The Notre Dame Fighting Irish almost never were - with a much more boring nickname being given to the famous football team at first.

Notre Dame and Ohio State will meet for the first national championship of the 12-team playoff era on Monday, January 20th in Atlanta. Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish have played a physical brand on football on their path to the title,

Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has lost at home against the likes of Marshall, Northern Illinois and Stanford. He's only been a head coach for three years and, largely due to Notre Dame's status as an independent,