Valentina Martinez: The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish are set to face off in the College Football Playoff National Championship. This game is a tale of two defenses, but Ohio State will take home the glory. Ricardo Sandoval: The championship match is as highly profiled as one can be while also being one that no one expected.

But evolution is also a choice. The dinosaurs didn't have to walk into the tar pits. And college football programs -- even old-timers such as Ohio State and Notre Dame -- don't have to walk into the quicksand of mediocrity, led there by the blinders of obligation to keep on keeping on the same way that Knute Rockne and Woody Hayes did.

Notre Dame is embracing the challenge of playing man-to-man pass coverage against Ohio State's talented receivers.

The longest college football season in history has just one game remaining. 132 teams have seen their seasons come to an end, and now only two remain: Notre Dame and Ohio State.

College Football Playoff national championship kicks off on Monday evening, as Notre Dame will take on Ohio State in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Ohio State will look to win its first national title since 2014,

Notre Dame and Ohio State fans have had to endure unprecedented travel demands throughout college football’s first 12-team playoff to reach Monday night’s national championship game.