No. 8 Ohio State football wins ninth National Championship

The GIST: Confetti rained down on No. 8 Ohio State after Monday’s 34–23 College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship win over No. 7 Notre Dame, marking the Buckeyes’ first natty since Taylor Swift shook it off in 2014.

• Gatorade showers hit hard, but these numbers reflecting on a historic CFP hit harder:

56 yards: The distance of the game-clinching play, a third-down dime thrown by title game offensive MVP, OSU senior quarterback (QB) Will Howard, to freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

12: The number of teams who competed in the expanded CFP that debuted this season, ultimately setting up a national championship showdown between two teams who wouldn’t have made the CFP in its previous four-team format. More is more.

Nine: The total number of championship banners the Buckeyes have raised, good enough for sixth on the all-time list.

$20M: The amount of NIL (aka name, image, and likeness) cash Ohio State dished out to its football players, the most in the NCAA this season. It’s literally the best roster money could buy.

1: Golf cart incident The Buckeyes’ spot in the final AP Poll of the season, a five spot climb after a dominant CFP run that saw them win every playoff game by double digits.

First: Notre Dame head coach (HC) Marcus Freeman became both the first Black and first Asian HC in college football history to lead their squad to the title game.

Who’s got next?: It’s never too early to look ahead to next year’s 12-team CFP, where QB Arch Manning and his Texas Longhorns (who were eliminated in this year’s semis) are among the favorites to win it all. Can’t wait.