Ohio State’s independent student voice since 1881 2024-25 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
CHAMPIONS!
Ohio State runs CFP gauntlet to capture ninth national title
CARLY DAMON | ASST. PHOTO EDITOR
Senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) hoists the College Football Playo trophy after breaking the Ohio State record for career receptions (205) in his nal game as a Buckeye.
INSIDE THIS EDITION
PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND - DEC. 21, 2024 17 42
No. 8 Ohio State romps over No. 9 Tennessee, advances to College Football Playo quarter nal
By Sam Cipriani Asst. Sports Editor
Aanswered points to start the game on
Ohio State senior running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) leaps over Tennessee’s Will Brooks (35) during the Buckeyes’ 42-17 College Football
he became not only the 10th Buckeye
Day said he understood the opening to breaking the game open, especially -
highlighted his top-tier ball skills and
State three-and-out, building momen-
rush, slicing the lead to 21-10 heading -
-the Buckeye 13-yard line, and a 36-
“I’m also proud of the way that they responded. I told the locker the way you handle adversity.”
Following a stop and an ensuingtouchdown rush to put the Buckeyescome out and do what they did against
Junior linebacker C.J. Hicks (11) holds a rose in his mouth to celebrate the Buckeyes’ Rose Bowl berth while singing “Carmen Ohio” with senior running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) and junior defensive end Caden Curry (92) after Ohio State defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 42-17 in the College Football
Graduate quarterback Will Howard (18) waves to pump up the crowd during
A convoy of Buckeye defenders tackle Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
On behalf of the entire Ohio State community, congratulations brought the title back to Columbus. started. At Ohio State, excellence is the standard in everything state, in concert halls and sports venues, in hospital rooms and
The future of higher education is here at Ohio State. Let’s go build it together.
Walter “ Ted” Carter Jr. President, The Ohio State University
Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates his second touchdown of the day in the end zone with senior tight end Will in the Buckeyes’ 41-21 win.
Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) scores a 43-yard of the Rose Bowl.
Smith, Ohio State trounce Oregon 41-21 in Rose Bowl ROSE BOWL - JAN. 1, 2025
By Noah Weiskopf Sports Editor
Ptwo regular-season losses to Oregon Bowl, as the Buckeyes annihilated
making sure you understand what
as the Buckeyes amassed nearly 200 Ducks back into the game in the sec -
On the ensuing play, running back
the Ducks showed their mettle at the
long third down scrambles which you is guys try to make a play and get out
high-priced coaches with sometimes
another Ohio State touchdown, a gut-
Oregon as Ohio State punched its that we thought we were,” senior dego out there, play as hard as we can, beat Ohio State, as the two programs
Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) receives the Rose
Oregon Jan. 1 in Pasadena, California. The Buckeyes defeated the Ducks 41-21.
won 41-21.
defensive tackle Ty Hamilton (58) celebrate Simon’s sack of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the fourth quarter of Ohio State’s 41-21 Rose Bowl victory.
Ohio State graduate quarterback Will Howard (18) holds the Leishman Trophy after the 41-21 College Football California.
SANDRA FU | PHOTO EDITOR
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONS !
Ohio State senior defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) sprints down the sideline to seal the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl victory with an 83-yard fumble recovery touchdown in the fourth quarter to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 28-14.
