CNN
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The No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes delivered a resounding victory in the Rose Bowl, defeating No. 1 seed Oregon 41-21 in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff on Wednesday in Pasadena, California.

With the win, the Buckeyes advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, where they will face No. 5 seed Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, Jan. 10, for a spot in the national title game.

Ohio State University quarterback Will Howard and true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith led the Buckeyes’ offense as they jumped out to a 34-0 first half lead.

Howard passed for 269 yards and three touchdowns before halftime, while Smith caught five catches for 161 yards and two scores, helping the Buckeyes dominate the undefeated Ducks.

Oregon showed signs of life in the final seconds of the first half as Dillon Gabriel led a touchdown drive capped by a successful two-point conversion to make it 34-8 at halftime. The Ducks added another touchdown early in the third quarter, reducing the deficit and sparking a glimmer of hope for Oregon’s faithful.

But Ohio State’s defense proved too strong and regrouped to limit the Ducks’ offense. Gabriel, a Heisman Trophy finalist, struggled under the Buckeyes’ relentless pressure and endured eight sacks in the game – almost as many as the 13 sacks the Ducks gave up before the Rose Bowl.

“We came out and played angry, and I think it showed,” Howard said after the game. “We took an early lead and it was hard for them to come back.”

Howard continued: “We knew they would come back and do something. They are too good a team not to get points. “We knew they would make some kind of comeback. It wasn’t going to be perfect, so we just had to weather the storm and make sure we won the game when it counted.”

Earlier this season, Ohio State was swept by Oregon when the Big Ten rivals faced off in a 32-31 classic in October. With the Buckeyes trailing late in the fourth quarter, Howard dubiously fought for a 12-yard lead but slipped as time expired, sealing the loss for the then-second-ranked Buckeyes.

“It’s unbelievable,” Howard said of the redemption against Oregon. “A younger me would be amazed, and I just have to take it all in and enjoy it with my boys, and we still have two (games) left, so we’re not done yet.”

Howard finished the game with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns in the game known as the “granddaddy of them all.”

Meanwhile, Smith was named Rose Bowl offensive MVP after posting seven receptions for 187 yards, including two touchdown receptions of 45 and 43 yards.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning praised Ohio State and noted his Ducks team struggled on Wednesday.

“Tonight it clicked, but not for us. And I didn’t prepare our team. And that’s a great team. When you play a great team like Ohio State, you can’t help but pull out all the stops. And they were. They were clicking on all cylinders.

“We really didn’t have the ability to stop them and we didn’t have the ability to get anything going for us on offense. And we haven’t had many moments like this all year. It’s an incredible team. Coach Day and his staff did an incredible job there.” Lanning said after the loss.