Notre Dame’s coaching mastery shines in their Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia, proving it was the better team on the big stage.

Notre Dame outlasted Penn State in a 27-24 thriller to reach the program's first national championship game since 2012 in the Orange Bowl. Thanks to the 12-team College Football Playoff format, the Fighting Irish officially became the first team to win multiple bowl games in the same season.

Ohio State is fully capable of making Notre Dame pay for its mistakes, but it doesn’t force nearly as many turnovers and commits more on offense as well. The Buckeyes are tied for 54th in the FBS in takeaways (19) and rank 44th in turnover margin (plus-four), which bodes well for the Irish.

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff is set to crown a national champion on Monday as 7-seed Notre Dame takes on 8-seed Ohio State at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This will be the ninth meeting for two of college football's most storied programs and marks the third consecutive season the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish will face off -- the longest such streak in the series' relatively brief history.

The University of Notre Dame is an 8.5-point underdog against Ohio State University in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night. But in the money race, the Fighting Irish have already won.

Notre Dame has a chance to win its first national championship since 1988. Here's how the Fighting Irish can get past Ohio State.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have (almost) completely changed the narrative of the program over the last month. Besides getting that first playoff win, the Irish are now the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl champions.

Notre Dame football is one win away from its first national championship in 36 years. After the Fighting Irish were shocked by Northern Illinois in their home opener on Sept. 7, few would have thought they'd ever be at this point.