No one can stand in Ohio State’s way if the Buckeyes keep playing like this.
The No. 1 Buckeyes 8 completely destroyed No. 1 Oregon in the first half en route to a 41-21 Rose Bowl victory on Wednesday while earning a matchup with No. 5 Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Ohio State led 31-0 midway through the second quarter as Oregon was outplayed. It was an amazing sight; Oregon was the only college football team to finish the regular season without a loss and beat three playoff teams — including Ohio State in October — en route to the Big Ten title.
But the Buckeyes’ offense continued the impressive performance it found last week against Tennessee in the opener. And wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was a big reason. Smith took a short snap on the third play of the game for a 45-yard TD and a 7-0 lead with just over a minute left.
The lead quickly became two touchdowns when Emeka Egbuka made a good catch between two defenders midway through the first quarter.
And Smith gave Ohio State a 24-0 lead less than five minutes into the second quarter when he got wide open near the end zone for a 43-yard TD. Oregon’s defense went wild. once Ohio State started to rush, that led to Smith being passed to safety who was all alone in the middle of the field. That didn’t work out so well. Just look at how far away Oregon’s defenders were from him.
Smith warned during the week that Ohio State will take shots against Oregon’s defense if it sees a man defense. That TD came against a zone look, but Smith also hit a bunch of tackles. He was almost unstoppable and has the appeal of being the top receiver in the country despite only playing high school football 12 months ago.
And if Oregon didn’t have enough trouble trying to defend Ohio State’s passing game, the Buckeyes ran the Ducks down, too. TreVeyon Henderson made it 31-0 when he rushed 66 yards for a score. Henderson’s TD came with 8:47 left in the second quarter.
While Ohio State piled up the yards and points, Oregon was stuck in the mud offensively. The Ducks had 139 yards of offense in the first half and 75 of those came on the final drive of the second quarter when Oregon scored a TD before halftime.
The Ducks also found themselves quiet during the first half. Leading rusher Jordan James went to the locker room and did not return, while WR Evan Stewart was ruled out after suffering what appeared to be a warm-up injury. Leading receiver Tez Johnson, who missed time late in the season with a shoulder injury, was also seen on the sidelines receiving treatment in the second quarter.
Ohio State had 390 yards at halftime. QB Will Howard threw for 269 yards in the first 30 minutes while going 11-of-18 on three-pointers. It was the best half of football Howard has ever played in an Ohio State uniform and he went on to make his last slide as time expired in the Buckeyes’ 32-31 loss. to Eugene.
Oregon flirted with making it a game with a TD to start the third quarter, cutting the lead to 34-15, followed by a layup by the Buckeyes on their first play. But Ohio State’s defense stepped up and Henderson’s second TD of the day with 2:19 left in the third quarter sealed the game.
Ohio State’s defense ended up with seven sacks of Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks finished with minus-7 rush yards.
Second straight postseason trip to Texas
Ohio State finds itself in the Cotton Bowl for the second straight season. And in this case, the results are very different. Last year, Ohio State’s confidence was shattered with a loss to Michigan in the regular season finale. While Michigan won the Big Ten and went on to win the national title, Ohio State missed the four-team College Football Playoff altogether and instead went to the Cotton Bowl, where it went lost 14-3 to Missouri.
The appearance in that game after the loss to Michigan was the impetus for the push to 2024. Before the bowl game, 2023 starter Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal and the offensive display did not Dallas made it clear that Ohio State needs a new quarterback. 2024 program.
Howard became that guy after leaving Kansas State. The Buckeyes added Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins and Alabama DB Caleb Downs while returning much of a defense that was one of the best in college football. Throw in the addition of Smith as a five-star recruit, and you can understand why the Buckeyes were favored to win the national championship before the season started.
But Ohio State hasn’t looked like this juggernaut so far. The regular season was filled with a lot of inconsistencies — and those bad losses to Oregon and Michigan — saw the Buckeyes as many did in the preseason. But now we have two postseason games to prove why Ohio State might be the best team in the country. And the Buckeyes need two more wins to make that claim.
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