Ohio State's CFP national championship win vs. Notre Dame, by the numbers

Ohio State and Notre Dame made history even before kickoff of the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish were the first two teams to reach the inaugural 12-team playoff title game.

On Monday night, Ohio State built a 31-7 lead in the third quarter before Notre Dame came charging back. The Buckeyes held on for the 34-23 win, thanks in part to a 56-yard completion from quarterback Will Howard to freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith late in the fourth quarter. 

The win gave Ohio State head coach Ryan Day his first national title in his second appearance in a championship game. It's also the first national championship for the Buckeyes since the 2014 season.

Here are the other numbers to know from Ohio State's victory. 

13: Howard connected on his first 13 passes against Notre Dame to set the record for consecutive completions in a College Football Playoff Championship game. Alabama's Mac Jones set the previous record with 12 completions in a row against Ohio State in the 2021 title game.

81%: Howard completed 17 of 21 passes (81%), the highest completion percentage by a quarterback in a national championship in the CFP era with a minium of 10 attempts (the previous record was 80.0% by Mac Jones).

906: Riley Leonard ran for 40 yards against Ohio State and set the Notre Dame single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback (906), breaking the original record (884) set by Tony Rice in 1989.

205: Emeka Egbuka became Ohio State's all-time leader in receptions with 205, passing K.J. Hill (201).

1,315: Jeremiah Smith broke the Big Ten single-season record for receiving yards by a freshman with 1,315, passing Purdue's Rondale Moore (1,258 in 2018). Smith previously became the Big