COTTON BOWL - JAN. 10, 2025
AYE AYE, CAPTAIN JACK! 14 28
Ohio State defeats Texas 28-14 behind Sawyer scoop-and-score, advances to National Championship
By Sam Cipriani
Asst. Sports Editor
All the momentum pointed toward the potential to tie the ball game with
crease their lead to two scores, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
Despite a tied ball game, all odds
that were encapsulated by mistakes
and numerous missed chances that
suddenly erupted, and all the momen-
with reckless abandon and was called
Ohio State looked to be on its way to a two-touchdown lead, but the
ard attempted a deep pass to wideout
be a challenging and hard-nosed we were able to change the momentum
SANDRA FU | PHOTO EDITOR
Ohio State senior running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) scores a
SANDRA FU | PHOTO EDITOR
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Inside Jack Sawyer’s legacy-de ning moment that secured Ohio State a National Championship spot
By Noah Weiskopf Sports Editor
Buckeye captain Jack Sawyer and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers lived together as freshmen at Ohio
Four years later, the two met in the with one guaranteed defeat and the remaining, Texas was on the Ohio
He pushed Ewers into the ground, the turf at AT&T Stadium before fall
Most of Ohio State’s sideline began jumping and waving white Gatorade down the sideline toward the end zone marked “Texas” in burnt orange, well
Ewers dropped back to pass and rolled left, as Sawyer swiped around
“I felt him, I started drifting away, thought I was going to be able to get
Full steam ahead, Sawyer had a di
Sawyer (33) gestures to the crowd
“I hit about the 30, and I looked back, I’m like, ‘I hope I get some blockers,’” Sawyer said. “‘I’m running out of steam here. They were running with me side by side. That speaks volumes to who this team is, too. We always have each other’s back. It was a special moment.”
It was a touchdown that meant more
lumbus native, lifelong Buckeye fan, Day brought in when he was promoted touchdown punched Ohio State’s tick et to the National Championship in Atlanta and will go down as one of the
“What happened on fourth down by career, but our team, in general, and who they are and the toughness,” Day
“He means everything [to this pro
During the regular season, Sawyer
“He’s been playing possessed the last month,” quarterback Will Howard
thing I wish I could change about it is I wish I could have more years with
Sawyer is one of many seniors who and return to Columbus in hopes of gan, winning a Big Ten Championship and capturing a National Champion of the Big Ten title game, meaning only
And that’s what Sawyer and the
er, and that’s what means the most to competing for a national championship now, which is something I’ve always dreamed of bringing back to Columbus since I was a little kid, throwing the football in the backyard with my dad
SANDRA FU | PHOTO EDITOR
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - JAN. 20, 2025
OHIO AGAINST THE WORLD Buckeyes beat Notre Dame to win ninth national title
By Noah Weiskopf Sports Editor
ATLANTA
— Six weeks ago, the
The Buckeyes secured their ninth national title Monday night, defeating
ting a new record for the CFP National
back Riley Leonard eventually ran up
“It may not always be pretty, and you may have to go pick it up with your
“After all the things that have been said throughout the year, these guys are going to be cemented as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams ever,” head coach Ryan Day
said.
It was a game that, at times, looked like a Buckeye blowout, and at other moments was close enough to make
end, Ohio State made big plays when it needed to, led by game MVP Will
“When you get into big games like this, whoever is able to have the poise in the noise and be able to overcome adversity because it wasn’t always
But I think the team that we have and the leadership that we have with Coach Day, just the resilience this team has Notre Dame took control with an
acteristic of us,” linebacker Cody Si
they were really getting into second
With momentum seemingly against them, the Buckeyes responded in a big
open Jeremiah Smith, who jogged in Notre Dame’s next three drives in the Irish managed only 3 combined yards
Running back Quinshon Judkins
ground, running through another en connection to start the game, shatter ing the national championship record
Less than two minutes later, Howard scrambled to his right and lobbed an alone in the middle of the end zone,
Howard said that coming into the foremost to keep the ball moving and stay on schedule, a philosophy he stuck
We’ve got the best receiving room in Out of the break, Notre Dame’s de
After an incomplete pass, Judkins
punched in his third score of the game
Looking for something positive, No
their punt unit, prompting a roar from Wide receiver Brandon Inniss, po jumping to alert his teammates to a
