College Football Playoff Overreactions: Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Among Elite, Emeka Egbuka Wins Ohio State

Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has lost at home to Marshall, Northern Illinois and Stanford, among others. He has only been a head coach for three years and, thanks in large part to Notre Dame's status as an independent, has yet to win a single championship. In the grand scheme of things, none of that matters.

At just 39 years old, Freeman is already one of the three best coaches in the world college football. He has steadily improved at the helm of one of college football's most storied institutions. He is 5-0 in his last five postseason games with the Fighting Irish. Now Notre Dame is on the precipice of its first national title in nearly 40 years.

Freeman has put together a coaching masterclass to get the Irish this far. Many wrote them off after that early season loss to Northern Illinois. It certainly created a tremendous amount of pressure and eliminated any margin of error for Notre Dame. But Freeman took that pressure and made a diamond.

Notre Dame is riding a 13-game winning streak into the College Football Playoff National Championship showdown against its alma mater, Ohio State. Eleven of those wins, including two playoff games, came on at least two possessions.

That's not all. Notre Dame outlasted a majority of the FBS while missing several key players due to injury. Cornerback Benjamin Morrison – a potential first-round pick in 2025 NFL draft – has been out since October. Notre Dame lost sack leader Rylie Mills for the season against Indiana. He was the third starting defensive lineman to suffer a season-ending condition.

Top offensive lineman Charles Jagusah tore his pectoral muscle less than a month before the season started. He saw action in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State when Notre Dame lost two offensive linemen to injury.

Not only has Freeman overcome those losses, his Irish have thrived in a chaotic college football landscape. The scary part – for other teams at least – is that given his youth, Freeman hasn't even come close to his ceiling yet. He has the potential to reach rare air.

Penn State will not break through under Franklin

This was the year to do it. It should have been a last hurray for a legendary 2022 recruiting class that included Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Abdul Carter. The Nittany Lions were given perhaps the easiest College Football Playoff path in the entire field, with games against smaller brand schools like SMU and Boise State.

The Nittany Lions performed well in those first two games, winning by an average margin of 22.5 points. Then came a similar opponent in Notre Dame.

Penn State got off to a suffocating start and held a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter. Even after Notre Dame roared back with 17 unanswered points, the Nittany Lions rode their own 14-0 run early in the fourth quarter to regain the momentum. Fans are well aware of how things went from there. Drew Allar — a member of that 2022 class — threw an ill-advised interception and Notre Dame kicked a field goal that brought Penn State's year of destiny to a screeching halt.

Even with the two playoff wins, Penn State went 0-3 in the three games that mattered most: against Ohio State in the regular season, Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game and Notre Dame in the semis finals of the College Football Playoff.

Given the roster and circumstances, this was Penn State's best chance under Franklin for a long time. The championship window is closed. Even if Allar returns, it will be without superstars like Abdul Carter and tight end Tyler Warren – the heart and soul of Penn State's offense.

Franklin's recruiting power – often his calling card – is waning. Penn State scarred the nation No. 20 class in the 2025 cycle, according to the 247Composite ranking of sports teamss, during the December early signing period. It's the first time since 2021 that Penn State's recruiting efforts have lagged behind the top 15.

There is a major talent shortage on offense, especially at wide receiver, that will only worsen after Warren's departure. Singleton and Allen are also both thinking about their futures.

It's only going to get harder to navigate the Big Ten. Ohio State is knocking on the door of a national championship. Oregon recruits as well as any school in the country. While an expanded playoff offers Penn State the chance to at least make the rankings every year, Franklin's chance to claim a title – at the conference or national level – is over.

Steve Sarkisian is his own worst enemy

The only thing standing between Texas and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship was Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian is an excellent offensive player. He is one of the brightest minds in the sport. He is also his own worst enemy.

After falling behind 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter in the semifinals against Ohio State, Texas had a chance to even things up just before the two-minute timeout. The Longhorns had first and goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line. Three yards to go for a touchdown. Conventional wisdom dictates that you run between the tackles and push your way in from such a short distance.

To Sarkisian's credit, Texas tried that on its first game. Running back Jerrick Gibson got stoned at the line of scrimmage. On second down, the Longhorns tried to throw the ball to Tre Wisner, which didn't work against Ohio State's uber-athletic defense. Safety Caleb Downs cut into the backfield and Lathan Ransom finished the game for a loss of eight.

In one misguided play, Texas squandered its scoring opportunity. The Longhorns went from an easy scoring situation, where all a player really had to do was fall forward to break the plane, to a moment of sheer desperation. Quarterback Quinn Ewers' pass on third-and-8 was batted away and on fourth-and-goal, Ewers barely had a chance to drop back before being sacked by Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer.

Sawyer recovered the ensuing fumble and ran it back for a touchdown that sealed the game for the Buckeyes. Sarkisian's play order was frustrating, and it wasn't isolated.

There were several times this year when Sarkisian overcomplicated things for the Texas offense. He often added quarterback Arch Manning at odd times. He insisted on passing the ball against Clemson when the Longhorns got what they wanted with their ground game. In most cases, Texas' massive talent advantage was enough to overcome Sarkisian's mistakes.

But not against teams like Ohio State. Sarkisian is a great coach, but his tendency to become “cute” will keep him from reaching the next level.

Egbuka is key for Ohio State

Calling Emeka Egbuka a “secret weapon” for Ohio State is a stretch. He's likely a first-round pick in April's NFL Draft and has long been a top option in OSU's offense. But this year he's been overshadowed by the likes of freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith and star running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins.

That makes him Ohio State's most important player in the national title game. Notre Dame will have to pick its poison when defending the Buckeyes. Texas provided one decent blueprint to stop Smith – double him with a cornerback and safety or try to disrupt the passing lanes towards Smith's side with a defensive lineman. Either way, it takes a lot of effort.

Notre Dame will also focus heavily on Ohio State's backfield, as Judkins and Henderson combined to score three touchdowns against the Longhorns. This means that Egbuka must be able to operate in many isolated situations.

That's great for him considering his ability to run routes. He also has great hands and can often win on contested catches. He will be crucial to Ohio State's offense against the Fighting Irish.