Ohio State's Will Howard Wins 2025 College Football National Championship MVP
Jan 21, 2025
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 20: Quarterback Will Howard #18 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball during the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard has been named the Offensive MVP of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after leading his team to a 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to claim the 2025 national title.
The senior threw for 231 yards, rushed for 57 yards and added two touchdowns on an 81 percent completion rate in the victory.
The Buckeyes claimed their ninth national championship with a dominant win over the Fighting Irish, marking their first title since 2014.
In addition to Howard's accolade, Ohio State's senior linebacker Cody Simon earned the Defensive MVP award after recording eight total tackles and leading the defense in the win.
Howard had 144 passing yards and two touchdowns in the first half after leading the Buckeyes to a commanding 21-7 lead. He started off the game completing a perfect 13-of-13 passes and finished the half 14-of-15.
After going scoreless in the first quarter, the takeover started with an eight-yard dime from Howard to Jeremiah Smith for six. A nine-yard run by Quinshon Judkins added another score, followed by Howard leading the Buckeyes down the field in 12 plays to capitalize with a six-yard pass to Judkins, giving Ohio State a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Will Howard's family, LeBron and Ryan Day's reactions to Howard's dagger to Jeremiah Smith 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LD5d1af76J
Howard slowed down after halftime, but added 87 yards to his total, capping off the victory with a 56-yard throw to Jeremiah Smith on 3rd and 11 to convert on a game-sealing first down, followed by a successful field goal.
Following the victory, the senior's draft stock could soar.
Ohio State Beats Notre Dame To Win CFP Title as Fans Celebrate Will Howard, Ryan Day
Jan 21, 2025
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Will Howard #18 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after throwing a pass for a first down against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the fourth quarter in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
A 34-23 victory for the Ohio State Buckeyes over Notre Dame gave head coach Ryan Day his first National Championship and was the Buckeyes ninth in program history.
The Fighting Irish got the only score of the opening quarter but Ohio State responded with 21 points in the second quarter to take a 14-point lead at the half. The Buckeyes would extend this lead to 31-7 before 16 points from Notre Dame made it look a bit more competitive.
The Buckeyes produced 445 total offensive yards and limited the Fighting Irish to just 308. Ohio State also limited Notre Dame's potent rushing attack to just 53 yards.
Buckeyes running back Quinshon Judkins had 11 carries for 100 yards and three total touchdowns while freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. However, the performance of quarterback Will Howard was legacy-defining.
Howard was an efficient 17-of-21 for 231 touchdowns and two touchdowns while adding 57 yards on 16 carries. He delivered several strong throws, including a dagger to Smith late in the fourth to pretty much solidify the win.
While Howard, Smith and Judkins made their presences known on the field, Day was the one who truly proved the doubters wrong.
Despite compiling a 70-10 overall record since taking over as the head coach in 2019, Day's inability to lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship or wins over Michigan in the regular season has made him easy critique.
Now that Day is a champion, fans took to social media to congratulate him and acquit him of pass mistakes.
The Michigan loss was a psy op by Ohio State to make people think they were vulnerable. Ryan Day is playing four dimensional chess. #NationalChampionship
The Buckeyes win the first year of the 12-team format after entering the field as an eight-seed. The program defeated No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon and No. 5 Texas prior to beating the FIghting Irish for the title.
Ohio State also won the inaugural College Football Playoff, which took place in the 2014 season and featured a four-team field. The Buckeyes also are the second consecutive Big Ten team to win the National Championship.
Had the Buckeyes endured an early exit from the College Football Playoff, the heat on head coach Ryan Day may have intensified. Instead, the Ohio State…
Photo: LeBron James, Bryce Harper Wear OSU Gear at CFP Title Game vs. Notre Dame
Jan 21, 2025
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on prior to the 2025 CFP National Championship between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper were in attendance for Monday night's College Football Playoff Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Neither player attended college before their respective professional careers, let alone at Ohio State. But both have ties to the program—James grew up in Akron, Ohio and played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Harper's wife Kayla played soccer at Ohio State.
So both had fairly obvious rooting interests on Monday night. Notre Dame will have to settle for Travis Scott.
Travis Scott is pulling for Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship 🔥
It promises to be a star-studded crowd, with a national championship on the line.
Video: Nick Saban Calls Criticism of Ohio State's Ryan Day 'Absolutely Ridiculous'
Jan 20, 2025
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 19: Head Coach Ryan Day of the The Ohio State Buckeyes talks with the media during the CFP National Championship Head Coaches News Conference at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Former Alabama head coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban offered an impassioned defense of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on Monday.
"I think it is absolutely ridiculous that Ryan Day has been criticized the way he has."
"Having been a coach—having coached in the state and lived in the state for 12 or 14 years—I'm telling you, when the fans are negative and the media gets negative, it affects so many things," he said on College GameDay. "You've got to give the guy credit, he built the roster. He's built the roster for three years, and it's gotten better. His coaches have made the players better. And they made a lot of improvement and they've overcome adversity, especially in the Michigan game. So we should be giving the guy credit."
Saban, for the record, spent a number of years in Ohio as a coach. He started his coaching career at Kent State as a graduate assistant (1973-74) and linebackers coach (1975-76), spent two seasons at Ohio State as the secondary coach (1980-81), was the head coach at Toledo in 1990 and was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns between 1991-94.
