Story by
Ohio State routs Oregon in College Football Playoff, advances to semifinals vs. Texas
- Story by
- Ohio State routs Oregon in College Football Playoff, advances to semifinals vs. Texas
PASADENA, Calif. – By the time the sun set over the San Gabriel Mountains, Ohio State had little worry about the outcome of their College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Oregon .
The No. 8-seeded Buckeyes rolled to a 34-0 first-half lead in the Rose Bowl and beat No. 1 and undefeated Oregon 41-21 in front of 90,732 spectators.
Ohio State tight end Gee Scott had a 30-yard catch against Oregon, one of OSU's six plays that went 30 yards or more.
Ohio State (12-2) will play Texas in the semifinals at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10. The Longhorns survived double-overtime against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl to advance.
Advertisement
"I'm very, very proud of our staff," OSU coach Ryan Day said. "I'm very, very proud of our players. But we're far from done."
Ohio State's win was sweet revenge after the Ducks ' 32-31 victory over OSU in October at Autzen Stadium.
The Buckeyes hoped for a rematch in the Big Ten championship game. The upset loss to Michigan foiled that chance.
Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka celebrates a touchdown catch with quarterback Will Howard against Oregon on Jan. 1.
But whoever those impostors on Nov. 30 were, this is not the same Ohio State team. The 42-17 demolition of Tennessee in the first round at Ohio Stadium proved a mere appetizer.
"We wanted to win a national championship, and the way that we got here wasn't what we expected," Day said. "It wasn't what we planned for. But we had an opportunity to come back and play Oregon after we had already played them early in the season, and that's the only thing that mattered.
Advertisement
"The players have stuck together and they're fighting to stay together because the winner gets to play together another week. The loser doesn't. Those guys have worked hard to stay together, and now we've got an opportunity to go play Texas and a lot of football ahead of us."
Freshman Jeremiah Smith did his best Jaxon Smith-Njigba Rose Bowl impersonation by catching seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Will Howard , who was haunted by his split-second-late slide in the first Oregon game, completed 17 of 26 passes for 319 yards.
Ohio State defensive linemen Ty Hamilton (58) and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (97) helped limit Oregon running back Jordan James to seven carries for 14 yards in the first half before he left with an injury.
The defense was mostly as dominating as the offense. When Ohio State took the 34-0 lead, it had outgained Oregon 390-64.
Advertisement
Such a steamrolling might have been shocking to most of the country, but not to the Buckeyes.
"It didn't surprise us," defensive tackle Tyleik Williams said. "We've got a chip (on our shoulders) right now. We got to keep it through the rest of these games."
And yes, even the kicking game came through. Jayden Fielding made 46- and 36-yard field goals in the first half.
Explosive gains broke it open early for Ohio State
The Tennessee game reversed the Buckeyes' trend of slow starts this season, but this was a turbo-charged beginning.
It was paved with explosive plays.
Ohio State needed only three plays after getting the opening kickoff to score. A 30-yard pass to tight end Gee Scott Jr. on the first snap preceded a short pass to Smith that he turned into a 45-yard touchdown.
Advertisement
The Buckeyes made it 14-0 on a beautiful 42-yard pass from Howard to a well-covered Emeka Egbuka down the seam midway through the first quarter.
A 32-yard completion to Smith set up Fielding's first field goal, and then the receiver caught a deep pass for a 43-yard touchdown for the third Buckeye touchdown.
TreVeyon Henderson then broke the longest run ever by an Ohio State player in the Rose Bowl when he got loose down the right sideline for a 66-yard touchdown to make it 31-0 with 8:59 left in the second quarter.
Ohio State defense limited Oregon's big plays
Meanwhile, Ohio State's defense limited the big gains that doomed the Buckeyes in its October loss, at least until the game was in hand. It helped that Ducks receiver Evan Stewart didn't play after reportedly getting hurt in pregame and running back Jordan James left after he was hurt in the first half.
Advertisement
But the Buckeyes' defense suffocated the Ducks early. OSU forced three-and-outs on the first two possessions to set the tone.
The Buckeyes prevented Oregon from a gain longer than 12 yards until the Ducks got a 44-yard completion on a broken coverage late in the second quarter to set up a touchdown.
The Ducks (13-1) opened the third quarter with a touchdown drive to make it 34-15 and create some mild drama, especially after Ohio State's offense had a rare three-and-out.
But then the defense forced a three-and-out on a tipped pass by defensive end Jack Sawyer and sacks by Sawyer and linebacker Cody Simon .
Advertisement
The Buckeyes sacked quarterback Dillon Gabriel eight times, two apiece by Sawyer and Simon. That's a season-high for Ohio State, which failed to sack the elusive quarterback in the October loss.
This story was updated to correct for an inaccuracy.
Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football routs Oregon in CFP, will face Texas in semifinals
