By Cameron Teague Robinson, David Ubben, Scott Dochterman and Christopher Kamrani

No. 8 seed Ohio State scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, went tough on defense in the second half, and pulled away from No. 9 seed Tennessee with a 42-17 win that gave the home team a run for its money in the first A clean sweep in the first round of the first 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes will face No. 1 seed Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, an all-Big Ten showdown with a trip to the Cotton Bowl semifinals on the line.

Ohio State’s offense put on a cathartic performance after a 13-10 home loss to arch-rival Michigan eliminated the Buckeyes from the Big Ten Championship Game and led to a tense few weeks in Columbus. After a facemask penalty turned what would have been a third-down sack on the opening drive into a new set of downs, quarterback Will Howard connected with Electric freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 37-yard touchdown to open the game the score. The Buckeyes forced a three-and-out on Tennessee’s first drive and needed just five plays to make it 14-0 on a Quinshon Judkins touchdown run. And when TreVeyon Henderson broke free with a 29-yard dash into the end zone with 3:27 to play in the first quarter, it appeared that a weekend marked by higher sets in cruise control was headed for another defeat.

The Volunteers showed signs of life on defense for the first time when safety Will Brooks intercepted a tipped ball in the back of the end zone, stopping another threatening Ohio State drive. But after Tennessee won the second quarter 10-0, the Buckeyes defense cracked down and Judkins, Smith and Henderson all found the end zone a second time.

The athlete‘s analysis:

Will Howard comes alive when Ohio State needed it most

Ohio State knew it couldn’t win a second straight game with a strong defensive line, so offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and head coach Ryan Day decided to put the ball in Howard’s hands and let him win the game. And he did.

Howard completed 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards, with two touchdowns on perfect balls to Smith in the corner of the end zone and an interception.

When Ohio State signed Howard out of the portal, the prevailing perception was that the Kansas State transfer wouldn’t lose any Ohio State games, but might not be able to win the Buckeyes any games either.

It might not be fair to say he’s the reason Ohio State won when the Buckeyes have Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and a host of other future NFL players, but Howard had his best game overall on Saturday compiled.

Ohio State didn’t need Howard to play perfectly, but he did need his playmakers to be able to take advantage of their talents, and he did that and more.

He also covered 37 yards on the ground and didn’t let Tennessee’s pressure bother him.

If Ohio State can produce a performance like this again, it could be difficult to slow down in the Rose Bowl and beyond. — Cameron Teague Robinson

Injuries force Tennessee to test its quarterback

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who had more rush attempts than any Tennessee running back, was not on Vols head coach Josh Heupel’s schedule, but a series of injuries forced him to carry the load.

Dylan Sampson, the Vols’ primary defender who finished in the top 10 in the FBS in rushing this year, appeared to suffer a hamstring injury in the first quarter and returned for only a few snaps in the second half. His backup, DeSean Bishop, was also limited after suffering an injury early in the second half.

Receivers Dont’e Thornton and Squirrel White also suffered injuries. Playing shorthanded against one of the best defenses the Vols have faced all season did nothing to improve the visitors’ chances of a surprise.

Iamaleava hadn’t run the ball more than a dozen times this season, but finished the game with a whopping 20 carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns, carrying the load while his receivers struggled to assert themselves against a secondary that who ranked fifth nationally in yards per attempt this year. The Vols’ offensive line struggled to create running lanes and couldn’t stop Ohio State’s edge rusher tandem of JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, forcing Iamaleava to work harder to make plays with his legs. than he had to do at any other point in his college career. — David Ubben

The Big Ten’s bounceback statement

ESPN play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough fired a volley toward the Big Ten on Friday night as he highlighted the strength of the conference’s schedule in the final moments of Indiana’s 27-17 loss at Notre Dame .

“I don’t understand why people assume the Big Ten is so much better than the ACC or the Big 12,” McDonough said during the game, which he called for ABC/ESPN. “I’m not sure what this is based on. There is a lot of talk about the strength of the schedule. You play against each other.”

