Ohio State Buckeyes Back Up Their Talk in Blowout Rose Bowl Win Over Oregon

The Ohio State Buckeyes move on to CFP semifinals after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2024 Rose Bowl, 41-21.

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) celebrates in the second quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes continued the program's dominant run in the 2024 College Football Playoffs with another victory, this time against the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl, 41-21.

After a heartbreaking loss in Week 7 to Oregon on the road, head coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks saw a completely different Buckeyes squad on Wednesday. Ohio State's offense scored in four of the seven drives during the first half, which resulted in the Buckeyes' 34-8 lead at half.

The statline for Ohio State at HALFTIME is absurd:

Will Howard: 11/18, 269 PASSING YARDS, 3 TDs

Jeremiah Smith: 5 catches, 161 rec yards, 2 TDs

TreVeyon Henderson: 2 rushes, 70 yards, 1 TD

Oh, and 390 total offensive yards.

— Dylan Feltovich (@dyfelt) January 1, 2025

Quarterback Will Howard kicked off the incredible performance with two passing touchdowns in the Buckeyes' first three offensive possessions, as he connected with both freshman Jeremiah Smith and senior Emeka Egbuka to give Ohio State an early 14-0 lead. He would finish the first half with 269 passing yards and three touchdowns after he found Smith yet again for a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Howard finished the contest with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Smith ended with seven catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

While offensive coordinator Chip Kelly focused on the passing attack early on, running back TreVeyon Henderson still managed to dominate on the ground. The senior running back had two carries in the first half, including a 66-yard touchdown.

Henderson totaled 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.

Ohio State's high-flying offense in the first half became the second-highest scoring half by Ohio State in a bowl game in school history, second behind only a 35-point first half in the 2020 Sugar Bowl vs. Clemson according to Luke Potosky on X.

Ohio State leads Oregon 34-8 at halftime of the Rose Bowl.

This marks the second-highest scoring half by Ohio State in a bowl game in school history, trailing only a 35-point first half in the 2020 Sugar Bowl vs. Clemson.@OhioStateFB | @11W #CFBPlayoff  | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/vRdbmWSnUf

— Luke Potosky (@LukePotosky) January 1, 2025

But Ohio State's offense wasn't the only unit to shine in Wednesday's contest.

The Buckeyes' defense also stepped up in the program's second go-around against Oregon, allowing eight points in the first half. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' game plan proved to work against quarterback Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks offense, as the veteran gunslinger was under pressure for most of the game. Gabriel ended the night with , while Ohio State's defense also tallied eight total sacks.

Senior defensive end Jack Sawyer took care of business in the trenches, as the veteran leader led the team in sacks with two. He also added two tackles for losses and three pass deflections to his stat line.

With a victory over Oregon, the Buckeyes are now set to take on the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Jan 10. This becomes the first time that Ohio State has reached the CFP semifinals since 2022, when the Buckeyes lost the the Georgia Bulldogs.