The 2024 NCAA football season has ended, and the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff crowned Ohio State as its champion on Monday night. The Buckeyes raced out to a big lead over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish but held on for a 34-23 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, securing a seventh national title for Ryan Day‘s team and the program’s first in more than a decade.
But Notre Dame‘s wait rolls on, despite an inspired performance from quarterback Riley Leonard. The Fighting Irish last won the national championship in 1988; that drought will continue for at least another season, despite Leonard‘s 295 total yards and three total touchdowns on Monday night. The result upset Notre Dame’s fans because Leonard performed so well; it also angered Texas Longhorns fans, a large and vocal group whose team had its season ended by Ohio State in the CFP semifinals.
Steve Sarkisian slammed over missed Manning opportunity
Leonard’s success running the ball against a good front seven at Ohio State prompted widespread confusion over Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian‘s decision not to play his dynamic backup quarterback Arch Manning in more diverse packages when the Longhorns battled the Buckeyes in Arlington, Texas. Sarkisian stuck by redshirt junior Quinn Ewers as his quarterback, and Ewers endured a devastating fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium, when Buckeyes linebacker Jack Sawyer took Ewers’ fumble and ran it back 83 yards for the game’s final touchdown.
The Irish had Leonard carry the ball nine times on its 10-minute opening drive, which led to the game’s opening touchdown. When Texas played Ohio State, Sarkisian had Manning carry the ball one time for eight yards, and the Longhorns never led in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Sarkisian will be out of excuses in 2025. Ewers has declared for the NFL Draft, and Texas secured a top-rated recruiting class to support Manning as he takes over QB1 duties in Austin. If and when Texas faces another big-name opponent in December 2025 and/or January 2026, fans will expect — not hope — for Manning to use his legs as well as his arm, and the reprisal could be significant if the Longhorns fail to win the national championship again.