Get pressure on Will Howard from the start. Get more physical from the opening snap. Push around the receivers. Muck it up a bit with a late hit that gets everyone mad. Get in Ohio State's head. If you can figure out the equivalent of the Bret Bielema substitution pattern thing that melted the brain of South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, do it.

The culminating event of the first 16-team College Football Playoff as well as the 2024-25 season is less than a week away as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Championship Game on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have had a fascinating 2024-25 season. Picked as one of the best teams in the country, with a roster that ranked as the most talented in the entire sport, they found themselves the object of a significant amount of criticism as the season progressed.