Ohio State secured its first national championship in a decade Monday night, driven by a team open about their faith and guided by a coach who credited faith as a vital factor in the team's chemistry. The Buckeyes raced out to a 31-7 lead and then hung on for a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame, giving the school its first national title since 2014 and its third this century. This season marked the debut of college football's 12-team playoff, expanding from the previous four-team format.
"Faith is huge with these guys," head coach Ryan Day told an ESPN audience during the postgame.
That faith was demonstrated when Ohio State's star players spoke with ESPN after the win.
"First and foremost, I've got to give the glory and the praise of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," said quarterback Will Howard, who completed 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
"I wouldn't be here without Him. I wouldn't be here without my teammates, without my family, without everyone that bet on me back in Downingtown, Pa.," he added, referencing his hometown.
The OSU coaching staff "changed my life in more ways that I can say," Howard said. He was named the game's offensive MVP.
"I can't believe God gave me the chance to be a Buckeye," he said.
The Buckeyes' victory in the national championship game came seven weeks after they lost to rival Michigan in one of the season's biggest upsets. Although many fans were calling for Day's dismissal, he rallied the team for four straight victories in the playoffs.
Monday's defensive MVP, Cody Simon, also discussed his faith. He recorded eight tackles.
"I just want to say the Lord did something special on this team, and we're just so thankful," Simon told ESPN. "Everyone on this team, we all bought in."
Faith, Simon said, "brought us all together."
"We all trust each other with our lives right now, and I think you saw it on the field," he said.
The team's faith made headlines during the fall when hundreds of students gathered for a worship service led by football players. About 60 students were baptized.
The team's faith became a focal point during ESPN's postgame analysis.
"They've talked so much about that and how much they leaned into faith," ESPN's Scott Van Pelt told colleague Rece Davis. "It seems that both faith in above and faith in one another is what got Ohio State through."
Davis agreed.
"We hear a lot of times people talk about their faith, and people sort of dismiss it," Davis said. "These guys were sharing their faith and reaching out and baptizing guys on campus -- not just football teammates. And it became something powerful to them, not because they thought it was going to be handed to them to win a game, but it developed, it changed their relationships, and it changed selfishness and made it go away. It was impactful for them. It didn't mean they were going to guarantee they were going to win.
"And Notre Dame had a lot of that going on, as well as. You heard [Notre Dame coach] Marcus [Freeman] talk about that a lot this year, that it made guys selfless. And I think that's the power in it."
"I can't believe God gave me the chance to be a Buckeye." 🙏
This means everything to Will Howard 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DPDR679JtS— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Paras Griffin/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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