Notre Dame will enter Monday night's national championship game in Atlanta as the big winner. There are very few teams that can expect to win. They lost to Ohio State by 8.5 points.
The only team to lose badly in the sport's final game since 2013 was TCU two years ago, when the Horned Frogs lost to Georgia in an ugly, lopsided title game.
Ohio State is expected to win and score a big win. But few expected the Irish to get this far, especially after a shocking loss to 28-point favorite Northern Illinois in South Bend on Sept. 7.
They haven't lost since then and are on a 13-game winning streak ending Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Tenth-seeded Notre Dame easily defeated No. 10-seeded Indiana in the opening game, defeated SEC champion and second-seeded Georgia, and defeated Big Ten runner-up and sixth-seeded Penn State.
In both contests, the Fighting Irish looked overwhelmed early on, only to finally find their footing after shaky starts.
They showed their mettle in the win over the Nittany Lions, see-sawing to score the final 10 points of the game.
There is a magical team of destiny with the Irish.
Despite a number of injuries to key players and a shocking loss early in the season, they are one of only two teams to survive to the end. They won't be intimidated by heavily favored Ohio State.
The Post covers other storylines from the big game below.
Can Notre Dame run the ball?
Ohio State has an elite run-stuffing defense, ranking third in the nation in rushing yards per game at 89.9.
Notre Dame loves to stay on the ground, averaging 210.8 yards per game, 14th best in the country.
Three different players, quarterback Riley Leonard and tailbacks Jeremiah Love and Jadarian Price, rushed for at least 733 yards and seven touchdowns.
It's the Irish's offensive identity, controlling the line of scrimmage and setting up passes from the run.
But the Buckeyes held Oregon, Texas and Tennessee to a combined 187 rushing yards in their three playoff wins, and were mauled up front by Michigan in a shocking Thanksgiving weekend loss in Columbus, Ohio. I recovered well afterwards.
Rental guns are better under center.
This will be the first time two first-year quarterbacks from new schools will meet in the national championship game.
The transfer portal certainly worked out for Notre Dame's Riley Leonard (Duke) and Ohio State's Will Howard (Kansas State).
In fact, Ohio State had some interest in Leonard, but Leonard ended up committing to Notre Dame fairly early in the process. Howard also first heard from the Irish.
Ironically, the two QBs were roommates at Manning Passing Academy this summer.
They have followed similar paths to this point, both performing well at lower-level programs before stepping up and making their way to the top of the sport.
Although they have overcome setbacks, some have questioned their ability to lead the team this far.
However, the duo had a great run in the playoffs, totaling 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Freshman vs. Freshman
Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith could ruin this game.
He had 13 catches for 290 yards and four touchdowns in wins over Tennessee and Oregon in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but lost to Texas in the semifinals.
This season, he has 71 catches for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns, all freshman records for the Buckeyes.
But Notre Dame has a freshman player of its own in cornerback Leonard Moore, who won the Best New Defensive Player of the Year award as voted by the Football Writers Association of America.
He led the Irish defense with 10 pass breakups, 43 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Smith and Moore were able to see a lot of each other Monday night.
Marcus Freeman plays against his alma mater
We're going to hear a lot about Notre Dame's coach in the coming days.
He is competing against Ohio State, where he played from 2004 to 2008, and is looking to lead Notre Dame to its first title since 1988.
Freeman, just 39 years old, recently signed a four-year contract extension through the 2030 season.
He was able to do what his predecessor, Brian Kelly, was unable to do: win big games.
Freeman already has 14 wins against Top 25 opponents in just three seasons and deftly overcame an ugly loss to Northern Illinois. Now he has to pass his alma mater.
