by Caroline Polen

When Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in the College Football National Championship on January 20, the game gained about 22.1 million views, making it the most-watched non-NFL sporting event. 

When students and staff at BHS were asked their thoughts on the game, their answers varied.

“We only root for the Buckeyes,” English Language Arts teacher Julie Giles said. “We are so happy that the Buckeyes won the National Championship.”

This game was filled with moments to remember.

“I think the celebration afterward was especially memorable,” Giles said. “The joy and happiness and emotion that the players showed. Kirk Herbstreits’ emotional interview afterward was touching, too.”

“The long pass to Jeremiah Smith to seal the win late in the 4th quarter,” history teacher Perry Caldwell said was the most memorable play of the game for him. “I hope young people can know the story of how this Buckeye team faced adversity. They took the failures of the season and used them as motivation to play their best football at the end of the season when it mattered most.”

Giles also commented on the Buckeyes’ legacy.

“The Buckeyes’ playoff run will go down as one of the greatest ever,” Giles said. “Such impressive victories all the way through it. I love that they won the first National Championship of the four-team playoff era, and now they have won the first National Championship of the 12-team era.”

In the end, Ohio State won the game 34-23, earning the national title. This win gave the Buckeyes their seventh national title as well as giving the Big Ten back-to-back national champions for the first time since 1942. The Fighting Irish have eight national titles but have not won since 1988.

On Monday night, the Buckeyes led 21-7 going into halftime, and they started the second half with a touchdown to extend their lead to 28-7.

Before the game, students at BHS had planned on watching.

“I’ll probably watch it just because my dad will be watching it,” sophomore Ashelyn Barrios said. “I’m not an Ohio State fan, but I’ll watch it because it will be a fun game.”

“I am watching the game,” sophomore Natalie Bruckman said. “I am rooting for Notre Dame; I will watch so I can see Notre Dame win.”

“Probably not,” sophomore Georgia Beeghly said. “I don’t really care about football.”

In the end, most of the students interviewed didn’t end up watching.

“I didn’t end up watching the game,” Bruckman said. “I was really sad when I found out Notre Dame lost, though.” 

“I didn’t watch the game,” Barrios said. “I wanted Notre Dame to win, so I was disappointed in the way it turned out.”