Notre Dame finished 2nd in 1993.

Ohio State AD Ross Bjork Calls Out Critics of Ryan Day

Ohio State AD Ross Bjork shared some impassioned thoughts about those who have been critiquing Coach Ryan Day lately.

Via Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Bjork said, “there’s no way he should through the stuff, especially his family. It’s one thing to criticize play calling, but the personal stuff is uncalled for. And what I hope that people really take away from this is we have the best coach in the country.”

One of the biggest criticisms of Coach Day was a supposed poor record in big games and against rivals, and while his 0-4 record against Michigan in the last four seasons is what it is, winning a National Championship by beating a very good Tennessee team, the #1 team in Oregon, one of the top SEC teams in Texas, and the national runner-up in Notre Dame is one of the hardest paths in college football history, and this Ohio State team looked excellent and poised in the face of difficult matchup after difficult matchup.

Will Howard Praises OC Chip Kelly’s Crunch Time Play Calling

Late in the game, Will Howard connected with Jeremiah Smith on a 3rd Down play that would prove to be one of the two or three most impactful plays in the entire game that helped give Ohio State the win.

Howard was asked by ESPN’s Rece Davis after the game about the play call, and Howard gave the credit to Coach Chip Kelly, saying, “man, they were running man coverage. I said, ‘hey, I’m going to go let this thing loose for No. 4 and let him make a play on it.’ That was an unbelievable play, unbelievable play call, man. It took some nuts to call that. So, that was a fitting way to end it.”

Marcus Freeman Clarifies Controversial 4th Down Decision

On 4th and Goal from roughly the 8 or 9-yard-line with 9:26 to go, down 16 points, Marcus Freeman sent out kicker Mitch Jeter to attempt roughly a 25 or 26-yard kick to cut the lead from 16 points to 13 points.

Many online pointed out that kicking the field goal would still keep it at a 2-score game with the clock not on the Irish’s side. Jeter would go on to doink the kick off the left upright, so the score was still 16 anyways, but many did not understand the decision-making process.

Coach Freeman said of the decision, “I think it was 4th and 9 or 10. And I just thought, instead of being down 16, let’s try to go down 13. I know it’s still a two-score game, but you have a better probability of getting 14 points than you do 16 points. If it was a shorter 4th and Goal situation, I probably would’ve gone for it. But, I just felt 4th and 9 was not a great chance for us to make that. I decided to kick it, and we didn’t make it.”

Report: Notre Dame DC Al Golden Top Target for Bengals DC Position

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo are reporting that Notre Dame DC Al Golden is the top target for the Cincinnati Bengals DC opening.

Golden was a major hire for Coach Marcus Freeman ahead of the 2022 season, and since, Coach Golden has delivered. This past season, the Irish defense ranked 9th in yards per game and 2nd in points allowed per game, behind only Ohio State.

Golden previously spent time with the Bengals, coaching Linebackers for Cincinnati from 2020-21.

Nick Saban Calls Future of College Football Unsustainable

Nick Saban spent some time on The Pat McAfee Show yesterday ahead of the National Championship focusing on how the sport could be improved, and what needs to change for the long-term health of the sport, including reining in NIL.

“All I’m saying? The people out there need to know this model is unsustainable. It’s not good for players. Players need to get compensated, no doubt. But it has to be done in a way where, you know, in some kind of way, have competitive balance, you know, and that every school has the same thing. One school can’t spend $30 million for players while another school is spending $3 million.”

Saban believes we should be looking to law makers, “I mean, people I Congress – I don’t care who, has to get off their butt and do something.”

On3’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings

On3’s Ari Wasserman and Andy Staples each made their way-too-early Top 25 and averaged out their rankings to come up with On3’s rankings ahead of the 2025 season:

1. Texas

2. Ohio State

3. Oregon

4. Penn State

5. Notre Dame

6. Georgia

7. Illinois

8. South Carolina

9. Florida

10. Clemson

11. Auburn

12. Michigan

13. Tennessee

14. Alabama

15. LSU

16. BYU

17. Arizona State

18. Oklahoma

19. Texas A&M

20. Kansas State

21. Miami

22. SMU

23. Indiana

24. Georgia Tech

25. Nebraska

RV: Texas Tech, Iowa State, Missouri, Duke, Washington

Texas Transfer TE Amari Niblack Transfers to Texas A&M

Texas transfer TE Amari Niblack committed to Texas A&M yesterday.

Niblack started his career at Alabama before transferring from the Longhorns to the Aggies. He only caught 5 passes for 33 yards in 2024, but put up 327 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2023 for Alabama.

Niblack was the #1 tight end transfer last offseason, but after not being a man option in Coach Sarkisian’s offense, he is now the 19th ranked TE in the transfer portal this offseason.

ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings

ESPN released their Way-Too-Early Top 25 late a couple nights ago as the football season turns into talking season:

1. Ohio State

2. Texas

3. Penn State

4. Notre Dame

5. Georgia

6. Oregon

7. Clemson

8. LSU

9. BYU

10. South Carolina

11. Iowa State

12. Alabama

13. Illinois

14. Arizona State

15. SMU

16. Kansas State

17. Indiana

18. Florida

19. Tennessee

20. Louisville

21. Michigan

22. Texas A&M

23. Miami

24. Boise State

25. Ole Miss

Report: Tampa Replacing Dallas for 2029 National Championship

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy has shared that Dallas is being replaced as the host site of the 2029 National Championship by Tampa.

The future National Championships include Miami (2026), Las Vegas (2027), New Orleans (2028), now Tampa (2029), and Miami, again (2030). Apparently, there is a scheduling issue in 2029 in Dallas.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2026 3-Star (88) EDGE Carter Buck commits to TCU

2026 3-Star (86) CB Justin Lewis commits to North Carolina

3-Star (81) CB Elisha Canales commits to Fresno State

2-Star (76) EDGE Kade Friesen commits to Ferris State

2026 Unrated DL Duncan McGhee commits to TCU

2026 Unrated ATH DJ Biggins commits to Boston College

2026 Unrated ATH Gerald Green Jr. commits to Boston College