No. 8 seed Ohio State jumped out to a shocking 34-8 halftime lead against undefeated No. 1 Oregon in Wednesday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl thanks to four touchdowns of more than 40 yards in the first 22 minutes. If the Buckeyes hold on to win, they’ll meet Texas in a semifinal at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10.
The Buckeyes, who previously lost to the Ducks 32-31 in October, racked up 390 total yards in the first two quarters and held Oregon to 139 yards en route to the commanding first-half lead. Oregon entered Wednesday ranked 10th in the FBS in allowing just 301.8 total yards per game. Ohio State led 34-0 before Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Traeshon Holden on the final play of the second quarter.
Ohio State’s scoring was started by a 45-yard touchdown pass from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith on the third play of the game. Smith, a freshman who was the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2024, caught five passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Emeka Egbuka also caught a 42-yard touchdown from Howard, and TreVeyon Henderson broke off a 66-yard touchdown run.
JEREMIAH SMITH IS UNREAL‼️
HE FINDS THE END ZONE AGAIN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/N8J1f9giQF
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
The biggest margin of victory in a Rose Bowl is 49 points by Michigan in 1948 against USC and 1902 against Stanford. The largest loss by a team ranked No. 1 in the AP poll was a 55-12 win by Holy Cross against Boston College in 1942. Since then, the most lopsided No. 1 loss was Penn State 48, Pitt 14 in 1981.
How did Ohio State build such a big lead?
Ohio State’s defense came into this game with a chip on its shoulder after the Oct. 12 loss to the Ducks, but there was a question of whether that game was an outlier for an elite defense or simply who Ohio State is against top talent. This game is proving it was an outlier and the defense has a strong case to be known as the best in the country. Holding Oregon to just eight points in the first half is beyond an impressive feat, even if the defense had already been playing at a high level.
The offense, meanwhile, has been inconsistent, most notably in the stunning 13-10 upset loss to Michigan. But the Buckeyes showed in the first half of the Rose Bowl they can sustain the explosive and aggressive play everybody saw against Tennessee in the first round of the Playoff.
The reshuffled offensive line blocked well, paving the way for 121 first-half rushing yards and protecting Howard, who completed 11-of-18 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. In its first six quarters of the Playoff, Ohio State scored 76 points and passed for 643 yards. If the passing game is going to be that good, the Buckeyes are going to be nearly impossible to stop in the national championship chase. — Cameron Teague Robinson
What’s going wrong for Oregon?
Much will be made of whether or not the last undefeated team in the country and the No. 1 overall seed deserved to draw a team of Ohio State’s caliber in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. But when you get shellacked the way Oregon was in the first half of the Rose Bowl, all those theoretical conversations are rendered moot.
The Ducks were nowhere to be found. The 390 yards of total offense allowed in one half alone is more than Oregon gave up than in 11 of its full games this season. The Ducks were so discombobulated on defense that they left Smith, one of the best players in the country, wide-open multiple times. The defensive line also struggled to pressure Howard, and after giving up a season-high 270 yards rushing to Penn State in the Big Ten title game, the Ducks did not rebound.
The first half for Gabriel, conversely, was the total opposite. Ohio State’s defensive line not only collapsed the Oregon pocket often, but it made Gabriel rush throws by getting hands up in throwing lanes. Ohio State had four players who could’ve come down with interceptions in the first half despite not actually coming up with a takeaway.
The Ducks getting on the board at the end of the first half was a big emotional lift, but a 34-8 deficit is a near-impossible climb. — Christopher Kamrani
Follow live updates of the Rose Bowl here.
This story will be updated.
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(Photo of Emeka Egbuka: Harry How / Getty Images)
