The 2024 season was a landmark year for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, finishing with a 14-2 record and a runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Under the leadership of head coach Marcus Freeman, the team demonstrated resilience and excellence, marking their highest end-of-season ranking since 1993.

After defeating Texas A&M, the Irish faced off against Northern Illinois University in week 2. Entering the game as 28.5-point favorites, the Irish were expected to secure a comfortable victory.  However, the outcome was far from that, marking one of the most significant upsets in college football that season as the Irish would go on to lose by 2 points as NIU would drill a field goal with 32 seconds left. The Irish did march down the field but got their field goal attempt blocked as time would expire.

After this heartbreaking loss the Irish kept their sights forward. They won their last 10 games and entered the college football playoffs as fifth seed. Going into round one, they faced a tough Indiana Hoosiers squad led by head coach Curt Cignetti. 

Early in the first quarter, Notre Dame set the tone with a gashing 98-yard run by sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love. This score completely shifted the momentum of the game and the Hoosiers couldn’t catch up. The final 27-17 in favor of Notre Dame.

The next round of the playoff the Irish would face #2 ranked Georgia University. Georgia came into the game without starting quarterback Carson Beck so the Bulldogs would need to rely on other stars to win. The Irish’s quarterback Riley Leonard was efficient through the air as he went 15/24 and a touchdown but also led in rushing as well with 80 yards on the ground. With Leonard’s performance and a 98-yard kick return touchdown from Jayden Harrison the Bulldogs were no match for the Irish. The final score was 23-10.

Heading into the semi-final the Irish would face a loaded Penn State team led by quarterback Drew Allar and star defensive end Abdul Carter. This game was a dogfight. Riley Leonard had some costly turnovers and the Nittany Lions would capitalize as running back Nick Singleton had three touchdowns on the ground. 

The game seemed to be going in favor of Penn State until late in the game a questionable coaching call would change the whole season. Tied 24-24, Penn State decided to throw the ball backed up into their own territory. Drew Allar dropped back to throw and fired to Irish defender Christian Gray who intercepted the pass and set the Irish up for a chip shot game winning field goal to advance them to the national title.

After many ups and downs, this moment was the final game of the season, the College Football Playoff National Championship. Tensions were high as Ohio State was a clear favorite heading into the game. The Irish came out swinging as Riley Leonard used his legs and drove them down the field into the endzone on their opening drive. But unfortunately for the Irish this was no story tale ending. 

Ohio State dominated the rest of the game. The Buckeyes diced through the Irish’s defense with a balanced attack that included running back Quinshon Judkins three touchdown performance, and quarterback Will Howard slinging the ball to weapons like Jeremaih Smith and Emeka Egbuka, putting the game out of reach for the Irish. The final score was 34-23

Notre Dame played their hearts out this season. Even though they came up short in the big game, they definitely achieved success and set a standard for years to come.