Ohio State football tops Tennessee in the CFP and takes on Oregon

The Ohio State Buckeyes stewed for three long weeks.

The disheartening loss to Michigan. Having to sit at home instead of playing for a Big Ten championship. Dropping to 8th place in the College Football Playoff and facing a dangerous Tennessee team in the first round.

But before a frigid crowd of 102,819 at Ohio Stadium that included a large number of orange-clad Volunteers fans, the Buckeyes played Saturday night like the national championship contenders they were expected to be this season. Ohio State took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and defeated Tennessee 42-17.

The Buckeyes (11-2) play No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl quarterfinals on Jan. 1 and have a chance to avenge their 32-31 loss to the host Ducks in October.

Jeremiah Smith caught two touchdown passes from Will Howard, who completed 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards.

Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson each scored two points, and the Buckeyes’ defensive starters defeated Tennessee (10-3) on all but two possessions.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the north end zone, where many of the Volunteers fans were sitting, was mostly deserted. Most Buckeye fans braved the cold until just before the end, enjoying a win that felt especially nice after the debacle against Michigan on Nov. 30.

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A fast start paves the way for Ohio State

Ohio State had not scored multiple touchdowns in the first quarter since playing Western Michigan in September. The Buckeyes needed less than 12 minutes to score three touchdowns on Saturday.

The Buckeyes hit a brick wall in their 13-10 loss by stubbornly trying to use their makeshift offensive line to counter Michigan’s stout defensive line.

Against Tennessee, which has the fourth-ranked defense in the country, Ohio State won by one shot.

The rush began when star freshman Smith caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Howard on the first drive.

A 40-yard completion up the middle by Emeka Egbuka set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins for the second score.

The Buckeyes made it 21-0 after a 58-yard drive capped by a 26-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson with 3:27 left in the first quarter.

Ohio State’s defense continues its dominance

The Buckeyes’ defense has largely been stifling since the loss to Oregon, dominating the Vols for most of the game. Tennessee scored a field goal and a touchdown for a total of 141 yards in the second quarter. On the Volunteers’ other seven possessions before substitutes arrived in the fourth quarter, Ohio State held Tennessee to just 38 yards.

The Buckeyes’ pass rush swamped redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He deftly evaded pressure several times but was sacked four times. Defensive end JT Tuimoloau had two sacks and Jack Sawyer had 1½. Linebacker Cody Simon had 12 tackles.

Even on Tennessee’s drive that resulted in a field goal, the Buckeyes were intercepted by Davison Igbinosun. However, this was canceled out by a rough penalty on Kenyatta Jackson, who set up the free kick.

Tennessee went 79 yards on 16 plays for a touchdown just before halftime, making the score 21-10, which brought some fear to replace the euphoria of the start of the game.

The Volunteers got the kickoff in the second half and had a chance to bring the game to a point and create some real fear. But the Buckeyes only allowed one first down. On third-and-7, safety Lathan Ransom made a tackle for a 5-yard loss to force a punt.

Ohio State scored on its ensuing possession to make it 28-10 and continued to pull ahead from there.

Ohio State’s offensive line held firm

Ohio State’s injury-plagued offensive line faced a tough test against Tennessee’s fourth-ranked defense.

It didn’t help that right tackle Josh Fryar injured his ankle early and played heavily taped.

With Austin Siereveld, Tegra Tshabola and Luke Montgomery rotating at guard, the running game was difficult early on. But Howard wasn’t sacked and Ohio State’s starters averaged more than 5 yards per carry.

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Ohio State football tops Tennessee in the CFP and takes on Oregon

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