The Ohio State Buckeyes heard the outside noise surrounding their program and answered the bell tonight with a dominant showing against the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State came into the playoff with some questions about how they could handle the adversity and respond. Their answer was resounding, sending a message to the rest of the bracket that they were just fine.
Jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter with three haymakers, the Buckeyes never looked back and never really were tested in this game. The Volunteers cut things to 21-10 by the half only to see the score quickly jump to 42-10 early in the fourth quarter.
After playing into Michigan’s style in their most recent loss, Ohio State went back to what worked and remembered that they have arguably the best stable of wide receivers in all of college football.
Will Howard, who delivered an outstanding performance, relied on his talented wideouts. Freshmen phenom Jeremiah Smith shined brightest on the biggest stage of his young career with two touchdowns while fellow receiver Emeka Egbuka added in his fair share.
Ohio State’s defense was dominant entering the fourth quarter. Ahead of garbage time stats, the Buckeyes held Nico Iamaleava to just 12/24 passing for 92 yards while also limiting Tennessee to 95 yards rushing on 31 carries through three quarters.
The Buckeyes’ win sets up what is likely to be the most highly-anticipated matchup of the quarterfinals. They get a rematch against the Oregon Ducks, a team that handed them a 32-31 loss earlier this season.
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks will square off in the scenic Rose Bowl on Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET airing on ESPN.