Sure enough, Notre Dame quarter back Steve Angeli took the snap, rolled right and threw the ball toward receiv er Jordan Faison, who could not han
Jayden Fielding ended the Buckeye
The Irish would not, however, go
Leonard found wideout Jaden Great
Drayk Bowen punched the ball loose before Egbuka hit the ground, giving
The takeaway was Notre Dame’s 33rd of the season, and the Irish lead
— and two defensive holding penal ties — put the Irish inside Ohio State’s
Although the Irish were three for tre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman sent kicker Mitch Jeter on for a short
But an Ohio State punt gave the Irish down catch for Greathouse cut the
The tension continued to build as
to pad the lead with a scoring drive of their own, as wide receiver Emeka Eg buka took a touch pass and maneuvered the red zone, Notre Dame linebacker
After several conservative rushing
“I just thought to myself, only one National Championship, you only get one opportunity a year to do this, let’s just lay it on the line and put it out
In the end, Day said he feels im mense pride toward his team and the
“I just can’t say enough about our guys and what they’ve overcome to
continued from Page 16
yourself focusing on those things,” Day said in his CFP Champions press as proud of this team, no matter what
After the crushing defeat at the hands of Michigan, the Buckeyes found them
without going through adversity along the way, and that’s what makes this team special,” Day said in his Tuesday
The Buckeyes began their run with a matchup against the SEC’s Tennessee
touchdown performances from wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and running
due to the overwhelming presence of
And though it looked grim for the Buckeyes late in the game, on Tex
yer stripped Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers, taking the fumble back
Ohio State culminated its season performance over Notre Dame, forever
eyes and bring a championship back to
“To do what we’re doing right now,
acy that we just left is something that you can’t put into words how much it means,” Sawyer said in his CFP Na
Day emphasized how his team over came adversity time and time again this season, believing that to be what separated this team from that of years
“Nothing great was ever achieved
the Buckeyes headed to Pasadena, Cal ifornia, to avenge their previous loss to in an early scarlet and gray maelstrom, and allowing Ohio State to cruise to a Ohio State then faced the Longhorns in Arlington, Texas, for the Cotton Bowl, which — despite being in a neu tral venue — Day called a “road game”
“It can be argued that this was the best run in the history of college foot ball,” Day said in his Tuesday press
After the game, Sawyer appeared at a loss for words, but said he was hon ored to leave a legacy with the Buck
“There were ups and downs; there were trials and tribulations,” Howard said in his Tuesday press conference. “Ultimately, we were able to overcome them and win the big one at the end.”
SANDRA FU | PHOTO EDITOR
AGAINST ALL ODDS
How the Buckeye seniors seized their nal opportunity to settle un nished business
Asst. Sports Editor
The Buckeyes’ journey to the na tional title started long before their season opener against Akron in
Even before the bowl game, Buck eyes defensive end Jack Sawyer ex pressed to head coach Ryan Day and his team that he’d be returning for his Sawyer hoped many of his team other upperclassmen jumped ship im season wasn’t as straightforward for others, especially those who hadn’t ex perienced a major team achievement
Just days before the deadline to declare for the NFL draft, the Pick erington, Ohio, native received a call
Jackson took a few nights to sleep on he wouldn’t be returning, Sawyer got
And though nobody knew it yet, with injuries to two starting linemen during the regular season, the decision proved to be one of the most impactful in the
Ohio State’s journey to winning the National Championship wasn’t a ing journey full of roadblocks, twists
And without the early discussions about returning and the determination what its members started, the Buck eyes might’ve never embarked on the rollercoaster ride that ultimately led
Widely regarded as the best return ing class in the country, combined with
lions spent on Name, Image and Like ness deals, the team was dubbed the
Despite the preseason hype and dominant play throughout most of the season, Ohio State was practically failure to beat the Ducks was a chal lenging hump to overcome, the second
Day acknowledged the loss to the
announced his return to the Buckeyes, citing that “there is still more to do,” ing the Buckeyes would return nearly
quarterback Will Howard, center Seth McLaughlin and running back
player in the transfer portal, safety Ca leb Downs, announced his transfer to
said he doesn’t measure joy and suc cess by a single game, noting that he’s always proud of his Buckeyes, regard
continues on Page 15