Will Howard completed 24-of-29 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, and Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter as the Buckeyes beat the Vols 42-17 on their home field in the College Football Playoff to advance. In the process, UT’s season came to an end.
Ohio State came back with a vengeance after that incredibly disappointing loss to the Michigan Wolverines to close out the season, dominating Tennessee in every way possible. A series of injuries for the Vols, most notably to Dylan Sampson, only made things worse.
Tennessee seemingly forced a three-and-out on Ohio State’s first drive, but a facemask gave them a first down. They scored four plays later with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith. Sampson then got hurt on the Vols’ first drive, and they were forced to punt on a three-and-out.
That unleashed the OSU onslaught early, as they led another touchdown drive, forced another three-and-out and scored on a third touchdown drive to go up 21-0. Tennessee finally got a first down on the next drive, but that was all, and they had to punt.
On the ensuing drive, OSU was moving the ball again and seemed poise to score again to go up 28-0, but Will Brooks Jr. made a spectacular interception and kept one foot down in the end zone. That sparked a field goal drive, and after forcing a punt, Iamaleava led a 16-play 79-yard touchdown.
An OSU missed field goal as time expired in the second half sent the game into halftime with the Buckeyes up 21-10. Tennessee got the ball in the second half but failed to score on the opening drive, and OSU scored on its first drive of the half to go up 28-10.
While Tennessee’s season now ends with a 10-3 record, Ohio State improves to 11-2 and will head to Pasadena to face the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl. It will be a rematch of their regular season face-off, one in which Oregon won 32-31 in their house.
