Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman is a man of "strong faith." After reinstating the team's pregame Mass and then converting to Catholicism, Freeman now has the team poised to win it all.

Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) is tackled by Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., bottom left, and defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. AP Photo/Gareth Patterson

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.

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes are set for a national championship showdown against Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night. Both

Stephen Means, Stefan Krajisnik and Andrew Gillis give their score predictions for Ohio State football's game against Notre Dame in the National Championship Game.

Ohio State and Notre Dame arrived in Atlanta on their charter flights on Friday as the teams moved closer to Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game.

Big-time college football has rarely been king in New England, a region long dominated by pro sports. But when Notre Dame takes on Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night, there will be plenty of Massachusetts natives, at least on one sideline.

Everything is on the line as college football looks to determine its champion with Notre Dame taking on Ohio State in a historic College Football Playoff Nation

Notre Dame doesn't have a chance, right? There's a reason those win probability analytics are so dumb. Everyone always has a chance to win. You actually have to play the game instead of paying attention to some arbitrary numbers.

ATLANTA (AP) — Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was able to keep a team-first approach after having extra defensive attention make him almost invisible in the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl win over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Missourians have an added reason to tune into Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship game when (7) Notre Dame takes on (8) Ohio State at 6:30 i