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ATLANTA — Quinshon Judkins had two rushing touchdowns and one receiving score and quarterback Will Howard had a near-perfect first half as No. 8 seed Ohio State held off No. 7 seed Notre Dame 34-23 in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday.

The Buckeyes (14-2) led 31-7 in the third quarter before Notre Dame (14-2) rallied on TD receptions of 34 and 30 by Jaden Greathouse and a pair of two-point conversions to make it 31-23 with 4:15 left in the game.

An Ohio State third-and-11 pass reception of 56 yards to Jeremiah Smith put the ball at the Notre Dame 10 with 2:29 to go, and Jayden Fielding made a clinching 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left.

Howard was 17 of 21 for 231 yards and two touchdowns, Smith had five catches for 88 yards and a score, and Judkins rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries.

Ohio State completed a four-game romp through the first 12-team CFP bracket, winning each of its playoff contests by a multi-score margin. The postseason blitz followed a regular-season-ending loss to rival Michigan that led to questions about the job stability of Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.

After recording both a receiving touchdown and a rushing TD in the first half, Judkins ran for 70 yards to the Irish 5 on the second play of the third quarter, the longest run in CFP final history. He then carried it in from the 1 three plays later to make 28-7.

The lead expanded to 31-7 on a 46-yard field goal by Fielding after a Notre Dame fake punt failed.

The Fighting Irish pulled within 31-15 with 3:03 left in the third on a 34-yard reception by Greathouse of a pass from Riley Leonard and a two-point-conversion pass from Leonard to Jeremiyah Love.

The Buckeyes fell behind for the first time in four playoff games when Notre Dame scored on the opening possession, but the Buckeyes responded by scoring on all three of their first-half drives for a 21-7 lead at the break.

Howard set a CFP championship-game record by completing his first 13 passes for 138 yards and was 14 of 15 for 144 and two TDs in the first half.

Leonard capped an 18-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard run on Notre Dame’s first drive. He had nine carries for 34 yards in the series.

Ohio State then had scoring drives of 75, 76 and 80 yards using a combined 33 plays and 16:37 of possession.

Leonard wound up 20 of 29 for 255 yards, and Greathouse made six catches for 128 yards and the two scores.

–Craig Merz, Field Level Media