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Canuck U: Canadians LeBlanc, Venneri win CFP national championship with Ohio State

Canuck U is a weekly report on the top Canadian players and storylines in college football

ByAlex McComb|
Ryan Day stands with his Ohio State Buckeyes football team behind the 2025 CFP national championship trophy after beating Notre Dame, 34-23.
Ryan Day stands with his Ohio State Buckeyes football team behind the 2025 CFP national championship trophy after beating Notre Dame, 34-23. | Carmen Mandato/GettyImages

Ohio State tight end Maxence LeBlanc (St-Bruno, Quebec) and punter Anthony Venneri (Hamilton, Ontario) won the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday. 

The Buckeyes’ win marks four major firsts:

  • First-ever 12-team playoff championship
  • First Ohio State title victory since the inaugural playoff in January 2015
  • First time in the CFP era that multiple Canadians won the title
  • First multi-Canadian title since 2001-02

Ohio State’s win was highlighted by a dominating first half. Quarterback Will Howard was almost perfect, going 14-for-15 and throwing for 144 yards with two touchdowns to put the Buckeyes up 21-7 in the opening 30 minutes. He finished with 231 passing yards and two scores, including one to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who led Buckeye pass-catchers with 88 receiving yards.

The winning offense had a balanced attack, recording 445 total yards — 214 on the ground. Running back Quinshon Judkins rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries for two TDs. Judkins also hauled in a receiving TD.

Not only did Notre Dame struggle to stop the run, but it also couldn’t get it going on offense, either. Four Fighting Irish ball carriers combined for just 53 rushing yards, including QB Rley Leonard’s 40. RB Jeremiah Love only carried the ball four times for just three yards.

Notre Dame’s three Canadians will leave Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium empty-handed. Fighting Irish defensive linemen Sean Sevillano Jr. (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Armel Mukam (La Prairie, Quebec) and Devan Houstan (Mississauga, Ontario) all saw some action on defense and special teams for Notre Dame this season.

The last time multiple Canadians won the college football national championship was in January 2002 when Miami beat Nebraska, 37-14, in the BCS title game, as first reported by 3DownNation. Four Canadians were a part of that team: offensive linemen Sherko Haji-Rasouli (Toronto, Ontario), Joe McGrath (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) and Brett Romberg (Brett Romberg), and DL Miguel Robédé (Montreal, Quebec).

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