The Ohio State Buckeyes weren’t about to let a Big 10 convention newcomer steal all of the highlight this season.
With a convincing 41-21 victory over top-ranked Oregon within the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, the Buckeyes are headed to the CFP semifinal.
Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard’s three lengthy landing passes throughout Ohio State’s sensational 34-point first half. Howard handed for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka additionally caught a protracted TD go, and TreVeyon Henderson made a 66-yard landing run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes (12-2, CFP No. 8 seed), whose big-game execution generally hasn’t matched their formidable expertise this season.
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Ohio State Buckeyes tight finish Gee Scott Jr. leaps for a primary down in the course of the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in opposition to the Oregon Ducks on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Images)
Ohio State has seized the second probabilities created by the primary 12-team CFP, emphatically blowing out the match’s No. 1 seed. The Buckeyes scored on six of their first seven drives and took a 34-0 lead late within the second quarter on the nation’s solely remaining unbeaten workforce within the Granddaddy of Them All.
Ohio State is headed to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to face No. 4 Texas for a berth within the nationwide title sport. The Longhorns barely superior earlier Wednesday, holding off Arizona State 39-31 in a double-overtime Peach Bowl.
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Ohio State Buckeyes working again TreVeyon Henderson (32) runs for a landing in the course of the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in opposition to the Oregon Ducks on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Images)
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel handed for 299 yards and hit Traeshon Holden for 2 touchdowns for the Ducks (13-1, CFP No. 1 seed), whose goals of their first nationwide title had been flattened on the famed Rose Bowl turf. Oregon’s 14-game profitable streak additionally ended.
Eleven days after routing Tennessee to open the Playoff, Ohio State dominated this rematch of those Big Ten groups’ regular-season thriller, gained 32-31 by the Ducks in Eugene on Oct. 12.
Smith, the Buckeyes’ standout freshman playmaker, had a outstanding bowl debut with seven receptions for 187 yards — together with 5 catches for 161 yards within the first half alone, hauling in scoring passes of 45 and 43 yards.
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Ohio State Buckeyes extensive receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) catches a go in entrance of Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) in the course of the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Images)
For Oregon, a sensational inaugural season within the Big 10 will finish in a blowout defeat. It additionally marks the top of Gabriel’s six-year faculty profession.
Gabriel has been probably the greatest quarterbacks this season. He was named a first-team All-American, Big 10 MVP and Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2024. He additionally led the Big 10 in each passing yards, with 3,558, and completions, with 297, this 12 months.
The quarterback started his profession beginning for the University of Central Florida, the place he performed for 3 years earlier than heading to Norman to play for the Sooners in Oklahoma. In December, with one 12 months of eligibility remaining, Gabriel determined to go to the Pacific Northwest to play with the Oregon Ducks.
Now, Gabriel will look to the NFL Draft, the place he’s projected to be a second-tier quarterback prospect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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