Sports commentators note OSU football players’ Christianity, says it fosters selflessness, camaraderie

CV NEWS FEED // After Ohio State won the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship this weekend, two sports commentators discussed the central role Christian faith played in the team’s success during a postgame show.

“It seems that both faith in above, and faith in one another, is what got Ohio State through,” ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt said while analyzing the championship game on the show. 

After the OSU Football Team won their ninth national title Jan. 20, a number of players gave glory to God and accredited their success to faith, as seen in a postgame clip posted on X by ESPN. 

After winning the championship game, OSU quarterback Will Howard immediately praised Jesus. 

“First and foremost, I got to give the glory and the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t be here without him,” Howard told ESPN after the game, according to the Christian Post.

In the postgame analytical segment, commentators Rece Davis and Scott Van Pelt discussed the unique dynamic of the Ohio State football team, where faith is celebrated, rather than dismissed.

ESPN anchor Rece Davis remarked that the OSU players have shared their faith with others outside their team on campus as well. 

“It became something powerful to them, not because they thought it was going to be handed to them to win a game, but it changed their relationships, and it changed selfishness and made it go away. It was impactful for them,” Davis said. 

Van Pelt remarked that the other team, Notre Dame, was known for its prayer as well, and also saw a difference through that. He also observed that the Ohio State football department has fostered a unique environment where athletes are said to choose OSU not for material benefit, but for the rapport of genuine relationships within the team.

“To hear about the relationships they have with one another and how that is forged,” Van Pelt said, “and how it is ultimately seen on the field…is a wonderful story to offset the idea that everyone just goes to where the money is.”