PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Second chances don’t come around often in life, Ohio State coach Ryan Day told his players in a team meeting before the Rose Bowl.
After a season in which they fell short at too many key moments, the Buckeyes all knew they had one of those second chances when they stepped onto this famous turf for another shot at the top-ranked, unbeaten Oregon Ducks.
Ohio State seized it with a vengeance.
Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard’s three long touchdown passes during a sensational 34-point first half, and the No. 6 Buckeyes roared into the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 41-21 victory in the 111th Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.
“You can see the potential of where we’re at, when we play in all three phases the way we did,” Day said.
Howard passed for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka also caught a long TD pass and TreVeyon Henderson made a 66-yard touchdown run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes (12-2, CFP No. 8 seed), who lost a 32-31 heartbreaker to the Ducks in Eugene in October. Ohio State then lost to archrival Michigan in humiliating fashion to conclude a regular season in which its performances didn’t always measure up to its formidable talent.
The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff created a way for the Buckeyes to erase their mistakes — and from the opening minute in Pasadena, they took out every frustration on the outclassed Ducks.
“I think nobody has gone through more scrutiny than probably the team here,” Egbuka said. “Five weeks ago, you know, people on the scene getting death threats, our head coach getting cussed out, people saying he should never come to Ohio again, all that type of stuff. And I’m sure by the end of (tonight), when you scroll Twitter, Instagram, everyone’s going to be singing our praises. We just know what to say true to in our building.”
Facing the tournament’s No. 1 seed in the Granddaddy of Them All, the Buckeyes scored on six of their first seven drives — with four scoring plays longer than 40 yards — to take a 34-0 lead late in the second quarter on the nation’s only remaining unbeaten team.
Henderson’s second TD run late in the third essentially put it away for Ohio State, which is headed to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to face No. 4 Texas for a berth in the national title game. The Longhorns barely advanced earlier Wednesday, holding off Arizona State 39-31 in a double-overtime Peach Bowl.
“I’m proud of the resilience of these guys,” Day said. “Still got a lot of football ahead of us.”
Smith, the Buckeyes’ standout freshman playmaker, had a remarkable bowl debut with seven receptions for a season-high 187 yards — including five catches for 161 yards in the first half alone, hauling in scoring passes of 45 and 43 yards. Egbuka compared Smith favorably to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had a record 347-yard, three-touchdown Rose Bowl performance three years ago.
“I would say legendary,” Egbuka said. “I was able to witness Jaxon’s game in the Rose Bowl and the pure dominant performance that that was, but even though (Smith’s) stats might not reflect the exact same thing that Jaxon has, I don’t think it was too far off in terms of dominance. He’s a very special talent, and I’m so excited to keep watching him grow.”
Dillon Gabriel passed for 299 yards and hit Traeshon Holden for two touchdowns for the Ducks (13-1, CFP No. 1 seed), whose dreams of their first national title were flattened on the famed Rose Bowl turf. Oregon’s 14-game winning streak also ended.
“We really didn’t have the ability to stop them, and we didn’t have the ability to get something going for us on offense,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We haven’t faced a lot of moments like this all year. (Ohio State) is an unbelievable team.”
Eleven days after routing Tennessee to open the Playoff, Ohio State dominated the Ducks. Along with the Buckeyes’ offensive fireworks, the Ohio State defense that couldn’t sack Gabriel in the teams’ first meeting dropped the Heisman Trophy finalist eight times in the rematch.
The Big Ten champion Ducks failed to create any of the big plays that carried them to victory last time. Oregon also played without receiver Evan Stewart, who caught seven passes for 149 yards in the first meeting, but was ruled out of the Rose Bowl with a back injury.
“They brought the fight, and we got hit in the mouth,” Oregon receiver Tez Johnson said. “They won the game from the first snap.”
Following the usual pregame pageantry in Arroyo Seco’s 70-degree sunshine, Ohio State needed just three plays and 49 seconds to strike first. Howard threw a short play-action screen pass to Smith, who motored through Oregon’s secondary for a 45-yard score.
On the Buckeyes’ third drive, Howard feathered an exceptional long pass over three Ducks to the sprinting Egbuka for a 42-yard TD. Howard finished the first quarter with a career-best 212 yards passing, surpassing his 160 yards against Tennessee.
Early in the second quarter, Smith got so open near the Ducks’ goal line that he had two seconds to settle under Howard’s long throw like an outfielder with a fly ball, scoring a 42-yard TD untouched.
When Henderson broke a 66-yard TD run down the Oregon sideline for a 31-0 lead, both sides of the Rose Bowl stands rippled with disbelief.
Oregon finally got moving on its final drive before halftime. Gabriel found Holden for a 5-yard TD pass at the gun to salvage something from its horrific half.
Ohio State: It was the Buckeyes’ biggest margin of victory over a No. 1 team in school history. No doubt about it, they look like the best team still playing.
Oregon: Having 3 1/2 weeks off with their first-round bye proved to be dangerous. This disconcerting flop doesn’t completely ruin a breakthrough Big Ten debut, but the season will always loom as a missed opportunity in Oregon history — and a good argument for changing the CFP rules to introduce reseeding between rounds.
Ohio State: The Cotton Bowl will be a preview of both teams’ 2025 season opener, with Texas visiting Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30.
Oregon: The 2025 season opener is at home against Montana State, which faces North Dakota State in the FCS title game Monday night.
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