Ohio State staves off late Notre Dame rally to win CFP championship for first title since 2014

The drought is over.

The doubts about Ryan Day, about Ohio State, about their inability to win on the biggest stages, can fade away.

With a 34-23 win over No. 7-seed Notre Dame on Monday, the No. 8-seed Buckeyes secured their ninth national championship in program history and their first since 2014, holding off a late comeback from the Fighting Irish after Ohio State built a commanding lead and watched it nearly slip away.

Ohio State cruised past Tennessee, Oregon and Texas to reach the national championship, and after allowing Notre Dame to strike first with an 18-play drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock, the Buckeyes erupted for 31 consecutive points.

Will Howard completed his first 12 passes to set a CFP record in what became a near-perfect opening 30 minutes.

Notre Dame, though, scored two touchdowns — and, perhaps more importantly, added a pair of two-point conversions — to pull within eight points before Ohio State prevailed and the celebration began in Atlanta.