But evolution is also a choice. The dinosaurs didn't have to walk into the tar pits. And college football programs -- even old-timers such as Ohio State and Notre Dame -- don't have to walk into the quicksand of mediocrity, led there by the blinders of obligation to keep on keeping on the same way that Knute Rockne and Woody Hayes did.

ATLANTA (AP) — Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was able to keep a team-first approach after having extra defensive attention make him almost invisible in the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl win over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Monday will mark the first-ever meeting between Ohio State and Notre Dame football in a football national championship game.