Dom Tiberi, with the Ohio State perspective, and Dominic Miranda, with Notre Dame's, preview the title game between the two storied programs.
Ohio State vs Notre Dame in nation championship game: What to know -- https://www.10tv.com/article/sports/football/ohio-state-football/when-is-college-football-playoff-national-championship-notre-dame-ohio-state/530-a802610e-6d19-461f-918d-4c3d393213c6
Ohio State will face a Fighting Irish team with a rugged defense and a experienced quarterback in Riley Leonard. Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman will also have a chance to become the first Black coach to win a national championship. He is also the first Asian coach to play for the title (his mother is South Korean).
The Buckeyes have an even better defense and have won all CFP games by double-digits. QB Will Howard and big receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka and a powerhouse running game, too.
How they got here
Notre Dame beat 10 seed Indiana (27-17), 2 seed Georgia (23-10) and 6 seed Penn State (27-24). Ohio State beat 9 seed Tennessee (42-17), 1 seed Oregon (41-21) and 5 seed Texas (28-14).
Who is favored?
The Buckeyes took over as the betting favorite to win the national championship after the quarterfinals and that hasn't changed. Ohio State is a big favorite (-350) to win the national championship, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Notre Dame is listed as a 14/5 underdog (+280).
How much money is at stake?
About $115 million for the playoff field.
Each conference gets $4 million for every team that makes the final 12, then another $4 million for those that make the quarterfinals. It means teams that earned byes are worth $8 million to their conferences without even playing a game.
Teams that advance to the semifinals mean $6 million more for their conference, then another $6 million for making the final. Notre Dame, as an independent, gets to keep all $20 million it received for its title-game run.
The conferences all distribute the money differently. There’s also a $300,000 stipend per team that is academically eligible for the playoffs. Teams making the playoff get $3 million to cover expenses for each round, too.