For the first time since 2018, Atlanta hosted the College Football National Championship on January 20th, 2025 to wrap up a long season. After a campaign full of upsets, twists and turns, and a playoff full of the country’s top teams battling out in the first 12-team format in history, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were set to decide a champion in Mercedez-Benz Stadium on a cold Monday night in downtown Atlanta. As the excitement of the game began to rage through the streets of Atlanta leading up to January 20th, students at North Atlanta couldn’t help but join in on the fun before (and after for some) the game.
After a long and seemingly one-sided game until the very end, the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a score of 34-23 to win their first national championship since the 2014-15 season. Some highlights of the game included runningback Quinshon Judkins’s electric 100-yard 2 touchdown performance and quarterback Will Howards’s 231-yard 2 touchdown passing performance to propel the Buckeyes to victory. Towards the end of the game, the Fighting Irish made things interesting with a 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jaden Green from quarterback Riley Leonard to cut the Buckeye’s lead to 8 before Jeremiah Smith caught a monster 56 yeard longball to ice the game and secure the Buckeye victory. “My whole family and I went crazy when Jeremiah Smith caught that ball,” said senior Ohio State fan Braden Atkins, “We’ve waited so long for a championship.”
On the other hand, this championship game was not very memorable for Notre Dame fans, as their season came to an end in disappointment while Ohio State fans were able to celebrate throughout the streets of Atlanta. After an impressive 14-1 record going into the game, Notre Dame fans were eager to see their squad take on the Buckeyes on the greatest stage possible. However, after a disappointing defensive performance and a failed comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, Fighting Irish fans were left to fly back home as runner-ups. “I’m upset that we couldn’t win in the end”, said senior Notre Dame fan Trent Earle, “It kinda feels like we came all this way just for nothing.”
Due to the game being played down the street in Mercedez-Benz Stadium, some North Atlanta students were about to take advantage and experience the festivities and some even ended up attending the game. Better yet, students were able to take advantage of the long winter-caused “break” and stay up late Monday night to fully watch and enjoy the game. This gave the game a “weekend feel” due to no school the next day as opposed to the highly disliked Monday night slot that the game is usually played. “I went to the game and it was such a dream come true,” said senior Ohio State fan Brooks Allen, “Seeing [Ohio State] win in general is amazing, but it’s a lot cooler when you witness it in person”
Another season, another championship game, and this one was home in the great city of Atlanta. With Mercedez-Benz Stadium being a younger stadium, it should be no surprise to see Atlanta get a bid for more of these games in the future. As Atlanta continues to grow as the years go on, it’s always cool seeing Atlanta host one of the biggest spectacles in sports.
