On Monday night, nearly five full months after it began, the 2024 college football season will draw to a close and a champion will be crowned.

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff will wrap up when Ohio State and Notre Dame face off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the national championship game, with one of the two prestigious programs set to add another piece of hardware to their already sizable trophy cases.

Watch the College Football Playoff championship live with Fubo (free trial)

Despite being the No. 8 seed, the Buckeyes have looked like the country’s best team for much of the event. Coach Ryan Day’s squad has rolled through its first three playoff games, defeating Tennessee, Oregon and Texas by a combined 59 points. The 28-14 victory against the Longhorns on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl was harder earned than the others, with the win not being secured until an 83-yard Jack Sawyer scoop-and-score touchdown off a fumble recovery with 2:13 remaining.

Standing between Ohio State and its third national title this century is a Fighting Irish team that has been similarly impressive over the past month. Since a stunning 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7, No. 7 seed Notre Dame has reeled off 13 consecutive wins, the last three of which have come over Indiana, Georgia and Penn State in the playoff. The Irish iced a 27-24 victory against the Nittany Lions on Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl with a Mitch Jeter 41-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining.

The game will pit third-year Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman against his alma mater, as he played linebacker at Ohio State from 2004-08. If Notre Dame comes out on top, Freeman will be the first Black coach in FBS history to win a national championship.

Follow along here for the live score, updates, highlights, how to watch and more from Ohio State vs. Notre Dame in the CFP championship:

CFP championship game score updates

This section will be updated after kickoff.

CFP championship game time today

Date: Monday, Jan. 20
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)

The broadcast of the game between Buckeyes and Fighting Irish is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 20 from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

What channel is CFP championship game on today?

TV channel: ESPN | ESPN2
Streaming: ESPN App | ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)

Ohio State and Notre Dame’s matchup in the College Football Playoff championship will air on ESPN. Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will call the game while Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath will serve as the sideline reporters.

Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app and Fubo, the latter of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

CFP championship game betting odds

Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Saturday, Jan. 18

Spread: Ohio State (-8.5)
Over/under: 45.5 points
Moneyline: Ohio State (-375) | Notre Dame (+300)

Ohio State football schedule 2024

Saturday, Aug. 31: vs. Akron (W, 52-6)
Saturday, Sept. 7: vs. Western Michigan (W, 56-0)
Saturday, Sept. 14: BYE
Saturday, Sept. 21: vs. Marshall (W, 49-14)
Thursday, Sept. 26: at Michigan State* (W, 38-7)
Saturday, Oct. 5: vs. Iowa* (W, 35-7)
Saturday, Oct. 12: at No. 3 Oregon* (L, 32-31)
Saturday, Oct. 19: BYE
Saturday, Oct. 26: vs. Nebraska* (W, 21-17)
Saturday, Nov. 2: at No. 3 Penn State* (W, 20-13)
Saturday, Nov. 9: vs. Purdue* (W, 45-0)
Saturday, Nov. 16: at Northwestern* (W, 31-7)
Saturday, Nov. 23: vs. No. 5 Indiana* (W, 38-15)
Saturday, Nov. 30: vs. Michigan* (L, 13-10)
Saturday, Dec. 21: vs. No. 9 Tennessee, CFP first-round (W, 42-17) **
Wednesday, Jan. 1: vs. No. 1 Oregon, CFP Rose Bowl quarterfinal (W, 41-21) **
Friday, Jan. 10: vs. No. 5 Texas, CFP Cotton Bowl semifinal (W, 28-14) **
Monday, Jan. 20: vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, CFP championship game **
Record: 13-2, 7-2 Big Ten

