There is nothing sports fans like more than to debate, and one of those hot topics is the ranking of greatest college football champions.
Whoever wins Monday night may very well be in line to be called the greatest college football champion simply by the path taken to even make the championship game.
If Ohio State wins they will have beaten Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame in order to be crowned champion, and of course if Notre Dame wins they will have had to beat Indiana, Georgia, Penn State, and Ohio State.
It is safe to say the path of becoming champion will forever be harder than ever before and the argument for either team is valid based on the playoff gauntlet for both.
I know there will always be those who won't consider either as the greatest with Notre Dame losing to Northern Illinois in Week Two of the season and then of course the Buckeye's complete meltdown in their yearly rivalry with Michigan.
Since Week Two of the season Notre Dame has been in playoff mode as any other loss after that weird loss to NIU would have put them out of the playoff picture. Just the poise they were able to navigate the regular season to qualify for the playoff and then to pass every test with flying colors in the playoff has been an amazing run.
A win over the Buckeyes would be a cherry on top for the Fighting Irish and they should go down as one of the greatest champions ever due to that gauntlet to get the trophy
The Ohio State path to becoming champion is equally as tough if not more so with the path they had to go through to even get to Monday's game in Atlanta. We should be in for a great game and even though most are leaning towards the Buckeyes I'd be shocked if we know before late in the fourth quarter who will be the 2024 National Champion.
Either way the winner has a place at the table in the greatest champion argument just by the teams they had to beat in order to get the confetti drop.