COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s Ryan Day made a prediction three days before Saturday’s College Football Playoff first-round game at Ohio Stadium.

“Sometimes when we’re trying to finish a game or try to predict what’s going to happen, you can get a little shaky,” Day said at his press conference.

This became a lesson for those who had pre-assessed the scene before No. 8 Ohio State took on the Volunteers. The 13-10 loss to Michigan on November 30th had not yet expired. A high percentage of the 102,819 in attendance were Tennessee fans who stormed The Shoe and blared “Rocky Top” at every turn. The volunteers emerged from the tunnel with two flags – the “Power T” and the Tennessee state flag. Neither was planted in the turf, but when a flock of white doves hovered over the stadium after the national anthem, it had the feel of an Ohio State wake, complete with an award-winning headline: “Orange is the new black.”

This is what happens when you predetermine outcomes. Day appeased critics with a decisive victory for the term. The Buckeyes (11-2) reversed that predetermined outcome with a 21-point first quarter score and a 42-17 blowout.

The Big Ten defeated the SEC outright in frigid weather in their first conference game in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The Volunteers (10-3) suffered their worst loss in a weekend full of chalky losses that sparked a debate about who belongs and who doesn’t.

Well, Ohio State does. This is part of the program’s most unusual path ever to the Rose Bowl Game against No. 1 Oregon on Jan. 1. Day included the justification in the postgame press conference.

“The execution,” Day said. “You heard us talking about execution, execution, execution. There were a lot of things about that last game that we look back on and we just didn’t execute very well. There were things we could have done better because of the scheme.” But we didn’t manage to feel that. We wanted to play in this game.

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Ohio State stuns Tennessee in the first quarter

The Buckeyes had no lingering effects from the loss to the Wolverines — another debunked story that emerged in the first quarter. Quarterback Will Howard threw a 37-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Smith on the game’s first possession – and the freshman star bowed in front of the student section.

Quinshon Judkins scored a 1-yard TD on the next possession, prompting a fist pump from Day on the sideline. Tag team partner TreVeyon Henderson added a 29-yard TD run with 3:27 left in the first quarter. Three touchdowns in three possessions, and Ohio State appeared to be the team expected to break through the Big Ten before that detour against the Wolverines.

“There were a lot of things that played into the game, but one of them was that we called the game more aggressive,” Day said. “There is no doubt about that. We did some things in this game that maximized our strengths and minimized our deficits.”

The Buckeyes outscored Tennessee 208-16 in the first quarter, and Tennessee star running back Dylan Sampson – who had 1,485 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season – left the game with a leg injury after just two runs. As the final seconds of the first quarter ticked away, Howard threw his arms up.

“They thought they were going to take over this place, and we showed them pretty quickly that we weren’t going to let that happen,” Howard said.

Tennessee recalibrated in the second quarter with the help of an end zone interception by Will Brooks and a questionable roughing of the passer by Kenyatta Jackson Jr., which set up a 36-yard field goal by Max Gilbert. Quarterback Nico Iamaleva capped a 16-play, 79-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 20 seconds left in the first half, and the Volunteers cut that lead to 21-10 by halftime.

Did a little doubt creep in at this point?

“So we knew we had to win the next four to five minutes in the second half, and we did that,” Day said.

MORE: Ohio State reworks its schedule after loss to Michigan

Will Howard reconnects with Jeremiah Smith

The Buckeyes stopped the Volunteers on their first possession of the second half and Howard returned to being the best player on the field on the next drive. Howard threw a perfectly timed fade to Smith for a 22-yard TD pass with 9:16 left, increasing Ohio State’s lead back to 28-10.

Smith finished the game with six catches on six targets for 103 yards. The freshman had five catches on seven targets for 35 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Michigan. This is the Buckeyes’ most threatening asset in the playoffs. It works.

Judkins added a 1-yard TD run with 1:18 left in the third quarter and strong Tennessee headed for the exits. Henderson added a 24-yard TD run with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter. The sequence mirrored the first half. Ohio State fans even chanted the “SEC!” SEC!” kicked out. Singing. Day hugged senior edge rusher Jack Sawyer — who was at the center of the postgame brawl with Michigan — and the coach smiled. Game over.

“I just said ‘All day,'” Sawyer said. “I’m trying to make that a catchphrase for him. (Day) is just going through so much. I don’t care, but it was so hard on him and his family after a loss like (Michigan). Coach Day is great. He is by far the best coach in college football.

Howard finished 24 of 29 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Iamaleava finished 14 of 31 for 104 yards.

MORE: What Ryan Day had to say after the stunning win

Take on Ohio State-Oregon II in the Rose Bowl

The 12-team College Football Playoff offered Ohio State a second chance, which they took advantage of. The worst thing that could have happened — a fourth straight loss to Michigan — has happened.

The Buckeyes won bowl games after losing to the Wolverines in the past – including a 48-45 win over Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl. This was Ohio State’s most authoritative response to a loss to the Wolverines since a 27: 10 win over Colorado in the 1976 Orange Bowl.

It also served as a reminder that this team is capable of winning the Rose Bowl against the Ducks. Oregon won a thriller 32-31 on Oct. 12 in a match where both teams left points on the field. The Rose Bowl is Big Ten vs. Big Ten in the New World, and the Buckeyes found their way to Pasadena, California. Ohio State players held roses on the field, a reminder of the bold, strange and beautiful world of the new playoffs.

“I don’t like the way the last one ended (with Oregon),” Howard said. “It still gets on my nerves. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to try again. You don’t get many second chances in life. … We’re going to go out there, have some fun and let it rip.” ”