We have photos from Ohio State’s historic College Football Playoff first round win over Tennessee. Thanks to Dan Harker for his help with photos. We also have CBS-produced highlights and analysis videos below and interview videos in the replies below this story.
Eighth-seeded Ohio State scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions to go ahead 21-0 on its way to a 42-17 win over No. 9 seed Tennessee in a CFB Playoff first round game before 102,819 on a frigid Saturday night at Ohio Stadium. The gametime temperature was a brisk 25 degrees as the Buckeyes welcomed their visitors from the SEC.
Click here for our full report on the win.
Ohio State (11-2) advances to play No. 1 seed Oregon (13-0) in the Rose Bowl on Wed., Jan. 1, in Pasadena, Calif. That will be a rematch from one of the best games of the regular season where Oregon edged Ohio State 32-31 on Oct. 12 in Eugene.
OSU quarterback Will Howard rebounded from a two-interception game in the loss to Michigan. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Howard did big business with freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who had six catches for 103 yards with touchdown grabs of 37 and 22 yards. Senior Emeka Egbuka added five catches for 81 yards.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson came up big with 10 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns and he also had four catches for 54 yards. Quinshon Judkins added a pair of short touchdown runs for the Buckeyes.
Tennessee (10-3) struggled to get its offense going against a stingy Ohio State defense. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava was 14 of 31 passing for 104 yards and also had a pair of touchdown run. He was sacked four times.
Ohio State outgained Tennessee 473-256 in total yardage. Tennessee finally got some rushing yardage in the fourth quarter against the reserves after the game was decided. Running back Dylan Sampson, the SEC’s leading rusher at over 1,400 yards, only had two carries for 6 yards due to a nagging injury.
OSU defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau had two sacks, while Jack Sawyer had 1-1/2 sacks.
Linebacker Cody Simon led the Buckeyes with 12 tackles. Tuimoloau had eight and safety Caleb Downs had seven.
This game marked the first time an SEC team has visited Ohio Stadium since LSU traveled to Columbus for a game in 1988. OSU has upcoming home-and-home series scheduled with Texas (2025-26), Alabama (2027-28) and Georgia (2030-31).
In addition to being OSU’s first home playoff game, this also marked the first-ever home game at Ohio Stadium in the month of December.
The OSU-Michigan game on Nov. 30 had a gametime temperature of 27 degrees and was believed to be one of the five coldest games in Ohio Stadium history. This game is also now on that list.
And now it’s on to sunny Pasadena.
