Ohio State defeats Notre Dame 34-23 to win national championship
ATLANTA — Two months after a stunning loss to their most bitter rival seeded doubts about Ohio State’s coach and future, the Buckeyes left no doubt Monday about their place within college football’s hierarchy. To end the 2024 season, Ohio State sits alone at the top after its 34-23 win against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff national championship earned the program’s ninth national title and its first in a decade. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard finished 17-for-21 passing for 231 yards and two scores. His 56-yard completion to star freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith with 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter and Ohio State clinging to an eight-point lead set up the game-clinching touchdown.
One conference's stranglehold on college football may be over
ATLANTA — Tony Petitti descended a small flight of stairs from a temporary stage to the turf field inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium late Monday night with a smile on his face and flecks of championship confetti dotting his vest adorned with the Big Ten Conference logo. Not quite two years had passed since Petitti took the job as the Big Ten commissioner. At that point, the conference was already, by many measures, one of the two most influential in college sports, alongside the Southeastern Conference. But by one scoreboard, one conference was supremely ahead. A Big Ten team had not won college football’s national championship in nine years, and only twice in the previous 21. The SEC, meanwhile, had claimed 13 of the last 17 national championships.
Brett Favre opens up about challenge of facing Trump in golf
Even Hall of Fame athletes are taken aback by President Donald Trump's golf game. Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been seen playing golf with Trump since August 2020 and spoke about his experience playing with Trump in a post on X Monday.
UFC star Conor McGregor 'very optimistic' ahead of Trump's presidency
UFC star Conor McGregor attended a ball ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Sunday night and spoke highly of him. McGregor expressed optimism about the future of the U.S. in a red-carpet interview with reporters, according to BG on the Scene.
Watch the highlights and best plays from the Eagles' 28-22 win against the Rams
The Philadelphia Eagles rode star running back Saquon Barkley all year to a division title, and now they are one win away from a conference championship. The MVP candidate, just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, continued his career year with another monster performance Sunday. Barkley had 205 yards rushing and two scores — primarily in the snow — to help the Eagles defeat the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 and advance to the NFC championship game. Philadelphia will host division rival Washington, a team fresh off an upset of top seed Detroit in the divisional rounds.
Want to win a national title as a QB in 2025? Start small, but think big
ATLANTA — Four years ago, as Riley Leonard entered his senior season of high school football in Fairhope, Alabama, he received such little recruiting interest that the deeply religious 6-foot-4 quarterback began to consult a higher power in his search for a college scholarship. “I remember sitting in my room and praying at night like, 'Jesus, Lord, would you please just give me something, give me an offer?” Leonard told reporters Saturday. Duke University eventually answered that prayer, and a few years later, Leonard attended a famed summertime academy for quarterbacks in Louisiana run by Archie Manning, the former NFL quarterback and father of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli. At the academy, Leonard roomed with Will Howard, the starting quarterback at Kansas State who, like Leonard, shared a similar backstory. Each was a three-star high school prospect, out of a possible five, who had been passed over by the country’s most tradition-rich schools and had instead proved himself as a starter at a middle-tier program.
Baltimore Ravens dropped their Super Bowl chance, and Lamar Jackson knows it
A trip to the AFC championship game — and possibly the Super Bowl — slipped through the Baltimore Ravens' collective fingers. Star quarterback Lamar Jackson lamented a litany of self-inflicted wounds during his team's 27-25 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, on a dreary Sunday night in western New York that'll haunt the Ravens for evermore.
Wayne Gretzky attends Trump's inauguration as incoming president floats NHL legend for Canadian leadership
NHL legend Wayne Gretzky was spotted at Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday as the incoming president has teased "The Great One" as the next leader of Canada. Gretzky was tucked away to the left of Dallas Mavericks majority owner Miriam Adelson and UFC president Dana White. Gretzky was seen watching as Trump’s Cabinet nominees, lawmakers and other luminaries and dignitaries made their way into the Capitol Rotunda.
Trump 'embodies what being an American is all about,' UFC's Dana White says
UFC President Dana White spoke glowingly about President-elect Trump on Sunday night in Washington with his inauguration only hours away. White talked to supporters at the Capital One Arena – home of the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Georgetown Hoyas – about Trump winning the election through every bit of adversity a presidential candidate could possibly face.
Commanders upset Lions 45-31 to advance to NFC Championship: Highlights
Fresh off one of the best seasons in franchise history, the Detroit Lions entered the NFL playoffs as the NFC’s top seed and with ambitions of making their first Super Bowl. Instead, the Lions were stopped before they could advance even to the conference title game. This season Washington has become synonymous with unpredictable comebacks, but another wasn’t necessary Saturday inside Detroit’s Ford Field. On the road but undaunted, Washington overwhelmed Detroit 45-31 behind rookie phenom Jayden Daniels and a Commanders defense that forced five turnovers to advance to the NFC title game for the first time since 1991.