Two instances defined Ohio State’s 42-17 blowout of Tennessee in the College Football Playoff Saturday night. The first came on the opening drive. OSU was reeling, Ryan Day was on the hot seat, Vol fans had packed Columbus, and Tennessee seemingly had gotten a stop on 3rd and 2 of their opening drive to force a three-and-out.
All the momentum that poured into the game from Knoxville, and all the demoralization from the other side, seemed ready to magnify. However, a clear facemask by the Vols, which was an obvious call, kept the drive alive, and Ohio State scored to go up 7-0, beginning an onslaught that put them up 21-0.
That wasn’t the turning point of the game, though.
See, despite that disaster, UT seemed to recover. Just as OSU was driving and set to go up 28-0, Will Brooks had an epic interception in the end zone. Tennessee then got a field goal, came away with a stop, scored a touchdown and forced a missed field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Trailing 21-10 now at halftime and set to get the ball back, the Vols had a chance to mount a historic comeback in their first-ever CFP game. The opening drive of the second half, however, proved that would not be in the cards for them.
With Dylan Sampson out, Tennessee’s run game was limited, and despite getting one first down on their opening drive of the second half, the Vols couldn’t do much more. After an incomplete pass on 2nd and 7, Joey Halzle called an option play on third down. The speed option would’ve worked if blocking on the outside didn’t failed.
That play forced the Vols to punt the ball, and Ohio State scored on the ensuing possession to go up 28-10. In this cold-weather atmosphere, there was no way Josh Heupel’s team was coming back from that. If they had scored to make it 21-17, perhaps they could have demoralized OSU and continued to pour it on.
By not scoring, though, OSU kept its momentum and willingness to play for Day, letting that TD drive another run of three straight possessions with touchdowns. That put them up 42-10, and Tennessee was never going to come back from such a deficit. It all came down to that one drive to open the second half.
