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ATLANTA — It’s no secret that Notre Dame and Ohio State are very polarizing football teams. You either love them or you hate them, and there are very few fans in between.
The Fighting Irish have the Four Horsemen and Rudy. The Buckeyes have Script Ohio and the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner. Both programs have some of the most iconic jerseys (and helmets) in college football history, and both have been playing the sport since the late 1800s.
Notre Dame and Ohio State have combined for 14 national championships in the poll era. They are among the top five winningest programs in sports history, which is great for their fans, but tough for anyone rooting for a different team that suffers more downs than ups.
After walking around this city ahead of Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game, I found this Notre Dame-Ohio State game challenging for neutral observers. Neither of these historically highly successful teams are warm and fuzzy underdogs—though both have incredible stories of redemption that have brought them to the brink of a national title.
So, I decided to offer my services. Even if you’re a Michigan fan and this matchup is your personal worst-case scenario, I can help you figure out how to root for someone on Monday night.
Here’s a neutral observer’s guide to the Bluest National Championship game:
Why you should root for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
- Notre Dame hasn’t won a national championship since 1988. Ohio State has two wins since then (2002 and 2014), and it’s always more enjoyable to root for a program facing a longer championship drought. Notre Dame’s last appearance in the national championship game (at the end of the 2012 season) was pretty embarrassing, a 42-14 loss that was even more lopsided than the score suggests. The Irish have long had trouble playing well in big postseason games (especially against SEC teams), and while they’ve already gotten that monkey off their back with tough wins over Georgia (in the quarters) and Penn State (in the semifinals), this would be even bigger and even better. Especially since Vegas has Notre Dame as an 8.5 point underdog in this game.
- These Irish people are… actually quite nice?! It’s true, which is strange because fans of other teams usually love to hate Notre Dame. Some say it’s because of Irish independence, which allows them to play by a different set of rules than everyone else. Others simply knew too many Catholics who became die-hard Notre Dame fans as kids and wouldn’t shut up about it. Either way, Notre Dame fans are used to hating, and this year’s team hasn’t faced much. Marcus Freeman helped make the Irish cooler (and cooler to a younger audience) and far more likable than they’ve ever been Brian Kelly. Freeman has just 39 yards and is clearly a fantastic leader who also knows when to push the right buttons in big games. Quarterback Riley Leonard is super cute, and he is/was so universally loved that his mom had to try to keep him humble by regularly telling him “you’re bad” as he grew up as an elite athlete. He tells that story with a smile.
- You value elite defense. Defense coordinator Al Golden has done a great job with Notre Dame’s defense, and that’s the main reason this team is playing for a national championship — especially with the Irish’s sometimes rotten offense. This defense has forced more turnovers than any team in the FBS this season, and Golden doesn’t believe it’s due to luck. This ball defense helps position the offense for success — and sometimes puts points on the board itself. (A special teams unit, too.) But even when it’s not taking the ball away, this defense is incredibly impressive to watch, at every level, even while dealing with a seemingly endless string of injuries. Notre Dame’s secondary against Ohio State’s receivers will likely decide the game, and the strength is at its strength. Highlight the popcorn emoji.
Why you should root for the Ohio State Buckeyes:
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Jeremiah Smith. The first receiver is already one of the best players and biggest stars in the sport. It’s kind of crazy that he has to wait two years before he can play in the NFL because he’s absolutely pro-ready. Immediately. Smith broke a bunch of Ohio State freshman records as he caught 71 passes for 1,227 yards and 15 total touchdowns this season. In the Buckeyes’ semifinal win over Texas, he had just one catch for three yards as Texas focused their defensive game plan on him (and making sure he wouldn’t be the one to beat the Longhorns). Can Notre Dame stop – or even just slow down – this freshman sensation, opening up opportunities for other potential game-breakers such as Emeka Egbuka or Carnell Tate? Or will Smith blow us away like he has so many times this year? It’s worth watching.
- The the redemption of Ryan Day. The life of a college football coach can be very difficult. Obviously, he was paid very, very well to coach the game he loves. But it was hard on him and his family when his reputation before this CFP began was that he couldn’t win big games — especially against arch-rival Ohio State. Four straight losses to Michigan were a tough pill to swallow, and the situation was so dire that athletic director Ross Bjork had to go on a local radio station to give Day a vote of confidence and declare that he would be back next season. Since then, Ohio State has been a juggernaut of sorts, crushing both Tennessee and Oregon before beating Texas to reach the national championship game. A win Monday night would give Day his first national championship and complete a stunning turnaround just seven weeks after the lowest point in his coaching career.
- You like explosive acts. Ohio State has faced insanely high expectations all season, in large part due to the amount of talent on this roster. Donors spent $20 million to retain key veterans and bring in several high-profile transfers, and the general consensus heading into the preseason was that it was a make-or-break season in Columbus. Well, here’s that championship opportunity, and so much of that is because of a defense that features a two-headed rushing attack and the best receiving corps in the country. Will Howard has become as comfortable and confident as this team’s quarterback as he has been lately. This offense goes against an elite defense, but there are so many weapons that can make big plays that it will be difficult to shut them all down. If you’re rooting for points and/or big plays, you should be rooting for Ohio State.
