Ohio State, Notre Dame play for college football championship: NPR

In a previous era of college football, the two teams in Monday night’s championship game — Ohio State and Notre Dame — would not have been in the playoffs at all.

For most of the history of college football’s top tier, a team had to go undefeated in the regular season, or be very lucky, to contend for a title. A single bad loss in the regular season would often ruin those chances.

But college football changes every year. A new 12-team playoff format has opened the door for a new kind of champion.

Both Ohio State and Notre Dame have been strong all season. But they each suffered a baffling loss in the regular season: The Buckeyes in a rivalry game against a mediocre Michigan team and Notre Dame in a stunning September upset of Northern Illinois.

Under the old system, those L’s could have doomed either team’s title hopes. Instead, they’re poised to appear on the sport’s biggest stage to claim the first-ever championship in the expanded playoff era.

Here’s what else you need to know about the matchup:

Both teams are among college football’s most successful programs of all time

In college football, it doesn’t get much more iconic than Notre Dame or Ohio State. These two programs are both among the top-five all-time winningest teams: Ohio State is second in total wins and Notre Dame is fourth.

Ohio State has had more success recently, including titles in 2002 and 2014. During the 10 years that the playoffs included four teams, Ohio State qualified half of the time, while Notre Dame made it twice. Notre Dame last won a championship in 1988.

Another notable thing in college football’s modern era: Both teams are from the Midwest. College football has come to be dominated by teams from the South, which have won all but two of the past 19 title games.

With a Notre Dame win, head coach Marcus Freeman would make history

In the history of college football, no black or Asian American head coach has ever led his team to a national title. Freeman, whose father is black and mother is South Korean, is already the first to train in title game — a Notre Dame win would make him the first to win.

When it comes to the achievements of black head coaches, college football lags far behind the NFL and even further behind college basketball and the NBA — even though about half of the players in the sport’s top tier are black. Today, 16 out of 134 head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision are black, a number there has barely budged in a decade.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, this playoff has already made the 39-year-old head coach a star.

Keep an eye on Ohio State’s star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith

The jewel of Ohio State’s 20 million dollar list is 19-year-old budding superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a 6-foot-3 true freshman who has lived up to the hype that surrounded his recruitment out of high school.

Smith has racked up 1,227 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns this season. His biggest game to date came when Ohio State knocked off the then-undefeated Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals. Smith caught 187 yards on seven receptions, two of them for touchdowns — and he did almost all of it in a dominant first half.

His big-play ability has been key to Ohio State’s success this season. Some NFL analysts say he would be selected first overall in this year’s upcoming NFL draft if he were eligible — but players must play in college for at least three years so Smith has a chance to dominate college football for a while yet.

The game could come down to which team makes the most explosive plays — or mistakes

Ohio State has the better offense and is favored by more than a touchdown. Notre Dame is the great defensive team – but will it be enough?

Ohio State’s 28-14 semifinal victory over Texas may look skewed by the final score. But two of Ohio State’s touchdowns came on long plays — a short screen pass that turned into a 75-yard touchdown just before halftime and the game-clinching 83-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the final minutes of the game.

Texas hung on because its defense neutralized Ohio State’s ability to make explosive plays. The Longhorns held Smith to just one reception for three yards. But in the end, the Texas offense couldn’t convert when it mattered.

Notre Dame is more of a grind-it-out team. The Irish focus on the running game, dominating the line of scrimmage and limiting costly turnovers.

Quarterback Riley Leonard’s legs have been a difference maker all season for the Irish. But in the semifinals against Penn State, it was his arm that came through in the game’s biggest moments — including a 54-yard touchdown to tie the game late, then a key first down completion with 17 seconds left that put them within easy field goal range for the final score of the game. Can he come through for the Irish again?

Monday night’s game in Atlanta kicks off at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on ESPN and streamed on Fubo.