Ohio State secured its first national championship in a decade Monday night, driven by a team open about their faith and guided by a coach who credited faith as an important consider the team’s chemistry. The Buckeyes raced out to a 31-7 lead after which held on for a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame, giving the college its first national title since 2014 and its third this century. This season marked the debut of school football’s 12-team playoff, expanding from the previous four-team format.
“Faith is big with these guys,” head coach Ryan Day told an ESPN audience throughout the postgame.
That faith was demonstrated when Ohio State’s star players spoke with ESPN after the win.
“First and foremost, I’ve got to offer the glory and the praise of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” said quarterback Will Howard, who accomplished 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
“I would not be here without Him. I would not be here without my teammates, without my family, without everyone that bet on me back in Downingtown, Pa.,” he added, referencing his hometown.
The OSU coaching staff “modified my life in additional ways in which I can say,” Howard said. He was named the sport’s offensive MVP.
“I can not imagine God gave me the possibility to be a Buckeye,” he said.
The Buckeyes’ victory within the national championship game got here seven weeks after they lost to rival Michigan in considered one of the season’s biggest upsets. Although many fans were calling for Day’s dismissal, he rallied the team for 4 straight victories within the playoffs.
Monday’s defensive MVP, Cody Simon, also discussed his faith. He recorded eight tackles.
“I just need to say the Lord did something special on this team, and we’re just so thankful,” Simon told ESPN. “Everyone on this team, all of us bought in.”
Faith, Simon said, “brought us all together.”
“We all trust one another with our lives at once, and I believe you saw it on the sector,” he said.
The team’s faith made headlines throughout the fall when a whole lot of scholars gathered for a worship service led by football players. About 60 students were baptized.
The team’s faith became a point of interest during ESPN’s postgame evaluation.
“They’ve talked a lot about that and the way much they leaned into faith,” ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt told colleague Rece Davis. “It seems that each faith in above and faith in each other is what got Ohio State through.”
Davis agreed.
“We hear plenty of times people discuss their faith, and other people kind of dismiss it,” Davis said. “These guys were sharing their faith and reaching out and baptizing guys on campus — not only football teammates. And it became something powerful to them, not because they thought it was going to be handed to them to win a game, but it surely developed, it modified their relationships, and it modified selfishness and made it go away. It was impactful for them. It didn’t mean they were going to ensure they were going to win.
“And Notre Dame had plenty of that occurring, in addition to. You heard [Notre Dame coach] Marcus [Freeman] discuss that so much this 12 months, that it made guys selfless. And I believe that is the facility in it.”
“I can not imagine God gave me the possibility to be a Buckeye.” 🙏
This means all the things to Will Howard 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DPDR679JtS
— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Paras Griffin/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of religion and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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