Ohio State, the first team to run the gauntlet of four playoff games on its way to the national title, celebrated with 30,000 Buckeyes fans on Sunday at Ohio Stadium.

Ryan Day deserved to feel vindication when he won a national championship less than two months after it seemed his Ohio State job was on the line.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was able to keep a team-first approach after having extra defensive attention make him almost invisible in the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl win over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Ohio State this time gets the chance to play for the national title after another bitter loss to its biggest rival.

Ohio State and Texas are both seeking a chance to end national title droughts.

Oregon withstood many challenges en route to being the only unbeaten team and the top seed in the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State players had been thinking about a rematch with Oregon long before the Buckeyes crushed Tennessee in a first-round playoff game.