While Penn State (12-2) and Ohio State (12-1) didn’t directly defend their conference brethren, they responded strongly to anyone who questioned the Big Ten’s strength this season. The Nittany Lions defeated ACC runner-up SMU 38-10, and the Buckeyes defeated SEC starter Tennessee 42-17.

The Big Ten now has four teams with 11 wins, twice as many as any other conference, and three have qualified for the CFP quarterfinals. While Indiana (11-2) had an unimpressive exit at Notre Dame (12-1), it beat a team (Nebraska) 56-7 that outscored Big 12 regular-season co-champion (Colorado) by 18 points. Not to mention top-ranked Oregon (13-0), which plays Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

The problem for McDonough or any of the ESPN speakers who have targeted the Big Ten’s successes is the appearance of bias. This is the second year that ABC/ESPN does not have broadcast rights to Big Ten football and the first year that it is the exclusive provider of SEC football. It needs to take a more balanced and nuanced position as the College Football Playoff rights holder, especially with the Big Ten looking like the best conference in the country with eight teams left. — Scott Dochterman

Jim Knowles’ defense continues its elite run

Since the 32-31 loss to Oregon, Ohio State’s defense has been one of the best in the country, and Saturday was one of its best performances of the season.

The Buckeyes gave up just 17 points to a Tennessee offense that came into the game averaging 37.3 and held the Vols’ running game to 3.9 yards per carry.

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles revamped his defense after the loss to Oregon and is now poised for a crucial moment of redemption in the Rose Bowl. Saturday marked the sixth straight game in which Ohio State held its offense to two touchdowns or fewer. — Teague Robinson

Tennessee’s defense was downsized

Tennessee only allowed one opposing quarterback to pass for more than 300 yards this season: Georgia’s Carson Beck. Howard finished second on Saturday, playing one of his best games of the season and leaning on receivers hungry for scoring against Michigan. The Vols’ defensive backs struggled to keep up with the Buckeyes’ receiver duo Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith, and even when positioned well in coverage, the duo often managed to make contested catches.

It was a nightmare for the Vols’ secondary, particularly cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III, who each dropped a Smith touchdown catch. — Ubben

A Rose Bowl rematch

Two programs well-versed in Pasadena’s time-honored tradition will reunite in the Rose Bowl. And their first meeting this fall suggests Round 2 should be a breeze.

Oregon and Ohio State played one of the most entertaining games of the 2024 regular season on Oct. 12, as the Ducks edged the Buckeyes 32-31 late in the fourth quarter at Autzen Stadium. The teams combined for 963 yards of offense (Oregon had 496, Ohio State had 467), and the Buckeyes’ final drive was agonizingly halted shortly after Howard lost track of the clock and slipped in a scramble with no time left.

Since that thriller, the Ducks have worked their way to an undefeated regular season, a Big Ten title in their first year in the conference, and the No. 1 overall seed.

Ohio State, meanwhile, had to recover from a season-ending reality check in the form of a fourth straight loss to its archrival that put Day in Day’s crosshairs in the weeks leading up to its first-round game against Tennessee.

This meeting in October was quite controversial. The Ducks appeared to intentionally leave 12 men on defense near the end of Ohio State’s final drive of the game, intentionally incurring the five-yard penalty in exchange for four crucial seconds remaining out of game time. Four days later, the NCAA released a new rule interpretation for referees on how to handle a 12-man-on-the-field penalty in the final two minutes of the first or second half, leaving the offense to decide the additional clock for the 5-yard penalty to reset to the time the ball was snapped if it wants.

This will be the third time Oregon and Ohio State will face each other in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes won the teams’ first two meetings in Pasadena: 10-7 on New Year’s Day 1958 and 26-17 on New Year’s Day 2010, while Chip Kelly, the Buckeyes’ current offensive coordinator, was the Ducks’ head coach. — Christopher Kamrani

(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images)