The CFP will never likely surpass the NFL in the attention economy, but the march through the first 12-team Playoff has been a positive one.

Ohio State came out on top in the national championship on Monday, outlasting a late Notre Dame comeback push to win 34-23. The game brought an end to the first edition of the expanded College Football Playoff, which features 12 teams vying for the title instead of four.

In a roller-coaster season, the Irish took a deep dive early before slowly ascending over the last four months. They entered 2024 with postseason aspirations and an intriguing roster, led by Duke transfer Riley Leonard at quarterback, an explosive running back in Jeremiyah Love and a formidable defense. It lasted two weeks.

Now that it’s all over and the Ohio State Buckeyes are the college football national champions, it can be definitively said: Expanding the College Football Playoff worked.

Ohio State reigned supreme in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, defeating Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame on its road to glory. Like most things in college sports right now,

The Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship on the backs of a senior-laden roster, but the future of the history-making class was put in a tough spot because of their deep playoff run. The 2025 Senior Bowl originally had several senior Buckeyes announced with accepted invites to compete.