Jayden Fielding's 33-yard field goal for Ohio State with 26 seconds left sealed a national championship victory for the Buckeyes. It also sealed the fate of bettors around the country.
Ohio State entered Monday night's game as an 8.5-point favorite. When Fielding converted his first field goal of the game, a 46-yarder midway through the third quarter, Ohio State bets looked as good as cashed as the Buckeyes lead grew to 31–7. Notre Dame stormed back, however, cutting the lead to eight after a remarkable touchdown pass from Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard to Jaden Greathouse and a trick play two-point conversion with 4:15 left in the game.
With some questionable clock management on Ohio State's ensuing possession, it looked as if Notre Dame might get one last shot to send the game to overtime, when the Buckeyes dialed up a third-and-long deep ball to superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who faced single coverage as the Fighting Irish loaded the box. The 56-yard pass from Will Howard ultimately set up Fielding's kick, which pushed the Buckeyes lead to 11, securing the win and a cover for fans with their money on Ohio State and a rough loss for those backing the Irish.
Tough beat for #NotreDame spread backers.
— HotTakes (@hottakes_app) January 21, 2025
A last min FG allows #OhioState to cover the -8.5 spread.
34-23 Final
Ohio State are National Champions! #CFPNationalChampionship #ohiostatebuckeyes pic.twitter.com/GDgDjGqTKO
That was a big FG for some of us
— Mike Craven (@CravenMike) January 21, 2025
THE OHIO STATE (-8.5) KICK IS GOOD. THAT'S THE COVER PLAY.
— br_betting (@br_betting) January 21, 2025
Significant to MANY 😂 pic.twitter.com/XZ1Vuzy9Cc
OHIO STATE COVERING SPREADS 💯 💯
— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) January 21, 2025
This will be a bruuuutal +8.5 bad beat.
— Jake Brown (@JakeBrownRadio) January 21, 2025
I feel for Notre Dame +8.5 bettors
— Izaak Mike (@MikeBBN) January 21, 2025
Absolute bad beat
Notre Dame had covered 11 consecutive games entering Monday night's game, per MGM. While an eight or 11-point loss certainly makes no difference to those on the Fighting Irish sideline, the bad beat was definitely a bit of salt on the wound for plenty of fans.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ohio State’s Game-Sealing Field Goal Brought Joy, Pain to Bettors.