Ohio State stomps Oregon in Rose Bowl beatdown to advance to CFP semifinal

UNLV Head Coach Dan Mullen joins Colin Cowherd to discuss his expectations for Ohio State as they look to bounce back from their Michigan loss against Tennessee in the CFP.

The Ohio State Buckeyes weren't about to let a Big 10 conference newcomer steal all the spotlight this season. 

With a resounding 41-21 victory over top-ranked Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, the Buckeyes are headed to the CFP semifinal. 

Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard’s three long touchdown passes during Ohio State’s sensational 34-point first half. Howard passed for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka also caught a long TD pass, and TreVeyon Henderson made a 66-yard touchdown run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes (12-2, CFP No. 8 seed), whose big-game execution sometimes hasn’t matched their formidable talent this season.

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Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Gee Scott Jr. leaps for a first down during the first half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Ohio State has seized the second chances created by the first 12-team CFP, emphatically blowing out the tournament’s No. 1 seed. The Buckeyes scored on six of their first seven drives and took a 34-0 lead late in the second quarter on the nation’s only remaining unbeaten team in the Granddaddy of Them All.

Ohio State is headed to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to face No. 4 Texas for a berth in the national title game. The Longhorns barely advanced earlier Wednesday, holding off Arizona State 39-31 in a double-overtime Peach Bowl.

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