Ohio State Football

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard chuckled at the viral moment when a woman crashed the golf cart he was riding in after the Buckeyes' 34-23 victory over Notre Dame.

Howard told TMZ Sports he was "dying laughing" in the moment.

"I thought it was so funny," he said. "But the poor girl, I feel terrible for her. Hopefully, she's bouncing back."

Howard, head coach Ryan Day and others were being transported through the tunnel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium when the driver failed to make a tight enough turn and collided with the wall. The cart was apparently rendered immobile as everybody got out and started walking toward the locker room.

As his interview with TMZ Sports shows, Howard made it through the ordeal and got back to Columbus, Ohio, safe and in one piece.

The mishap certainly wasn't going to dampen the Buckeyes' excitement after they claimed the ninth national title in program history.

Howard threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Quinshon Judkins had 100 yards and two scores on 11 carries. The OSU defense held the Fighting Irish to just 308 yards of total offense.

In the future, Ohio State personnel might want to steer clear of golf carts altogether after championship games. Memorable images seem to follow.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit was visibly emotional after his alma mater Ohio State defeated Notre Dame to win the national championship on Monday night, but he revealed that there was much more besides the victory that caused his reaction.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Herbstreit revealed that recent health scares for his wife Alison and his son Zak made the win for the Buckeyes carry even more weight in his mind.

"It was almost like a perfect storm for me," he said around the 1:25 mark. "My son had heart failure two years ago. They were talking about a heart replacement there for a while, and he had to medically retire. ... There was that side of it, looking down and seeing him in his jersey after potentially facing replacing your heart to that. I haven't really talked about this publicly, but Ali, my wife, faced some stuff. It's been a tough year for me behind the scenes. My wife got diagnosed with breast cancer. Ben dies. It was just a lot of emotion. And when you do what we do, you endure. You do your job."

Herbstreit praised Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his coaching staff for still embracing Zak and allowing him to remain with the program in what Herbstreit said is "almost like a [graduate assistant]" role. He and Alison were together in the broadcasting booth as they watched Zak and the rest of the Buckeyes celebrate the victory.

"It was almost like, I don't know, maybe a release of all that pent-up stuff, and it just got the best of me," Herbstreit added.

Following Ohio State's national championship win over Notre Dame on Monday night, one legendary head coach said he believes the team wouldn't have managed to reach this point without facing some adversity.

During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said he feels that the Buckeyes' 13-10 loss to Michigan in the final week of the regular season helped give them the fuel they needed for their run through the College Football Playoff.

"We won 19 games in a row twice at Alabama. And both times we lost to a team that wasn't as good as us. And it was because we could not deal with success. Starts to affect your preparation, your habits in practice. And those things start showing up in the game. And then you get exposed, and you get beat. So, I sometimes say, 'You need to lose,'" Saban explained.

"Like, I think the best thing that ever happened to Ohio State is getting beat by Michigan. Because they got criticized so much for that, and everybody was humiliated. And they stepped up their game since then and they played really, really good. But if they won that game, would they have that same sort of edge to them?"

Michigan was unranked when it upset Ohio State, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time. The loss dropped the Buckeyes to the No. 8 spot in the CFP.

Still, Ohio State ran through its competition, topping the 40-point mark in wins over No. 9 Tennessee and No. 1 Oregon before earning double-digit victories over No. 5 Texas and No. 8 Notre Dame.

The loss to the Wolverines undoubtedly didn't sit well with the Buckeyes, but they probably wouldn't mind doing it again if it results in another national championship.

Ohio State overcame adversity in the form of losses to Oregon and then arch-rival Michigan to roll through the College Football Playoff and emerge as national champions on Monday with a 34-23 win over Notre Dame.

It appears that the Buckeyes heard some criticisms along the way, specifically about the team's $20 million NIL roster, per Cameron Teague Robinson of The Athletic:

"The players had to learn how to block out the criticism and just play football. They heard the noise but had to ignore the comments about the $20 million roster that were thrown out after each loss."

Per On3's rankings of NIL valuations, Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith leads the way at $4 million. He was well worth it with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, including five scores during the Buckeyes' four-game CFP run.

Safety Caleb Downs ($2.3 million) also fared well this year with 48 tackles and a pair of interceptions, including one against Texas in the CFP semifinals. He helped Ohio State finish with the league's top scoring defense.

Quarterback Will Howard may have turned out to be Ohio State's most valuable NIL add, though, at a reported $1.2 million. The Kansas State transfer finished with 35 passing touchdowns and 4,010 passing yards. He was phenomenal in the national championship with 231 yards and two touchdowns on 17-of-21 passing in addition to 57 rushing yards.

