Notre Dame is held off by Ohio State to lose the college football national championship.

Ohio State has emerged victorious in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, defeating Notre Dame 34-23 to reclaim the top spot.

Ohio State has now tied USC for fourth-most ever college football titles with nine wins, which is officially recognized by the NCAA.

The 2018 College Football Playoff marks the first time since the 2014 season that the title has been awarded.

Since their loss to Michigan in the rivalry game, the Buckeyes have been a completely different team. They defeated Tennessee (42-17), Oregon in the Rose Bowl (41-21), and Texas in the Cotton Bowl (28-14). Using their high-octane offense, they then went on to win the championship by defeating Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish made a statement on an opening drive that lasted 18 plays and killed over nine minutes of first quarter clock, unlike previous Ohio State wins during this playoff.

The Notre Dame offensive line and quarterback Riley Leonard's hard work led to the team's success.

Leonard, who ran nine times for 34 yards and scored after picking up a fourth-and-1 on Ohio State’s five-yard line, was reported by ESPN to have run to the sideline, thrown up, and stumbled before sitting on the bench. He also claimed to have landed on the ball on one of the runs, which could have caused his upset stomach.

The tide of momentum shifted to the Ohio State sideline, as Will Howard and his group of talented weapons seized control when they had the ball in their hands.

The drive ended with a perfect play call by freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who pretended to run behind Howard on pre-snap motion but actually planted in the ground and walked into the end zone unnoticed.

Notre Dame's second and third drive were halted by back-to-back three-and-outs, which allowed the Buckeyes' offense to score two more touchdowns before the end of the first half.

In the second quarter, Quinshon Judkins, the explosive running back who shares time with TreVeyon Henderson, scored two touchdowns. The first was a nine-yard run where he fought through multiple tackles to cross the line. The second was a wide-open touchdown in the end zone on a rolling throw by Howard with 27 seconds left in the second quarter, putting the Buckeyes up 21-7.

In the second half, Judkins scored his third touchdown with a one-yard run that was set up by his 70-yard run on the second play of the half, giving the Buckeyes first-and-goal.

Judkins had a remarkable performance in the game, with 100 rushing yards on 11 carries and two catches for 21 yards.

Despite concerns for Ohio State, Notre Dame reduced the gap to a two-score game after Leonard scored a 34-yard touchdown through Jaden Greathouse and converted the two-point try, making it 31-15.

The fumble that caused concern occurred during a catch-and-run by Emeka Egbuka, resulting in a 24-yard gain. This was the first Ohio State fumble since their game against Penn State on Nov. 2.

With a turnover, Notre Dame advanced downfield, and Leonard reached the doorstep until an incomplete pass to Greathouse resulted in fourth-and-goal from Ohio State's nine-yard line with 9:27 remaining in the game.

Despite the score, it seemed that head coach Marcus Freeman was determined to score another touchdown. However, the special teams unit, led by kicker Mitch Jeter, executed an unsuccessful play call. Jeter's 27-yard field goal attempt missed the left goal post by a whisker.

After the defense forced a punt, the game was not yet over. Leonard was able to find Greathouse again, this time on a beautifully thrown ball and an even better catch from 30 yards out. Jordan Faison took a handoff and it seemed like Ohio State sniffed it out, but he threw it to Beaux Collins for a successful two-point conversion.

With the Fighting Irish closing in, the Buckeyes had to dig deep to keep the game from being a one-score contest.

At the two-minute warning, with the Buckeyes on the nine-yard line, Chip Kelly called a gutsy deep pass from Howard to Smith, and despite not having any receptions in the second half, Smith secured the dagger with a 57-yard catch.

With the Fighting Irish using all their timeouts, the Buckeyes could run out the clock, resulting in a celebratory atmosphere.

Leonard had a remarkable performance in the game, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 40 yards on 17 carries. He also hit 20 out of 29 shots for 240 yards. Greathouse also contributed to the team's success with 11 yards on five receptions.

Smith led the Buckeyes with 89 yards on five receptions, while Egbuka had six catches for 64 yards. Howard finished the game 17-of-21 for 231 yards and also rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries.

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