The Ohio State Buckeyes weren’t about to let a newcomer to the Big 10 conference steal all the attention this season.
With a convincing 41-21 victory over top-ranked Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, the Buckeyes are headed to the CFP semifinals.
Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard’s three long touchdown passes during Ohio State’s sensational 34-point first half. Howard threw for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka also caught a long touchdown pass and TreVeyon Henderson had a 66-yard touchdown run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the horse chestnuts (12-2, eighth in the CFP), whose big-game execution has sometimes not matched his formidable talent this season.
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Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Gee Scott Jr. jumps for a first down during the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 1 of 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Ohio State has taken advantage of the second chances created by the first 12-team CFP, emphatically knocking out the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Buckeyes scored on six of their first seven drives and took a 34-0 lead late in the second quarter over the country’s only remaining undefeated team in the Granddaddy of Them All.
Ohio State heads to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to take on No. 4 Texas for a spot in the national title game. The Longhorns barely advanced early Wednesday, holding off Arizona State 39-31 in a double-overtime Peach Bowl.
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Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) runs for a touchdown during the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 2025 . (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for 299 yards and connected with Traeshon Holden for two touchdowns for the Ducks (13-1, CFP No. 1), whose dreams of their first national title were crushed on the famed turf of the Rose Bowl. Oregon’s 14-game winning streak also ended.
Eleven days after defeating Tennessee to open the playoffs, Ohio State dominated this rematch of these Big Ten teams’ regular-season thriller, won 32-31 by the Ducks in Eugene on October 12.
Smith, the Buckeyes’ standout first-year playmaker, had a notable bowl debut with seven catches for 187 yards, including five catches for 161 yards in the first half alone, posting touchdown passes of 45 and 43 yards.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) catches a pass in front of Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) during the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
For Oregon, a sensational inaugural season in the Big 10 will end in a crushing defeat. It also marks the end of Gabriel’s six-year college career.
Gabriel has been one of the best 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 also led the Big 10 in passing yards, with 3,558, and completions, with 297, this year.
The quarterback began his career at the University of Central Florida, where he played for three years before heading to Norman to play in the Sooners in Oklahoma. In December, with one year of eligibility remaining, Gabriel decided to head to the Pacific Northwest to play for the Oregon Ducks.
Now, Gabriel will look ahead to the NFL Draft, where he is projected to be a second-tier quarterback prospect.