His most famous stops, of course, came as the head coach at Michigan State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins and Alabama.
Given his experience, he has a unique perspective into the profession, so a bit of sympathy for Day isn't surprising, especially after the Ohio State head coach was the subject of enormous critique following the Buckeyes' 13-10 loss against the Wolverines in late November. That gave Ohio State a second loss on the season, kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game and was Day's fourth loss to Michigan in his five meetings.
Those ready to see him fired pointed out his struggles against the school's most hated rival and an inability to win a national championship despite a consistent abundance of talent. Those who continued to defend him noted that he brought the star players aboard in the first place and suggested that the championship-or-bust mentality at Ohio State was both unrealistic and toxic.
Day is 69-10 overall as Ohio State's head coach and has since led the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff Championship Game against Notre Dame, silencing his critics for the time being. Saban, for one, believes Day has earned far more respect than he's often received in Columbus.
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Chip Kelly Shades Dan Lanning, Oregon for 12-Men Penalty in Ohio State's October Loss
Jan 18, 2025
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 23: Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 23, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly suggested Saturday that Oregon's decision to purposely play with 12 men on the field during a pivotal down in the Ducks' October win over the Buckeyes may have motivated OSU's players for the remainder of the season.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Kelly referenced the play that occurred late in Oregon's 32-31 win, saying: "It was a unique message to our players, that you can't stop us with 11. You had to stop us with 12. And then you saw the final result of 11 vs. 11."
While never confirmed publicly, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning appeared to intentionally put an extra player on the field with 10 seconds remaining against Ohio State while the Buckeyes were trying to drive for a game-winning field goal.
The last time Oregon and Ohio State met Dan Lanning pulled a genius tactic with a purposeful 12 man penalty to help secure the win 🧠
The play resulted in an incompletion, and although Oregon was called for too many men on the field, it was only a five-yard penalty that didn't put the Buckeyes in field goal range. However, it did take four seconds off the clock, which was more valuable to the Ducks.
While Oregon held on to win that game and went on to win the Big Ten championship with an undefeated record, the rematch against Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals was an entirely different story, as the Buckeyes dominated from start to finish in a 41-21 win.
While the Buckeyes did lose another game after the Oregon loss, falling to rival Michigan, they have been a different team during the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State dominated Tennessee 42-17 in the first round, followed by the 41-21 win in the Oregon rematch. Then, OSU outlasted Texas 28-14 in the semis to reach the national title game.
Quarterback Will Howard has been on a roll during the CFP, throwing for 919 yards, six touchdowns and two picks in three games, and he has benefited from a deep and talented group of pass-catchers.
Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith leads the team this season with 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns on 71 catches, while senior Emeka Egbuka has 75 receptions for 947 yards and 10 scores.
Even No. 3 receiver Carnell Tate has been a major contributor with 50 grabs for 698 yards and four touchdowns.
Kelly suggested that the Fighting Irish will have to pick their poison when it comes to defending Ohio State's receivers, and he got in another shot on Lanning and Oregon as well, saying: "They can double anybody they want, but they can't double everybody. If they do, it's a penalty—they have too many guys on the field. And we saw that before against some team, sometime before in a game."
The 61-year-old Kelly spent four seasons as Oregon's head coach from 2009 to 2012, and he enjoyed enormous success, going 46-7 and reaching the national title game once.
Things didn't go as well for him in the NFL, as he was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, going 28-35 with one playoff appearance.
Kelly returned to the collegiate head coaching ranks at UCLA in 2018, but he never achieved the same level of success he had at Oregon, going 35-34 over six seasons.
Ohio State has proved to be the ideal landing spot for Kelly, though, as he has gotten the most out of the Buckeyes' dynamic offensive weapons in the OC role.
The Buckeyes are now one victory away from their first national title since 2014, and Kelly has conceivably rebuilt his stock and potentially put himself in position to land another high-profile head coaching job in the future.
OSU's Jeremiah Smith Sends Warning to Notre Dame: 'Can't Wait to Put on a Show'
Jan 18, 2025
ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 10: Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (#4) runs up field during the CFP Semifinal Cotton Bowl Classic football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns on January 10, 2025 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is excited for his team's national championship game against Notre Dame on Monday, and he sent a warning to the Fighting Irish about defending him man-to-man.
"If you are going to play man [to-man defense] against Ohio State, be ready," Smith said, per ESPN's Paolo Uggetti. "I can't wait to put on a show."
Smith said that Notre Dame plays man-to-man "80 percent" of the time and loves when teams try to stop him with just one defender, per Uggetti.
Smith has been phenomenal, catching 71 passes for 1,227 yards (17.3 YPC) and 14 touchdowns. He had just one catch for three yards in the Buckeyes' 28-14 Cotton Bowl win over Texas last Friday, but the Longhorns made it a point to stop him.
"You watch the film -- they doubled, tripled me," Smith said. "It's frustrating, but being a decoy helped us win the game."
Ohio State's previous two CFP opponents had great difficulty against Smith, who had six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns versus Tennessee before posting a 7/187/2 game against Oregon.
It'll be interesting to see how Notre Dame defends Smith. The Fighting Irish's defense has been phenomenal this year, entering the championship game allowing the second-fewest points in Division I FBS (14.3 PPG). They could very well slow down Smith, but it'll be a tall order for sure.
Kickoff in Atlanta on Monday is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