Overall, it was money well spent for Ohio State, which earned its first national championship since 2014 and ninth overall.

Even though the vibes are incredibly strong for Ohio State fans toward Ryan Day following Monday's 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Championship Game, there were dark times for the head coach not that long ago.

R.J. Day, Ryan's son, told The Athletic's Bruce Feldman about the impact that threats from Buckeyes fans toward their family after the Nov. 30 loss to Michigan had.

"We had security at our house. School was really bad," R.J. said. "I didn't really leave the house much 'til after the Tennessee game (three weeks after the Michigan game, in the CFP first round). It was rough, but you've gotta hang on in those rough times because eventually things will turn back around again."

R.J. also said "it was not easy" everything they had to go through in the aftermath of the Michigan game:

"It was some of the hardest stuff I've ever had to deal with in my life; dealing with really grown men coming after me for something I didn't have a part of but just to see the joys and the tears in my sisters' face and my mom's and see the joy in my dad's face. It's a testament to how you just have to hang on when things are bad, and I'm just so happy for my dad and my family. I know how hard he works. I see the nights when he comes home at 1 a.m. and then goes back to work at 5 a.m. I see how much he puts into these kids, and to see the results and see him hoist that trophy with the smile on his face is something I'll never forget."

Stan Spirou, Day's father-in-law, told Feldman the threats "had a tremendous impact" on the immediate family, but that Ryan "never put any of it on the players or the coaching staff, and he just went to work."

Ohio State was on track to play Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game before the 13-10 loss to Michigan. Day has a 70-10 record as head coach, but he has lost four to the Wolverines in four consecutive years.

There were calls among analysts and fans for Day to be fired that got so prominent he was asked about it during a Dec. 4 press conference.

"I don't think I need to have a sales pitch. I feel their frustration. There's no way to defend losing four years in a row," Day said. "Sometimes, when you're really close and feel frustrated, you got to push through. And that's what we're gonna do."

Ohio State hasn't had a losing streak of at least four games against Michigan since a six-year winless streak in the rivalry from 1988 to '93 (0-5-1).

Thanks to the expanded 12-team playoff field this year, the Buckeyes made it in as the No. 8 seed. They made it through the playoff with relative ease, winning four games by a combined total of 70 points.

Monday's victory over Notre Dame gave Ohio State its first national title since the 2014 season.

The Ohio State football team will be making one more trip to the Horseshoe to cap off the 2024 season.

The Buckeyes announced they're staging a celebration Sunday at noon at Ohio Stadium to commemorate their 34-23 victory over Notre Dame, which secured their ninth national championship.

Fortunately for Central Ohio residents, the frigid temperatures in the area will warm up slightly by the weekend. The forecast calls for a wind chill between 27 and 31 degrees, which is better than the sub-zero conditions around Columbus at the moment.

The mood among Ohio State fans marks a stark contrast from where things were fewer than two months ago.

In the aftermath of the 13-10 defeat to Michigan, head coach Ryan Day looked like a dead man walking. The malaise within the fanbase was strong enough to where people wondered whether the first-round playoff matchup with Tennessee would effectively be a neutral-site game.

Now, everybody in Columbus is basking in the Buckeyes' run and Day's popularity is at an all-time high.

The version of Ohio State that showed up in the playoff was the team everyone always knew it could be.

OSU dismantled Tennessee and then Oregon in the Rose Bowl before pulling away from Texas in the Cotton Bowl. It was the same story in the title game. Notre Dame scored on the opening drive but then allowed 31 unanswered points. The Fighting Irish made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter, but they were by far second-best on the night.

Thanks to the transfer portal, it's much tougher to project out what a roster may look like for the next season.

Ohio State is losing some key seniors, most notably quarterback Will Howard, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive end Jack Sawyer and defensive end JT Tuimoloau. But the Buckeyes will probably be aggressive in hitting the portal once again after spending a king's ransom to assemble their championship-winning squad.

There's no reason why OSU can't return to the Horseshoe next January for another title coronation.

On a night when most things went right for Ohio State, there was one moment after its 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Championship Game that didn't go as planned.

A golf cart carrying head coach Ryan Day and quarterback Will Howard crashed into a wall inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The good news is no one seemed to be injured in the incident. It appeared the driver just underestimated how wide this golf cart, which is longer than the traditional four-person cart, takes turns.

Will Howard discussed the viral moment Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show:

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits about the moment. The Ohio State players seated behind Day, including Howard and linebacker Cody Simon, are seen laughing about what happened.

Monday night was the crowning achievement of Day's tenure with the Buckeyes. They dominated most of the game, building a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

Notre Dame did claw back with 16 unanswered points to make it a 31-23 score with 4:15 left to play. The Buckeyes iced the game with a field goal with 26 seconds remaining four plays after Jeremiah Smith's 56-yard reception on a third-and-11.

