Ohio State held off a Notre Dame comeback to celebrate their first national title victory in 11 years.
It turned into a nail-biting 34-23 victory for the Buckeyes over the Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Having been 31-7 behind, Notre Dame scored two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to make it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter.
The Irish stopped Ohio State on the first two plays of the next drive and used their timeouts to pile the pressure on, but quarterback Will Howard reached wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for 56 yards on a third-and-11 to lock down the game and set up a field goal that started the celebration in earnest, closing out a seven-week climb from the depths of a loss to 20-point underdog Michigan to the top of college football.
Ohio State will bring its sixth national title and its first since the 2014 season back to the Horseshoe in Columbus.
Howard, a transfer-portal success story from Kansas State, threw for 231 yards and two scores, but nothing will beat the pass to Smith with everything on the line.
The receiver, who had been bottled up by Texas in the semi-finals then fairly quiet for most of this game, finally got loose for the kind of play he's been making all year to finish with five catches for 88 yards.
Ohio State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, then added a field goal on its fifth to race into a commanding lead.
When Quinshon Judkins (100 yards, 11 carries, three TDs), a transfer from Mississippi who highlighted Ohio State's judicious use of the ever-growing portal, had busted a 70-yard run to set up the score that made it 28-7, this game looked over.
It wasn't, and now Irish coach Marcus Freeman will have to answer a few tough questions - one about the failed fake punt in the third quarter that turned into a field goal for a 31-7 lead, the other about sending Mitch Jeter in for a short field goal attempt while down 16 and facing fourth-and-goal from the 9. It might have looked like a better call had Jeter's kick not clanged off the left upright.
The Buckeyes though outgained Notre Dame 445 yards to 308. Howard completed his first 13 passes and never really got stopped. Ohio State was the better team.
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