[4] The Buckeyes advanced to the College Football Playoff Championship Game against the Oregon Ducks, which was played January 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Alabama Crimson Tide entered the season ranked 2nd in the AP and Coaches polls behind defending National Champions Florida State.
Initially, Coker was considered to be the favorite for the starting job; however, Sims, a more mobile quarterback, was named the starter shortly before the season began.
Florida took an early 14–7 lead but the Crimson Tide eventually took control behind strong performances by Blake Sims and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
In that game, which was played in Oxford, Mississippi, Ole Miss upset the #3 Crimson Tide 23–17 after a shaky performance by Blake Sims.
In their next four games, the Tide handily beat Tennessee and Texas A&M but struggled against last place Arkansas and West Division rivals LSU, winning 14–13 against the Razorbacks and 20–13 in overtime versus the Tigers.
Dak Prescott, the senior quarterback for the Bulldogs, was thriving under Dan Mullen's system and was at the time a top Heisman Trophy candidate.
In the previous season, the Tigers won one of the most thrilling games in the history of college football 34–28 in the Iron Bowl with a late field goal return for a touchdown (now dubbed the "Kick Six").
Two weeks before the season started, two-time Big Ten Offensive player of the year and Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller was injured in practice.
After the loss, the Buckeyes coasted through their next four games, scoring over 50 points in each matchup versus Kent State, Cincinnati, Maryland, and Rutgers, respectively.
The Buckeyes jumped to 14th in the CFP rankings following a 55–14 dismantling of rival Illinois and were ready for a primetime matchup against the #8 Michigan State Spartans.
Due to Ohio State's loss to Virginia Tech and Braxton Miller's injury, the game lost a bit of its luster.
Following close wins against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Indiana Hoosiers, the Buckeyes entered their rivalry game against Michigan ranked #6 and just outside a playoff spot.
Due to the game being Jones' first collegiate start, the Buckeyes entered as a 4.5 point underdog to the West Division champion Badgers.
Ohio State, however, proved the oddsmakers wrong as Jones shined in a 59–0 rout of Wisconsin to capture the program's 35th Big Ten Championship and a potential College Football Playoff berth.
The next morning, it was announced that Ohio State's win had propelled them to #4 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, securing their spot in the Sugar Bowl against #1 Alabama.
Two plays into Alabama's next drive, Derrick Henry ran 25 yards untouched into the endzone for a touchdown, giving the Crimson Tide their first lead of the game, 7–3.
The next drive for the Buckeyes started with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Alabama on the succeeding kickoff, giving them the ball at their own 29 yard line.
The drive was completed with Cardale Jones throwing a 47-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith to give Ohio State a 27–21 lead.
After back-to-back punts by each team, Blake Sims threw an interception that was returned by Steve Miller 36 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Buckeyes lead to 34–21.
After a long scoring hiatus that saw the 2 teams punt back and forth to each other, Ohio State managed to increase its lead with an 85-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott, the longest play from scrimmage Alabama had allowed all season.
Alabama's loss meant that 2015 was the first national championship to not feature an SEC team since 2005, when USC and Texas played in that season's Rose Bowl.