The victory gave Ohio States its ninth national title in program history and first since 2014. Day, whose job status was being questioned after losing to Michigan in the regular-season finale, got the team back on track in the playoff by defeating Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame by an average of 17.5 points.

Day has amassed a 70-10 record (46-5 in Big Ten play) during his tenure as Ohio State head coach.

Ohio State superstar freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith took to X after Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game to clap back at a Notre Dame fan.

The Notre Dame fan account posted one day before the national title game, noting that Smith would be entering the "no fly zone" against the Fighting Irish secondary. Smith responded with multiple crying laughing face emojis and a thumbs down emoji:

Ohio State prevailed 34-23, and Smith played a big role in the victory, recording five receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. His 56-yard catch on third-and-long with just over two minutes remaining essentially put the game away.

The 19-year-old Smith burst onto the scene this season as 247Sports' No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class. He lived up to the billing and then some.

Although there was plenty of hype surrounding Alabama freshman wideout Ryan Williams throughout the season, Smith eventually separated himself. He has plenty of accolades to show for it.

Smith was a first-team All-American, Big Ten Receiver of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, plus he was the Rose Bowl Offensive MVP in OSU's 41-21 win over Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals, as he went off for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

While Smith wasn't quite as dominant in the national title game, he was clutch as can be, catching a second-quarter touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7 on top of his late-game heroics.

The Buckeyes held a 31-7 lead over the Irish by the midway point of the third quarter, but Notre Dame staged a furious comeback to get within one score.

Jaden Greathouse caught a pair of touchdown passes and Notre Dame followed each score up with a successful two-point conversion, bringing the Irish with eight points of the Buckeyes with 4:15 left in the game.

Notre Dame got Ohio State to third-and-11 with 2:45 remaining. A stop would have resulted in the Irish getting the ball back with a chance to tie.

Instead, OSU offensive coordinator Chip Kelly took a chance by dialing up a deep pass to Smith in one-on-one coverage, and the freshman delivered. He hauled in a 56-yard pass down to the Notre Dame 10-yard line.

Kicker Jayden Fielding then made a 33-yard field goal to extend the lead to 11 with just 26 ticks left on the clock, and Ohio State's championship celebration got started in Atlanta.

Thanks to his performance in the title game, Smith finished his debut collegiate season with an astounding 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The exciting thing for Buckeyes fans and scary thing for the rest of college football is that Smith still has two years left in college before he can make the leap to the NFL.

Thanks to his presence alone, Ohio State has to be considered a candidate to repeat as national champs next season. Smith is already in the discussion as an early 2025 Heisman Trophy candidate as well.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day believes the adversity his team faced during the 2024 season fueled its quest for the national championship.

Following the Buckeyes' 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship Game on Monday in Atlanta, Day spoke about how the team "stuck together" throughout the tribulations.

"It's just sticking together, having each other's back," Day said. "Faith is huge with these guys. We built a foundation early in the season, and we knew we were going to have to withstand some storms along the way. We did, we stuck together, we hung in there like a family does when things get hard and we came out the back end."

The Buckeyes finish the season 14-2 with their only losses coming against Oregon and archrival Michigan. Ohio State was able to avenge the loss to the Ducks in the Rose Bowl, but the loss to the Wolverines came against a Michigan team that finished 8-5 and has now defeated the Buckeyes in the last four iterations of "The Game."

The loss to the Wolverines knocked the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game and relegated the program to the No. 8 seed in the CFP. This meant that they were the lower seed in three of their four games in the playoff and had to defeat a gauntlet of opponents that included Oregon.

Ohio State was playing its best in the postseason, outscoring opponents 145-75 across the four games. Day's comments show that the regular-season losses and the criticism that came from it served as motivation that the team used to emerge from the field as champions.

After leading Ohio State to its first national championship since 2014 with a 34-23 win over Notre Dame in Monday night's College Football Playoff final, head coach Ryan Day is taking home a solid bonus check.

Day entered the game with $500,000 in bonuses for the Buckeyes' run to the national title game, and he earned another $500,000 with the victory to push his bonus check to $1 million on top of his $10 million base salary.

Ohio State faced an early deficit after Notre Dame opened the game with an 18-play touchdown drive. However, the Buckeyes rattled off 31 straight points to help put the game out of reach.

When the Fighting Irish closed the gap to a one-score game, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard connected with receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard pass to set up a late field goal that sealed the victory.

Day had faced questions about his job security after an up-and-down year, but he quieted all the noise with Monday night's national title win. He will quickly turn the page to try to lead the Buckeyes to a second straight championship next season.