The College Football Playoff National Championship may have crowned Ohio State the victor over Notre Dame with a hard-fought 34-23 win, but the real drama appeared to unfold after the game ended. Reports from the Notre Dame locker room paint a chaotic picture, with post-game emotions running high and spilling over into interactions with the media.
USA Today’s Dan Wolken took to social media to describe the scene as “bizarre” and labeled the conduct of some Notre Dame players as “amateur hour.” According to Wolken, reporters were sworn at by players as they tried to ask post-game questions—a standard practice when the locker room is open to media after a CFP game.
Coaches reportedly stepped in to warn journalists against asking certain questions, adding another layer of tension to an already volatile situation. Wolken called out the behavior, stating, “If the locker room is open, reporters should be able to go in there and respectfully ask questions without being sworn at. If a player doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine.”
The chaos reflects the heartbreak Notre Dame must have felt after coming so close to a historic comeback in front of a raucous crowd of 77,660 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Fighting Irish put up a fight in the second half but ultimately couldn’t overcome a dominant Ohio State team led by quarterback Will Howard and head coach Ryan Day. While the Buckeyes were busy celebrating a victory in a game that featured appearances by LeBron James, Travis Scott, and other celebrities, the tension in Notre Dame’s locker room was palpable.
Interestingly, this incident also reignites the debate about reporters’ access to locker rooms, particularly in high-stakes games. The NFL Players Association recently criticized the practice as an invasion of players’ privacy, calling the policy “outdated.”
Wolken, however, defended the CFP’s rules, explaining that open locker room access is the standard for post-game media coverage. “This is how they do it, everyone is well aware of that, and there generally aren’t any issues,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ohio State had their own unexpected moment of chaos after the game. A golf cart carrying head coach Ryan Day, quarterback Will Howard, and linebacker Cody Simon crashed into a stadium wall. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, but the incident served as a bizarre footnote to an already dramatic night.
Adding to the event’s spectacle was a halftime message from President Donald Trump, who had been sworn in earlier that day. The broadcast by ESPN drew attention for blending politics into the sports world on one of college football’s biggest nights.
For Notre Dame, the loss—and the locker room drama that followed—highlight the emotional toll of falling short on such a massive stage. For Ohio State, the win cements their place as one of the sport’s powerhouses, though even their celebration wasn’t without its hiccups. One thing’s for sure: this national championship will be remembered not just for the action on the field, but for everything that happened off of it.