* Denotes Big Ten game

** Denotes CFP ranking

Notre Dame football schedule 2024

Saturday, Aug. 31: at No. 20 Texas A&M (W, 23-13)
Saturday, Sept. 7: vs. Northern Illinois (L, 16-14)
Saturday, Sept. 14: at Purdue (W, 66-7)
Saturday, Sept. 21: vs. Miami, Ohio (W, 28-3)
Saturday, Sept. 28: vs. No. 17 Louisville (W, 31-24)
Saturday, Oct. 5: BYE
Saturday, Oct. 12: vs. Stanford (W, 49-7)
Saturday, Oct. 19: vs. Georgia Tech (W, 31-13)
Saturday, Oct. 26: vs. No. 24 Navy (W, 51-14)
Saturday, Nov. 2: BYE
Saturday, Nov. 9: vs. Florida State (W, 52-3)
Saturday, Nov. 16: vs. Virginia (W, 35-14)
Saturday, Nov. 23: vs. No. 17 Army (W, 49-14)
Saturday, Nov. 30: at USC (W, 49-35)
Friday, Dec. 20: vs. No. 10 Indiana, CFP first round (W, 27-17) **
Thursday, Jan. 2: vs. No. 2 Georgia, CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal (W, 23-10) **
Thursday, Jan. 9: vs. No. 6 Penn State, CFP Orange Bowl semifinal (W, 27-24) **
Monday, Jan. 20: vs. No. 8 Ohio State, CFP championship **
Record: 14-1

** Denotes CFP ranking

CFP championship game news

Quarterbacks Will Howard and Riley Leonard were once roommates at Manning Passing Academy
‘It’s going to be an incredible game,’ Ex-Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer on the CFP final
How can Ohio State beat Notre Dame? 3 keys for College Football Playoff final
Four players to watch for Notre Dame football against Ohio State for a national championship
Why did Notre Dame football captain Jack Kiser decide to play a sixth season?

Ohio State vs Notre Dame predictions 

Here’s who our staff is predicting will win the College Football Playoff national championship game: 

Dan Wolken: Ohio State 33, Notre Dame 10 
Eddie Timanus: Ohio State 27, Notre Dame 17 
Erick Smith: Ohio State 30, Notre Dame 16 
Jordan Mendoza: Ohio State 23, Notre Dame 16 
Paul Myerberg: Notre Dame 24, Ohio State 20 
Scooby Axson: Ohio State 27, Notre Dame 21 

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Combat sports stars Jake Paul, Logan Paul and Conor McGregor will be among the attendees at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington.

McGregor arrived in the nation’s capital over the weekend, attending a rally on Sunday that included other Trump supporters such as musician Kid Rock, actor Jon Voight and UFC chief executive Dana White.

Then on Monday morning, the three fighters all piled into one car as they made their way toward the U.S. Capitol, taking time to pose for a photo — along with the Paul brothers’ mother, Pam Stepnick — that Jake Paul posted to his Instagram account.

The show of unity comes even as McGregor has announced his intention to take on Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match later this year.

Jake Paul – who won a unanimous decision over former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in their much-publicized fight in November – has previously expressed his support for Trump, appearing with the president-elect in an Instagram video last summer at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville.

ATLANTA — Ryan Day talks about Ohio State’s toughness like an overzealous TV salesman trying just a little too hard to convince you how sharp the picture is. In the end, we’re either going to see it or we’re not. 

The depth of that obsession emerged a little more than a year ago, moments after Ohio State defeated Notre Dame, 17-14. In an on-field interview with NBC, then then again with reporters after having a chance to cool down, Day lashed out at former Irish coach Lou Holtz, who had said on the Pat McAfee Show earlier in the week that all of Day’s high-profile losses to the likes of Michigan, Alabama and Georgia had occurred because opponents ‘are more physical than Ohio State.’

It was obviously a deep cut for Day, the former quarterback at New Hampshire and high-flying offensive coordinator whose teams up to that point had not exactly been the embodiment of smash mouth, old school Big Ten-style football. 

Because after expressing his disbelief that Holtz would say such a thing, Day stomped into the press conference and declared that it was “not even close to true,” that any suggestion of softness was about “one bad half” against Michigan in 2021 and that the narrative “ends tonight” after winning a close September game in South Bend. 

It all felt a little, well, manufactured. A narrative in college football doesn’t end because the coach said so, and it certainly doesn’t go away because of a non-conference game in September. It’s also worth nothing that Ohio State would go on to lose to Michigan two more times after that moment, including an inexplicable performance this season that, at minimum, put Day within range of the proverbial hot seat. 

But on the eve of anther matchup with Notre Dame — this time for the national championship — Day’s ultimate redemption is very much rooted in his distaste for the idea that Ohio State was more of a track team than a football program. 

