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-yard dart just out of reach of Oregon's Brandon Johnson and into the hands of receiver Emeka Egbuka for Ohio State's second touchdown.
The Ohio State defense matched the offense's intensity, smothering Oregon's run game and holding the Ducks to -26 rushing yards, their fewest in 16 years. The Buckeyes also earned 13 tackles for a loss. The pass rush that Dillon Gabriel was able to expertly elude during their first matchup hounded the Ducks quarterback with eight sacks.
The proverbial nail in the coffin came at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter. Oregon, facing fourth-and-three 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.
Howard finished the game 17-of-26 passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns, building on his 311-yard, two-touchdown performance in the first-round CFP win over Tennessee.
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