Between Touchdown Jesus, “Win One for the Gipper,” Rudy, and, yes, even the forward pass, there are those who believe football wouldn’t quite be football without Notre Dame.

Notre Dame and Ohio State meet in the first final of the 12-team College Football Playoff at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Notre Dame should have reasons to feel great about the national title game, but it also should have cause for concern against Ohio State.

SOUTH BEND — After watching Notre Dame football dismantle Georgia’s budding dynasty in the Sugar Bowl, Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock found himself offering the enthusiastic praise the Irish weren’t ready to accept four months ago.

Either Ohio State or Notre Dame will not just be a worthy champion, but one that deserves recognition for surviving a gauntlet of four playoff games.

The conference will expand to the Central Time Zone as it welcomed Northern Illinois as a football-only member on Tuesday. The Huskies, whose Board of Regents voted to accept an invitation that comes with a $2 million entry fee, will officially join the Mountain West on July 1, 2026.

Not since the 2004 and ’05 seasons has the South been shut out of the championship field, and the Big Ten has a chance to win back-to-back titles.

The 2025 CFP national championship game between the Fighting irish and Buckeyes will kick off on Monday, Jan. 20, set for a 7:30 p.m. EST. January 20th is the latest national title game in the sport's history, thanks to the expanded 12-team playoff extending the season by a few weeks.

The College Football Playoff National Championship Game will be the Redemption Bowl for so many, ranging from Ohio State and Notre Dame to the CFP itself

BOTTOM LINE: Northern Illinois hosts Miami (OH) after Quentin Jones scored 25 points in Northern Illinois’ 108-70 loss to the Ohio Bobcats. The Huskies are 4-2 on their home court. Northern Illinois is 4-9 in games decided by 10 or more points.

“At the end of the day, the kid deserves the compensation and support,” Frazier said in an interview with The Associated Press at the NCAA convention this week. “But the institution, to keep the cycle going, they deserve something as well. We're not in the situation to continue to do that if we keep losing our best and brightest.”

It was Notre Dame’s first win against Georgia in four all-time meetings. Notching its 12 th straight win since that Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame (13-1) advanced to the Jan. 9 ...