Will Howard shines, Jeremiah Smith comes up clutch: Takeaways from OSU's CFP title win

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff gave us what we asked for: a definitive national champion in a tournament made of worthy pursuers for the crown. 

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes proved to be the final team standing Monday night, holding off a Notre Dame comeback bid to walk away with a memorable 34-23 win over the Fighting Irish to become the second team since 1960 to win the national championship with two losses in one season.

And while Monday night's CFP national title game tilted from a blowout to a game that was in the balance with less than a minute to play, Ohio State and Notre Dame revealed facts about their past and their future. 

Here are five takeaways from Monday night's CFP National Championship game:

1. The Fighting Irish looked ready when the game kicked off. 

Notre Dame's game plan worked. Take the ball and make Ohio State do what it had not done throughout the entire College Football Playoff: play from behind.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock scripted a perfect first series. His offense careered through the Buckeyes on the opening drive, and it was methodical: A total of 18 plays, 75 yards in nine minutes and 45 seconds to put Ohio State behind on the scoreboard for the first time in the 2024 CFP. 

And Riley Leonard could not be stopped. He ran the ball nine times for 34 yards on the opening drive and finished it with a rushing TD. Against Penn State, Leonard ran the ball 12 times on designed rushes. But it was clear to all that Leonard was already feeling ill from the punishment that comes from carrying the ball.

Yes, Notre Dame scored. Yes, Notre Dame led 7-0. But Leonard vomited on the sideline from exhaustion and just 22 minutes later he was asked to go back into the game