Ohio State's incredible about-face, plus the Bears' ace hire

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Good morning! Don’t kick a field goal today.

While You Were Sleeping: It’s a Buckeye sweep

Last night, there were two games within the College Football Playoff title game, both games containing incredible highs and stinging regrets. Only one team — Ohio State — came away with a ring, but before we wax on the Buckeyes’ incredible run, we need to remember the dizzying juxtaposition within this game:

• Game 1: The Buckeyes absolutely swamped Notre Dame for about 40 minutes. After the Fighting Irish’s opening touchdown drive, Ohio State scored 31 straight points. Notre Dame was in the blender. The contest was over. And apparently, the Buckeyes relaxed.
• Game 2: Once again, this Notre Dame team showed mettle. With 9:27 left, the Irish had clawed back to a 31-15 margin with the ball inside the Ohio State 10-yard line. For some reason, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman chose to kick a field goal — which would’ve kept the game at a two-score margin. The 27-yard attempt doinked off the upright. And still Notre Dame closed it to 31-23 late, but could not contain superhuman freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Game over.

Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23. The Buckeyes are the first national champs of the 12-team Playoff era, and their presence here could not embody the Playoff more:

• This team would not have made a four-team CFP. After that brutal loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale, they looked lost. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day’s seat was sizzling. Yet with four dominant CFP victories, Day has his first national title and Ohio State has its seventh, its first since 2014 — when it was the first champ of the four-team era.

Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images

So many players will go down in Ohio State lore for this performance. QB Will Howard was perfect through his first 13 passes and avoided any costly mistakes, which had been a pesky problem all year. RB Quinshon Judkins and Smith were simply better and more athletic than the people defending them.

And with this, the college football season is finally over. Andy McCullough wondered if the first 12-team Playoff was a success. I say yes: Despite some first-round duds, seeing Playoff atmospheres in some of college football’s greatest stadiums was absolutely worth it. We can tinker with seeding going forward, but keep the campus environments coming.

Two final thoughts: 

• Notre Dame still counts this season as a stunning success, but getting this far — again — with no bling afterward is tough. Next year’s schedule is plenty workable for a return Playoff trip, though.
  
• Oh yeah, next year. Ohio State opened last night as the odds leader to win it all again. Stewart Mandel also picked his way-too-early Top 25 for next year, with a mild surprise at No. 1. See the full rankings here.

Just three football games left this season. Let’s keep moving:

Upgrades: The Bears!

Welcome back to the NFL coaching carousel, where we have major breaking action from yesterday:

Former Saints head coach Dennis Allen is reportedly a leading candidate to become the Bears’ defensive coordinator, which would be an expert move — at least from this vantage point — for a defense that was already really good.

In other coaching news: Former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is taking the same job with the Colts after parting ways with Cincinnati after six years.

News to Know

Gauff out at AO
Coco Gauff is done at the Australian Open after losing to Spain’s Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals yesterday. It is an upset, yes, but it’s also a remarkable story for Badosa, who has recovered from a potentially career-ending back injury and a choke against Emma Navarro in the U.S. Open in September. She can be someone to root for going forward.

McDavid gets 3 games
The NHL suspended Connor McDavid three games yesterday for his cross-check on Canucks winger Conor Garland on Saturday, and subsequently suspended Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers three games as well for his hit on Oilers blueliner Evan Bouchard following McDavid’s blow. Oilers coaches and players decried the abuse McDavid receives night in and night out. See more context here.

Blue Jays finally sign a free agent
Outfielder Anthony Santander agreed to a five-year, $92.5 million deal with Toronto, the first win of the offseason for a Blue Jays team seemingly finishing second or third for every big-name free agent over the last two seasons. The good news: Santander hit 44 home runs last year and brings instant power to a Jays offense that could use it. Keith Law says the deal might not age well, though.