Get pressure on Will Howard from the start. Get more physical from the opening snap. Push around the receivers. Muck it up a bit with a late hit that gets everyone mad. Get in Ohio State's head. If you can figure out the equivalent of the Bret Bielema substitution pattern thing that melted the brain of South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, do it.

The Athletic beat writers Pete Sampson (Notre Dame) and Cameron Teague Robinson (Ohio State) break down the title game.

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field has been whittled down to two as Ohio State prepares to face Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship on Monday, Jan. 20 in Atlanta. Program legends will be made as Ohio State seeks its first national title since 2014,