WHO WINS?: Expert picks for Notre Dame-Ohio State title game

CONSPIRACY THEORY: Ryan Day unhappy with officials in title game

While the desire to continually prove how tough they are has backfired in the Michigan matchup, where Ohio State strays too far from its strengths and ends up playing the Wolverines’ game, it is now unquestionably a net plus when you look at the totality of where the Buckeyes are now and how they got here. 

“I think it’s kind of cool to see the maturation of Ryan Day and to see how he’s adjusted and how he now sees the game,” said Greg McElroy, the former Alabama quarterback who is now one of ESPN’s top commentators. “Look, if you’re an offensive coordinator, the lens through which you saw the game forever was, ‘Alright, I’m in charge of that side of the ball and I have to maximize that side’s output. That’s how we win.’ You’re wired that way. It’s been a really cool adjustment to see how he’s deviated ever so slightly from tempo, deviated away from trying to create explosive plays, to being a little bit more patient. And I think the great depiction of how he’s evolved was the Texas game.”

BATTLE OF ATTRITION: Playoff now survival of fittest, forcing teams into uncharted territory 

When Ohio State beat Texas in the semifinals, 28-14, what McElroy saw was a team that played offensively within the structure of the game and didn’t try to force plays that weren’t there. He also saw a defense that, at one time earlier in Day’s tenure, might have relied on exotic looks and blitzes to make up for the fact that they just weren’t physical enough to win those line-of-scrimmage battles against the best programs in the country and often struggled to tackle in space. 

But against Texas, when Ohio State had to stop a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line to retain the lead in the game’s final few minutes, America saw the Buckeyes do pretty much what they’ve done a lot of this season. Just like they did against Penn State earlier in the season when they sealed the game with a goal-line stand, Ohio State stuffed the run inside and forced the Longhorns to try something on the perimeter. That also failed spectacularly, setting up Jack Sawyer’s strip sack of Quinn Ewers and touchdown return to put an exclamation point on the game. 

Yes, Ohio State can still win a track meet. But when they need to win another way, as the situation presented itself against Texas, there has been real growth in the toughness and physicality department. It might be what wins the Buckeyes a national title.”

“There was some narrative that came out that we weren’t a tough team and this and that,” Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom said. “Obviously we block out the outside noise, but all the stuff we do in the offseason behind closed doors, it’s all for toughness. And when you hear that we’re not tough, it definitely might trigger somebody.” 

Despite Day’s public protests, it’s no mystery how he’s evolved the program since that “one bad half” in 2021 when Michigan physically mashed the Buckeyes, 42-27. 

After that season, Day upended his defensive staff, most notably getting rid of coordinator Kerry Coombs. He also parted ways with offensive line coach Greg Studrawa. 

Fast forward to 2024, and Ohio State is one of the best defenses in the country under Knowles and has an offensive line that has survived and thrived despite some brutal injuries including center Seth McLaughlin. 

“Top-five defense, that’s basically what he expected and that’s what I expected,” said Knowles, who took the job after four seasons at Oklahoma State.  “You come to Ohio State, you expect to be the best and play against the best and have coaches who expect the best. I don’t know what it was like before I got there, and I didn’t spend much time with it. I just knew that from the time I arrived, this is what we were going to be and that’s how I drove it.’ 

Of course, to do that requires more than just saying it. These days at Ohio State, everyone talks about the Tuesday and Wednesday practices when they put the pads on and play good-on-good, which hasn’t always been so fashionable in this era of protecting players’ bodies but is often the necessary element to build a team that can function against punishing opponents. 

“It’s a mindset,” linebackers coach and former Buckeye All-American James Laurinaitis said. “Coach Day has said it — there’s a certain callous that builds up when you put the pads on and you do it over and over.

“I think even in the NFL, everything goes in ebbs and flows. There was a whole thing about physicality — pads, pads. And then there’s a new wave of just like, we’re going to do walkthroughs and save their legs and then all the sudden you see missed tackles go up and now we’re all back to pads. It comes and goes. There’s always a fine line there of, like, you’ve got to work hard but you also want to have a fresh team. If there was a perfect science to it, someone would just bottle it up and make a lot of money. There’s no perfect formula to any of it.”

But Ohio State seems to have the right mix at the moment. Though Day stops short of saying his program wasn’t tough enough a few years ago, he allows that they are now better built to win different styles, which is what you need to win a coast-to-coast Big Ten and the College Football Playoff. 

