Notre Dame had gone winless in its two previous CFP appearances, but Marcus Freeman's team now could end the storied program's decades-long national championship drought.
The Fighting Irish started their run to the national championship with a home win over the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers before taking down the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. The semifinal Orange Bowl then saw Notre Dame rally past the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Buckeyes, who were champions of the debut CFP, have come up with quite the response to a stunning upset defeat at the hands of the rival Michigan Wolverines in the regular-season finale that knocked them out of the Big Ten title game.
After crushing the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers at home in Round 1, Ryan Day's team ended the No. 1 Oregon Ducks' bid for a perfect season with a Rose Bowl rout. Then, in the semifinal Cotton Bowl, Ohio State sealed the program's third CFP championship game berth with a late goal-line stand against the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.
This year's national championship matchup features the top two scoring defenses in the nation. Ohio State is first in points allowed (12.2 per game) and total yards allowed (251.1 per game), while Notre Dame ranks second in points allowed (14.3 per game) and ninth in total yards allowed (298.3 per game). Both of these teams can also light up the scoreboard, with the Fighting Irish ranking sixth in points per game (37.0) and the Buckeyes not far behind at 12th (35.8).
So, will Notre Dame capture its first national championship since the 1980s? Or will Ohio State be able to say it was the champion of both the first-ever CFP and the inaugural 12-team CFP? Here's how to watch the national title game:
The Fighting Irish and Buckeyes will square off for the national championship on Monday, Jan. 20.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. PT.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, is the site of the national title game. Notre Dame-Ohio State will be the second game of this year's playoff held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium following Texas' Peach Bowl win over the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils in the quarterfinals.
Notre Dame-Ohio State will air on ESPN. Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) and Molly McGrath (sideline reporter) will be on the call.
You can also stream the game on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
Notre Dame will serve as the "home team" in the neutral-site game due to being the higher seed.
Actor and R&B artist Coco Jones will perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the championship game. Jones won her first Grammy Award in 2024 with her hit song "ICU" being named Best R&B Performance.
This will be the third straight season where the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes have met. Ohio State owns a 6-2 record against Notre Dame all time and has won the last six matchups, most recently defeating the Fighting Irish 17-14 last season on a game-winning touchdown with one second left in regulation.
The Fighting Irish haven't been national champions since the 1988-89 season. Their lone title game appearance in the BCS era was a 42-14 loss to Alabama in 2012-13 that was later vacated, and this will be the program's first championship game appearance in the CFP era.
Ohio State won the debut CFP, which featured four teams, in the 2014-15 season under Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes then made it back to the title game in 2020-21 under Ryan Day, but lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
A win over Notre Dame would make Ohio State just the fourth program with multiple CFP titles. Alabama leads the way with three CFP championships, followed by the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs at two apiece.