PASADENA, Calif. — With a 1-4 record against rival Michigan and no Big Ten title since 2020, Ohio State coach Ryan Day has faced plenty of pressure this season from his own fan base. It’s safe to say he has quieted those critics so far in the College Football Playoff.
Two weeks after they beat Tennessee 42-17 in the opening round, the Buckeyes dominated top-ranked Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Ohio State will face Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 for a spot in the national championship.
“In this game there are ups and downs along the way,” Day said after the game. “When things are going good, you’ve got to hug the guys you love the most, and when things aren’t, you’ve got to hug them even harder. You just hang in there and keep swinging.”
The Buckeyes cruised against the Ducks from the game’s opening drive, finding the end zone in just three plays. After Ohio State quarterback Will Howard hit Gee Scott Jr. with a 30-yard pass, he connected with star receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 45-yard score.
The Buckeyes didn’t look back from there. They would go on to score the next 27 points — touchdown receptions for Smith and Emeka Egbuka and a 66-yard run up the right sideline by TreVeyon Henderson — for a commanding 34-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Oregon fans, used to watching one of the higher-scoring offenses in college football, were stunned.
The Ducks finally got on the board on the final play of the first half, a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dillon Gabriel to Traeshon Holden. Oregon got the 2-point conversion and scored on the opening drive of the second half to cut the lead to 19 points, but it ultimately proved too much to overcome.
Gabriel threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns but struggled early, particularly on third down. Oregon had 19 third-down opportunities and converted on just eight.
“You plan to create explosives, be really good on situational football and move the chains that way,” Gabriel said. “We just didn’t do that on third down. They had a great plan, but if you don’t go get the third down, you can’t move forward.”
Howard finished with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns for the Buckeyes. Smith, only a freshman yet considered arguably the top receiver in the country, had seven receptions for 187 yards and two scores. He was named the Offensive MVP.
Day was asked after the game about Smith’s impact in his first year.
“He’s earned the respect of his teammates not because of his ability. You guys see the ability, but to me it’s the work ethic every day,” Day said. “He comes in, he’s serious, he doesn’t say a whole lot. But when he does, people listen. His maturity — physically, emotionally and mentally — has allowed him to play like this.”
While Ohio State easily won its matchup Wednesday, its next opponent, Texas, had anything but a cakewalk against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The Sun Devils trailed 24-8 at the start of the fourth quarter but scored 16 straight points to push the game to overtime.
After scoring drives for both teams in the extra period, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers sent his team to the Cotton Bowl with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm.
The Sugar Bowl, initially scheduled for late Wednesday between Notre Dame and Georgia, was postponed to Thursday after a man plowed a pickup through New Year’s Day revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The FBI is investigating the incident, which killed 15 people and injured more than 30, as an act of terrorism.
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