“Every year you learn, and to be honest every year I learn and grow and figure out what needs to be done to get it fixed and identify the issues and be honest and call it for what it is,” Day said. ‘That’s what leaders do. They look out on the horizon and see what’s coming. We all have to continue to learn, and I think I’ve done that as well.”

And if Ohio State wins one more game, Day won’t have to keep telling the world how tough his team is because it will be as self-evident as the shine on their gold trophy. 

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Australian broadcaster Tony Jones has apologized to Novak Djokovic for comments he made on Friday night that the 10-time Australian Open champion considered ‘insulting and offensive.’

Djokovic even went as far as boycotting the traditional on-court interview following his fourth-round win on Sunday, saying he wouldn’t speak to the tournament’s Australian rights holder, Channel Nine, until Jones apologized.

A crowd of Serbian fans had collected outside Channel Nine’s broadcast booth at Melbourne Park on Friday, as Jones called the 24-time Grand Slam champion ‘overrated’ and a ‘has been.’ Jones originally insisted he was joking with the crowd, but later issued a private apology to the ‘Djokovic camp’ when it became clear his comments weren’t taken in jest.

‘I can stand by that apology to Novak,’ he said. ‘We have built up a nice rapport with the Serbian fans … and there was banter, and I thought what I was doing was an extension of that banter. Quite clearly that has not been interpreted that way.’

Tennis Australia said Djokovic, who takes on world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, wanted to move on from the issue.

‘It has been an unfortunate situation, it has been one of personal angst for Novak,’ Jones added, ‘It’s quite clearly personal angst for me as well.’

Jannik Sinner survives stifling heat, Gael Monfils succumbs

Jannik Sinner battled through illness and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Monday but the physical demands of Grand Slam tennis proved too much for French veteran Gael Monfils and American teenager Learner Tien.

The stifling heat did not help defending champion Sinner when he started struggling physically in the second set of his fourth-round clash with Dane Holger Rune on a steamy afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.

The top seed did not want to go into detail on what was ailing him but admitted to having dizzy spells before a lengthy medical timeout in the third set that proved a turning point in his 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

‘I wasn’t feeling really well,’ said 23-year-old Sinner, who equaled the Italian record set by Nicky Pietrangeli by reaching his 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal.

‘I think we saw that today, I was struggling physically. Came here as late as possible. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today.’

Monfils, 38, was forced to retire with his own back issue while trailing American young gun Ben Shelton 7-6 (3,) 6-7( 3,) 7-6 (2), 1-0, ending an inspired run at the year’s first Grand Slam after his Auckland triumph.

Unseeded Lorenzo Sonego made it two Italians in the men’s quarterfinals when he defeated hobbling 19-year-old American qualifier Tien in four sets, having also taken out Brazilian young gun Joao Fonseca in the second round.

Tien, who was bidding to become the youngest man to reach the quarters since Goran Ivanisevic did it as a 17-year-old in 1989, stretched his strapped right thigh after a double fault and never looked comfortable physically.

Iga Swiatek, Emma Navarro, Madison Keys advance

A ruthless Iga Swiatek slammed the door shut on German lucky loser Eva Lys with a 6-0, 6-1 win on Monday to breeze into the quarterfinals of the year’s opening Grand Slam for the second time.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek came into the match having lost only 10 games in the tournament and the Pole sent out another warning to her title rivals by dismantling Lys in 59 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

‘Great, that was my first night session and I’m glad I have the chance to play on Rod Laver Arena,’ Swiatek said.

Meanwhile, American Madison Keys upset sixth seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a roller-coaster match at Margaret Court Arena, extending her win streak to nine matches this year.

Rybakina seemed to be struggling with a lower back injury that had affected her in the third round and Keys was able to play aggressively to neutralize her big serve and take control of the rallies.

‘Her serve is such a weapon, so I knew that if I could just try to make at least some of her service games a little bit competitive, then I had a chance,’ said the 19th seeded Keys, who chalked up her third win over a top-10 player this month.

