COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard threw two touchdown passes to freshman Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State beat Tennessee 42-17 in a first-round College Football Playoff game Saturday night, setting up a New Year’s Day rematch with No. 1 Oregon in front of rose bowl.

Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns each as the Buckeyes (11-2) gave their fans an early Christmas present that should calm the outcry after a devastating fourth straight loss to Michigan three weeks ago.

“You could tell by the jump they had a look in their eyes,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said after the win. “We still have a lot of football ahead of us. It’s a great win, we’ll enjoy it for 24 hours and then move on to Oregon.”

Howard finished 24 for 29 for 311 yards, his second 300-yard game of the season. Smith had six catches for 103 yards, becoming the sixth rookie to have over 100 receiving yards in a CFP game.

Eighth-seeded Ohio State scored on its first three drives while also forcing three straight Tennessee punts. The ninth-seeded Vols (10-3) finally got into the game with a field goal and a touchdown in the second quarter, but were unable to generate anything in the second half until throwing a meaningless touchdown late in the game.

“We judged this game more aggressively, there’s no doubt about that,” Day said, comparing the win to the loss to Michigan. “But we also did some things in this game that maximized what we have. … And I thought Will was outstanding in that game.”

The Buckeyes actually did what they didn’t do against Michigan: get the ball to the perimeter and throw it deep to their most explosive players. And as a result, they face top-seeded Oregon, which beat Ohio State 32-31 on Oct. 12.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was 14 for 31 for 104 yards and gained 20 more yards for 47 more yards.

The 473 yards that Ohio State gained were the most allowed by the Tennessee defense all season.

“We had some balance in this game,” Day said. “But it has to stay that way in the next game too.”

At the first college football game in December at 102-year-old Ohio Stadium, the game temperature was 25 degrees and dropping.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.