Velazquez has been at Ohio State long enough to know and respect one simple rule around his teammates: Do not say the word "Michigan."

QB Will Howard said Ohio State's "truth-telling" loss to Michigan in November has continued to fuel the Buckeyes throughout the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State and Notre Dame battle Monday in Atlanta in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. The 7-seed Fighting Irish and 8-seed Buckeyes had to play three rounds of playoffs to reach the finale.

Ohio State and Notre Dame each have a top-two scoring defense and both narrowly pulled away in their respective semifinals thanks to their defense forcing a pivotal turnover. However, the Buckeyes hold the clear offensive edge over the Irish with weapons like Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith and TreVeyon Henderson. Ohio State 35, Notre Dame 17

The Ohio State Buckeyes season could have gone a much different way after the team's upset loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the regular season finale. Ahead of the Buckeyes' national title matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, several Ohio State players opened up about how the team handled the loss to the Wolverines.