Ohio State football fans charge The Shoe after winning the National Championship

A decade after his last national title, Ohio State is back on top college football by defeating Notre Dame in the 2025 CFP National Championship Game. Fans did not miss the opportunity to celebrate this achievement in Columbus, gathering at Ohio Stadium to mark the moment.

As soon as the clock struck zero, Buckeye fans stormed the field at Ohio Stadium, commonly known as “The Shoe.” They ran out the tunnel and stayed on the field well past midnight, celebrating the moment.

The title win was head coach Ryan Day’s first since taking the job in 2019. Ohio State’s last national championship victory came 10 years before that, almost to the date. Then-coach Urban Meyer led them to a dominant victory over Oregon in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Each of Ohio State’s stars shined in the game, led by running back Quinshawn Judkins‘ Performance of 121 yards, three touchdowns. Will Howard added 231 passing yards and two touchdowns, one to Jeremiah Smith, to cap a 34-23 victory.

Until 2024, much of Day’s tenure was limited by the previously dominant race in Michigan. The Jim Harbaugh-led Wolverines won three straight Big 10 championships and made the College Football Playoff each year. Harbaugh’s success culminated in a 2023 national championship and subsequent departure to the NFL, opening the door for Day and the Buckeyes to break through in 2024.

As good as the Buckeyes were in 2024, they will have to rebuild during the offseason to defend their title in 2025. While Day will return as head coach, most of the key pieces of a national championship winning team will not.

Along with Howard, several other players are graduating or leaving early for the NFL Draft in 2025. Judkins has one year of eligibility remaining, but is expected to declare early. Treveion Henderson, Jack Sawyer, Emeka Egbuka, Cody Simon, JT Tuimoloau and Denzel Burke will all graduate.

With a large portion of the team gone, Day will have to work hard to stay on top of the college football world in 2025.

Jaren Kavada is the NFL, college football and betting editor at ClutchPoint. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a degree in sports media.