The College Football Playoff national championship game is tonight: How to watch

The winner of the college football championship will be determined shortly.

The College Football Playoff national championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be played on Monday, January 20th, at 7:30 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The game marks the end of the first College Football Playoff tournament that employs the new 12-team playoff format adopted for the 2024 season.

It has been over thirty years since Notre Dame won the national championship, defeating West Virginia back in 1989. The Fighting Irish last competed for the title in 2013, falling short against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Ohio State last won the national championship in 2015, defeating Oregon by a score of 42-20.

The Buckeyes' last win against Notre Dame was on September 23, 2023.

Read on to discover more about the College Football Playoff's national championship game.

Which teams are competing in the college football national championship game?

The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes are going head-to-head against the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the national championship game for the College Football Playoff.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, whose defensive unit was the strongest in the country and allowed the fewest number of yards per game among all college teams, are coached by Ryan Day, their head coach for the sixth year. Day had his team fall 13-10 to their long-time rival, Michigan, marking the Buckeyes' fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of the Wolverines. Despite this setback, the Buckeyes, who boasted a 13-2 record, managed to bounce back by outscoring their playoff opponents by a total of 111-52, which carried them to the national championship game.

The Fighting Irish are 14-1 in the season, with their one loss occurring in early September against the Northern Illinois Huskies.

Marcus Freeman is now in his third year as the head coach of Notre Dame's football team. Freeman was a former Ohio State linebacker and started his coaching career with the Buckeyes as a graduate assistant.

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Ohio State under Day is 0-2 against Notre Dame.

When will the College Football Playoff national championship game be played?

The College Football Playoff national championship game is on Monday, January 20, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

With the NCAA OnDemand app from the Apple App Store, you can watch live and on-demand content, including college football games, directly on your mobile device.

The College Football Playoff national championship game broadcast starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The game will also be available to stream on any service that offers ESPN, and on the ESPN app.

A former Ohio State football player. They will be joined by sideline reporters Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath.

How did Notre Dame and Ohio State end up in the College Football Playoff national championship game?

Because they didn't get a first-round bye this season as a result of the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, Ohio State and Notre Dame were put into the first round of the CFP as the No. 8 and No. 7 seeds, respectively.

Ohio State made its way to the national championship game by cruising through its opponents. They dominated Tennessee 42-17 in their first game, then surpassed conference rival and Big Ten champion Oregon with a 41-21 win in the Rose Bowl. Most recently, they had a victory over Texas, winning by a score of 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl Classic on January 10.

Notre Dame beat in-state rival Indiana 27-17 in the first round of the playoffs. In a Sugar Bowl that had been postponed due to the deadly car attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day, Notre Dame defeated the SEC champion Georgia on January 2.

The Fighting Irish won a close game 27-24 against Penn State in the Orange Bowl on January 9th with a semifinal matchup.

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