College Football Playoff: National championship game set between Notre Dame, Ohio State

A bracket that began with 12 teams is now down to two. The College Football Playoff national championship is officially set.

It will be Notre Dame vs. Ohio State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 20. The game will cap off the inaugural 12-team CFP bracket, and both teams played their way in from the first round.

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Notre Dame defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday, and Ohio State defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl Friday night to set up the title game matchup. Kickoff is set for Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Fighting Irish struggled mightily in the first half of the Orange Bowl, but struck quickly to start the second half. Riley Leonard capped off a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a rushing touchdown to tie things up at 10-10, and Jeremiyah Love took an impressive 2-yard carry through the Nittany Lions defensive line to make it a 17-10 Fighting Irish lead.

However, Penn State didn’t go down easily. Nick Singleton found the end zone on back-to-back drives, including in the fourth quarter to put the Nittany Lions on top 24-17 and make the most of a costly Leonard interception. He had three touchdowns on the night.

Leonard rebounded from that pick, though, and connected with Jaden Greathouse for a 54-yard touchdown to bring it back to a 24-24 tie. It all led up to Mitch Jeter’s go-ahead field goal with seven seconds to play, which stood as the game-winner as Notre Dame came away with the 27-24 victory. The Irish are in the national championship for the first time since a 2013 blowout loss to Alabama.

The Cotton Bowl was just as close as points came at a premium throughout the night. Ohio State struck first on its opening drive when Quinshon Judkins took a hand-off nine yards for a touchdown to make it a 7-0 lead. That score held until the 29-second mark of the second quarter when Jaydon Blue caught a pass from Quinn Ewers to tie things up at 7-7 and give Texas some momentum.

However, it would be short-lived. The Buckeyes responded right away when Will Howard found TreVeyon Henderson on a screen pass, which went 75 yards for a touchdown to re-take the lead, 14-7, just before halftime. Texas was then able to tie it back up in the third quarter when Blue again caught a touchdown pass from Ewers on a wheel route, making it 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Longhorns had to punt it away to start the final 15 minutes, and Ohio State took advantage. The buckeyes rattled off a 13-play, 88-yard drive capped by Judkins’ second touchdown of the night. That sent the Buckeyes back out in front, 21-14, with 7:02 remaining.

Texas then got down to the goal line, but on a key fourth down, Jack Sawyer arrived. He forced a Ewers fumble and took it all the way back for an 83-yard scoop-and-score to virtually seal the 28-14 victory. That sent Ohio State back to the College Football Playoff national championship for the first time since a 2020 loss to Alabama.