Ohio State’s Dominance Continues: A Rose Bowl to Remember
PASADENA, Calif. — Picture this: Jeremiah Smith, with a rose stem clenched between his teeth, staring down the scarlet sea of Ohio State fans in the Rose Bowl stands. It was a moment that encapsulated the Buckeyes’ spirit on Wednesday as they walked off the field victorious. The Ohio State band was in full swing, belting out the school fight song, while the Buckeyes’ faithful reveled in the 41-21 triumph over the Oregon Ducks. This win marked their second consecutive blowout in the College Football Playoff, putting them just two wins away from a national championship.
“We’ve got a chip on our shoulder, and that chip ain’t going away,” Smith declared, managing to keep the rose stem in place. “That’s who we are.”
Indeed, the Buckeyes have been on a mission in this playoff, shaking off the sting of their 13-10 loss to arch-rival Michigan at the end of the regular season. Ohio State senior defensive tackle Tyleik Williams reflected on the loss, saying, “As much pain as that caused a lot of people, I don’t know if we’d be here without that. I know it sounds simple, but it gets back to executing the way we can, the way our talent says we should. When we do that, I’m not sure anybody can beat us, and you’ve seen that these last two games.”
Ohio State (12-2) left no room for doubt in this game, surging to a 34-0 lead in the second quarter against an Oregon team that had previously been unbeaten. The Ducks had narrowly defeated Ohio State 32-31 on October 12 in Eugene, but this time, the Buckeyes were unstoppable.
Just how dominant was Ohio State in this quarterfinal clash? By the 10:28 mark of the second quarter, Smith had already racked up 5 catches for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns, propelling Ohio State to a 24-0 lead. Meanwhile, Oregon had managed only 60 total yards.
“Can’t give them any life, no reason to believe they can win,” Smith emphasized. “We knew there were no tomorrows for us when we came into this playoff. We got a second chance [after the loss to Michigan], and you see what we’re doing with it.”
Smith’s performance was nothing short of historic. He set an Ohio State game record for a freshman with 187 receiving yards, surpassing the legendary Cris Carter. In his two playoff games, Smith has caught four touchdown passes and averaged 22.3 yards per catch. In the 42-17 victory over Tennessee, he hauled in 6 passes for 103 yards and 2 scores.
Senior receiver Emeka Egbuka couldn’t help but beam when asked about Smith’s performance, calling it “Legendary.” Egbuka even compared it to former Buckeyes receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 347-yard, three-touchdown day in the 2022 Rose Bowl win over Utah. “Even though the stats may not reflect it, I don’t think it was too far off Jaxon’s performance,” he said.
Egbuka added, “This is when you want to play your best football, and we are. We came together as a team and let everything go from the past. Our goal was and is to win a national championship.”
As the Buckeyes set their sights on Texas in the CFP semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on January 10, they do so riding the wave of their most complete performance of the season.
- Smith’s 187 receiving yards were a highlight, but Ohio State was close to having a 300-yard passer, two 100-yard rushers, and a 100-yard receiver in the game.
- Quarterback Will Howard finished with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns.
- TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 96 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown.
- Quinshon Judkins added 85 rushing yards.
On the defensive side, Ohio State recorded a season-high eight sacks and held Oregon to minus-23 rushing yards. Only one Oregon player managed a run longer than 10 yards.
“When you have great brotherhood, that pays dividends on the field,” said senior defensive end JT Tuimoloau, who contributed two of Ohio State’s eight sacks. “You should have seen the emotion coming out of our locker room after the game. We’re just so happy. I mean, we put in so much preparation, losing sleep, staying in after hours, and sacrificing a lot of our free time just for these moments right here. It pays off. It pays off, man.”
Nobody felt the restlessness (and wrath) of the Ohio State fans more than coach Ryan Day after the loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes’ fourth in a row in the rivalry. Questions swirled about what version of Ohio State would show up in the playoff.
Williams said the players didn’t have those questions. “All that noise was on the outside,” Williams said. “We believed in what kind of team we are. Coach [Day] believed in us. The players know. We go against each other every day. It’s just that we had to go out there, put it all together. We’re doing that, and I don’t see any reason that’s going to change.”
Howard said Ohio State has been an “angry football team” since the loss to Michigan, but the important thing was playing that way.
Day said Ohio State’s resiliency has set it apart. “And when you surround yourself with great people, with great character, you find yourself working through difficult times,” said Day, who has won at least 11 games in each of his five full seasons (not counting the COVID-shortened season in 2020).
“At the end of the day, we wanted to win a national championship, and the way that we got here wasn’t what we expected. It wasn’t what we planned for. But, nonetheless, we had an opportunity to come back and play Oregon after we had already played them early in the season, and that’s the only thing that mattered.
“The winner gets to play together another week. The loser doesn’t.”
Originally Written by: Chris Low