Australian Open Day 9 results

Men’s singles

1-Jannik Sinner (ITA) beat 13-Holger Rune (DNK) 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2
8-Alex De Minaur (AUS) beat Alex Michelsen (USA) 6-0 7-6(5) 6-3
21-Ben Shelton (USA) beat Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 7-6(2) (Retired)
Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) beat Learner Tien (USA) 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1

Women’s singles

19-Madison Keys (USA) beat 6-Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-3 1-6 6-3
28-Elina Svitolina (UKR) beat Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 6-4 6-1
8-Emma Navarro (USA) beat 9-Daria Kasatkina (RUS) 6-4 5-7 7-5
2-Iga Swiatek (POL) beat Eva Lys (DEU) 6-0 6-1

CC Sabathia loomed as an imposing figure on the mound throughout his 19-year career in the major leagues. Not just because of his physical size, but because of the way he could take over a game.

Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. was a workhorse in every sense of the word. The 6-6 left-hander rarely missed a start and often pitched deep into the late innings, qualities that soon became in short supply.

The 2001 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, Sabathia spent his first eight seasons in the majors with Cleveland, earning a reputation for consistency and durability.

He took home the AL Cy Young award in 2007, with 19 wins and a 3.21 ERA in a league-leading 241 innings. Just before the All-Star break the following season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers – a move that unleashed the most dominant stretch of his career as he almost singlehandedly carried the Brewers to a playoff berth.

In just 17 starts with Milwaukee, Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and led the entire National League with seven complete games and three shutouts. He was so critical to the Brewers making the playoffs that he finished sixth in the NL MVP balloting, despite being with the team for less than half the season.

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That winter, Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million free agent contract with the New York Yankees – the largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history at that time.

It was money well-spent as Sabathia topped the majors with 19 wins in 2009 in leading the Yankees to a World Series title. He pitched 10 more seasons in New York, earning 134 of his 251 career wins while wearing Yankee pinstripes and becoming the 17th pitcher in baseball history to surpass 3,000 strikeouts.

Why Sabathia belongs in the Hall 

A six-time All-Star, Sabathia had both a high peak (especially the seven-year stretch between 2006 and 2012 when he went 122-57 with a 3.14 ERA) and exceptional longevity (251 career wins and 3,093 strikeouts, third-most in history among left-handed pitchers).

He helped lead his teams to 11 playoff appearances over his 19-year career. And he was the MVP of the 2009 American League championship series, allowing just two earned runs over 16 innings (1.13 ERA) in two wins over the Los Angeles Angels and propelling the Yankees to the World Series.

Sabathia finished his career with 62.3 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball-Reference.com. That puts him right behind Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Juan Marichal and ahead of Early Wynn and Jim Bunning.

The case against Sabathia

While Sabathia’s longevity helped him rack up impressive career totals, his 3.74 ERA would be one of the highest for any pitcher in Cooperstown – ahead of only Jack Morris (3.90) and Red Ruffing (3.80) among the 66 enshrined non-Negro League starting pitchers. However, he did play during a time of elevated offensive numbers, so his 116 ERA+ would rank him ahead of 20 others in Cooperstown.

Though he did win a World Series ring and made 23 postseason starts, Sabathia didn’t have many memorable October moments. His career playoff record was just 10-7 with a 4.28 ERA.

X factors

In addition to being one of the most visible and outspoken Black players in the game, Sabathia was a beloved teammate throughout his career, frequently putting team goals ahead of individual ones.

Perhaps the most frequently cited example came as his career was winding down in 2018, when he was ejected from his final start for hitting an opposing batter. He did that in retaliation for the other team’s pitcher throwing a pitch behind the head of a Yankees player, despite it causing him to fall two innings short of a $500,000 bonus in his contract. (The Yankees paid him the bonus anyway.)

Sabathia also had a very public battle with alcohol, and his fight against addiction made him a compelling figure in his recovery.

Voting trends

Sabathia appears to have a very good chance for election in his first year on the BBWAA ballot.

According to Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame Tracker, he has been listed on 93.1% of public votes collected as of Jan. 19.

Realistic outlook

Part of perhaps the last generation of workhorse starters, Sabathia’s career total of 3,577⅓ innings pitched is the most of anyone born after 1966, despite the fact that he wasn’t born until 1980.

The BBWAA has not elected a pitcher to the Hall since the trio of Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina in 2019. Sabathia (and Billy Wagner) should provide a welcome reset this year.

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