Ohio State had a coveted rematch with Oregon State in the Rose Bowl and made the most of the opportunity.
Will Howard scored three touchdowns, Treveyon Henderson had two touchdowns and Jeremiah Smith had two as Ohio State defeated Oregon 41-21 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Scored a touchdown.
The game was a revenge game for the Buckeyes, who lost 32-31 to the Ducks in Eugene earlier in the season. With the win, Ohio State advances to next Friday’s Cotton Bowl to face Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals at AT&T Stadium.
The loss was the first of the season for the University of Oregon, which entered the game undefeated at 13-0, ending its hopes of winning the first national championship in school history.
Dillon Gabriel threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns in the final college football game of his senior career. Gabriel is expected to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The No. 1 ranked team in the country didn’t know what was going to happen in the first quarter. The No. 8 seed Buckeyes scored touchdowns on two of the game’s first three drives.
Before you could say “The Grandfather of All,” Ohio State was leading 34-0 midway through the second quarter.
Howard, a senior quarterback who transferred from Kansas State this offseason, finished 17 of 26 for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
His favorite target was freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith, who broke the school’s single-game freshman receiving yards record with seven catches, 187 yards, and two touchdowns.
The 41 points were the most points allowed by Oregon’s defense all season.
The 111th Rose Bowl, watched by 90,732 adoring fans, wasn’t the rematch between two of college football’s top heavyweights that everyone expected. Oregon’s defense has shown weaknesses in recent weeks, including allowing 37 points to Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 7.
Oregon’s vaunted rushing attack, which averaged over 125 yards per game, was eradicated by Ohio State. Oregon State finished the game with minus-23 yards.
Ohio State learned from its loss to Oregon State earlier in the season and did what it couldn’t do in that first game. The Buckeyes prioritized getting the ball to the perimeter, with Howard throwing the ball deep to explosive receivers on offense.
Ohio State had four big-play touchdowns of 40 yards or more in the game, including three receiving touchdowns of 42, 43, and 45 yards, and a 66-yard rushing touchdown by Henderson. is also included.
But it was the Buckeyes’ defense that was most impressive in their big win against the best team in the country. Ohio State’s defense thwarted Gabriel all night, sacking him a whopping seven times.
Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks will be back to square one and restarting for the 2025 season as they aim for their first national championship.
Meanwhile, preseason favorite Ohio State still has hopes of winning its ninth national championship alive thanks to the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format.
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