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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ohio State upends College Football Playoff in stunning Rose Bowl win over Oregon

Emeka Egbuka (2) and Jack Sawyer (33) of the Ohio State Buckeyes hold the Leishman Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks 41-21 during the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium on Jan. 1, 2025, in Pasadena, California.  (Tribune News Service)

From wire services

This time, Ohio State left no doubt.

The No. 8-seeded Buckeyes (12-2), with their 32-31 October loss to No. 1 seed Oregon (13-1) lingering in the back of their minds, rose to the occasion and overwhelmed the previously undefeated Oregon Ducks 41-21 at the Rose Bowl Wednesday in Pasadena, Calif.

With the win, Ohio State avenged its regular-season loss and advanced to a College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 5 seed Texas.

Ohio State freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith set the tone for the Buckeyes on the third play of the game. On second-and-10, he took a pass in the backfield off a motion, cut up field, made the Ducks’ safeties miss as they dove at his ankles and walked into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.

Two possessions later, Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard stood tall in the pocket and threw a 42-yarder just out of reach of Oregon’s Brandon Johnson and into the hands of receiver Emeka Egbuka for Ohio State’s second touchdown. Both early scoring drives spanned 1 minute.

“You can see the potential of where we’re at, when we play in all three phases the way we did,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.

“I’m proud of the resilience of these guys. Still got a lot of football ahead of us.”

Howard completed 17 of 26 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns, building on his 311-yard, two-touchdown performance in the first-round CFP win over Tennessee.

The Ohio State defense matched the offense’s intensity, holding the Ducks to minus-23 rushing yards, their fewest in 16 years. The Buckeyes also had 13 tackles for a loss. The pass rush that Dillon Gabriel expertly elude during their first matchup hounded the Ducks quarterback with eight sacks.

The demoralizing play came at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter. Oregon, facing fourth-and-3 from its 48-yard line while trailing 17-0, went for it. The pocket collapsed around Gabriel, who tried to find Terrance Ferguson running across the field, only for his pass to be broken up by Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon.

Two plays later, Howard connected with Smith again, this time for a 43-yarder to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 24-0.

Simon won Rose Bowl defensive MVP honors.

Smith ended up with 187 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions, setting a school record for single-game receiving yards by a freshman (previously set by Cris Carter in the 1985 Rose Bowl) and earning Rose Bowl offensive MVP honors. It was his fifth 100-yard game of the season, making him the 12th Buckeyes receiver in program history — and the first freshman — to accomplish the feat.

With the game in hand, the Buckeyes got the run game going as the duo of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly also got a boost from the win.

Day notched his third CFP victory of his career and fifth win against a top-five team amid criticism he struggles to win big games. After Kelly was roasted for his play calling during a loss to rival Michigan, his Buckeyes were ready to overpower the Oregon defense.

Texas escapes from Skattebo, ASU

In the most dramatic game of the first 12-team College Football Playoff so far, No. 5 seed Texas squandered a 16-point lead, missed two field goals in the final 2 minutes of regulation and still somehow escaped with a 39-31 double-overtime win over No. 4 seed Arizona State in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

Star ASU running back Cam Skattebo pushed Texas to the brink. After a slow start and throwing up due to exhaustion in the second half, Skattebo spurred the comeback with a 42-yard touchdown pass and touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and overtime.

He finished with 30 carries for 143 yards and eight receptions for 99 yards.

Xavier Guillory, a Mt. Spokane High graduate, had three receptions for 19 yards and caught a crucial 2-point conversion for ASU.

The Longhorns will return to their home state to play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 in Arlington.