College Football's Craziest Season Ends With an Ohio State Title
The Wall Street Journal|January 22, 2025
A traditional superpower reasserts itself in the era of the 12-team playoff, conference realignment, the transfer portal, and paying athletes
JASON GAY
College Football's Craziest Season Ends With an Ohio State Title

Atlanta welp, they did it-burp!-col-nally polished off the whole darn thing, the supersized playoff, after 12 teams, four rounds, four weeks and enough hiccups they'll need to huddle and straighten out the format. The expansion arrived amid a radical moment for a sport veering deeply professional and mercenary-that is, more deeply professional and mercenary than it already was-yet Monday's finish in Atlanta elevated a traditional name: Ohio State, national champs-for the ninth time.

It was a thorough performance, 34-23 over Notre Dame, probably a little closer than it should have been after the Buckeyes took a 31-7 lead in the third quarter, but whatever. A wealthy college football superpower reasserted its wealthy superpowerness, and then some. One could argue no modern college team has ever played more, traveled more-Ohio State won postseason games in Columbus; Pasadena; Arlington, Texas; and now the Georgia capital-and more fully settled the concept of a national football champion.

Debate that, but there's no debating this was a lonnnnnnng haul. So long that all the best teams had rotten days, and not a single school finished undefeated. Action from September feels like it happened in 1979. Bill Belichick was hired as the new coach at North Carolina six weeks ago! I can't remember who won the Pop-Tarts Bowl! Can you?

This story is from the January 22, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

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This story is from the January 22, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.