The Ohio State Buckeyes are champions again. After winning Monday night’s national championship, Ohio State finished the 2024-2025 college football season as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP Top 25.
Ohio State Wins 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship
A decade later 🙌#CFBPlayoffs • #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/T4fdEZJt8Z
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 21, 2025
The Ohio State Buckeyes (14-2) are the first champion in the 12-team playoff era.
Behind three touchdowns by Quinshon Judkins, No. 8 Ohio State defeated No. 7 Notre Dame 34-23 in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Quarterback Will Howard threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns while adding 57 yards on the ground.
Judkins rushed for 100 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns. Judkins also caught two receptions for 21 yards and one touchdown.
Freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith finished with five receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, Smith caught a 56-yard go-ball on 3rd and 11 to seal the game for the Buckeyes.
Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard completed 22 of 31 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Leonard also added 40 yards rushing and one touchdown.
With the victory, Ohio State won its sixth national championship. The Buckeyes also won in 942, 1954, 1968, 2002, and 2014. The 2014 championship marked the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff.
After being upset by Michigan, the Buckeyes looked like a lifeless football team. The Buckeyes regrouped and defeated No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, and No. 3 Texas before beating Notre Dame for the title.
The Buckeyes won their sixth AP national championship. They also won in 1942, 1954, 1968, 2002, and 2014.
Final AP Top 25 College Football Poll
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| 1. Ohio St. | 14-2 |
| 2. Notre Dame | 14-2 |
| 3. Oregon | 13-1 |
| 4. Texas | 13-3 |
| 5. Penn St. | 13-3 |
| 6. Georgia | 11-3 |
| 7. Arizona St. | 11-3 |
| 8. Boise St. | 12-2 |
| 9. Tennessee | 10-3 |
| 10. Indiana | 11-2 |
| 11. Mississippi | 10-3 |
| 12. SMU | 11-3 |
| 13. BYU | 11-2 |
| 14. Clemson | 10-4 |
| 15. Iowa St. | 11-3 |
| 16. Illinois | 10-3 |
| 17. Alabama | 9-4 |
| 18. Miami | 10-3 |
| 19. South Carolina | 9-4 |
| 20. Syracuse | 10-3 |
| 21. Army | 12-2 |
| 22. Missouri | 10-3 |
| 23. UNLV | 11-3 |
| 24. Memphis | 11-2 |
| 25. Colorado | 9-4 |
The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. It marks the first time Ohio State has finished the season No. 1 since the 2014-2015 season.
Notre Dame (14-2), the national runner-up, is No 2. This marks the Irish’s best finish in the final AP Top 25 poll since 1993.
No. 3 Oregon (13-1), whose only loss came to Ohio State at the Rose Bowl, finished third, while No. 4 Texas (13-3) and No. 5 Penn State (13-3) round out the top five.
Despite not having a team in the championship, the SEC finished with the most teams in the final top 25, with seven, followed by the Big Ten with five, the ACC with four, and the Big 12 with four.
