Ohio State’s Ryan Day Raves About Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith After Win Over Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes 41-21 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day was throughly impressed with his team's performance vs. the No. 1 ranked Ducks. Day raved about Will Howard and Jeremiah Smith as the Buckeyes will now take on the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads warm ups prior to 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

The Oregon Ducks 2024 college football season came to an end at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday evening at the Rose Bowl. Ohio State dominated Oregon right from the start and won 41-21 in the rematch from Oregon's 32-31 win in October.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day came into this College Football Playoff under fire after ending the regular season with a home loss to Michigan. He has been quieting those doubters in the Buckeyes first two playoff games. Ohio State took down Tennessee in round one 42-17 and followed that up with a 41-21 annihilation over the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals. 

Buckeyes freshman sensation, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, was the star of the show with 7 receptions for 187 yards, and 2 touchdowns. 

Quarterback Will Howard had a clean game and went 17 of 26 for 319 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. 

Ryan Day spoke with ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the field right after the game about his team’s performance.  

Ryan Day: “I’m Proud of the Players”

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrate on the podium after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Ohio State left no doubt they were the better team in their 41-21 win over Oregon. The Buckeyes flew out of the gates and had a 31-0 lead midway through the second quarter. For a second in the 3rd quarter, it look like the Ducks would find a way back into the game, but the Ohio State defense stood tall and forced an immediate punt. 

Will Howard and Jeremiah Smith proved to be to much for the Oregon defense. Day spoke about the confidence he has in those two players.

“I think they have been practicing very well. I think we all believe in them,” Day said. 

Outside of those two, Ohio State got huge contributions in many other places on both sides of the ball.

“The defense played strong throughout the game so we got some rhythm. I thought the run game popped too early in the first half. You can see the potential of where we’re at when we play with all three phases the way we did,” Day said. “Kind of hung on here at the end, but I’m proud of the players. I’m proud of the resilience if these guys, and still got a lot of football ahead of us.”

Running backs' Treveyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins helped control the game and combined for 179 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

The Ohio State defensive line also got after Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Five different Buckeyes recorded a sack.

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Ohio State To Face Texas in Semifinals

Texas Longhorns linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr. (37) runs out with his team as the Texas Longhorns prepare to play the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 1, 2025. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes will now turn their attention to the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl in the College Football playoff Semifinals. Ryan Day was asked about his initial thoughts on Texas.

“I know what a great program Sark (Texas coach Steve Sarkisian) runs and got a lot of respect for him. I think we got a lot of time to talk about that next week,” Day said. “We’re going to enjoy this one right here.”

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