Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJan 20, 2025, 11:20 PM ET
CloseSenior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of GeorgiaOpen Extended Reactions
ATLANTA — Maybe Ohio State football fans will like coach Ryan Day now.
Fifty-one days after suffering the worst loss of his career, Day guided the No. 8 Buckeyes to their first national championship in 10 years with a 34-23 victory over No. 7 Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship game presented by AT&T on Monday night.
“The story gets to get told now,” Day said. “It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have overcome some really tough situations. There was a point where there was a lot of people that counted us out, and we just kept swinging and kept fighting.
“It’s the reason you get into coaching, to see guys overcome things, learn life lessons and then reach their dreams. This is what happened tonight.”
The Buckeyes led the Irish 31-7 midway through the third quarter, but the Irish trimmed their deficit to eight points with a little more than four minutes remaining.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to