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Shannon Sharpe Predicts Winner of Ohio State-Notre Dame CFP National Championship

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Austin Boyd | Last updated Jan 20, 2025 1:14 PM ET

It has been an unpredictable year for college football but that's not stopping pundits from predicting the College Football Playoff national championship game between No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State.

While the Buckeyes are considered the favorites, many are torn on who will actually win the game. On ESPN's "First Take," the panel was split on who will win. Cam Newton and Molly Qerim believe that the Fighting Irish will win.

Stephen A. Smith thinks Ohio State will win easily. Shannon Sharpe joined Smith and is also predicting that the Buckeyes will win their first national championship since 2014.

"I'm going, I think the Buckeyes," Sharpe said on Monday's episode of "First Take." "I would love to see Notre Dame win, but I'm taking the Buckeyes."

It's been nearly four decades since Notre Dame last won a national championship under head coach Lou Holtz in 1988. The Fighting Irish is a program that is famous for being the underdog but Ohio State may have too much talent to overcome.

That said, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has yet to win a national championship so most of the pressure is on him to get over the hump this year. It remains to be seen if that pressure will be too great for Ohio State to overcome.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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