No. 8 Buckeyes Jump to Early Lead, Cruise to 41-21 Win Over No. 1 Oregon

Wednesday, January 1

Pasadena, Calif.

5:00 P.M. ET

Ohio State

12-2 , 7-2

Oregon

13-1 , 9-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

#8 Ohio St.

#1 Oregon

No. 8 Buckeyes Jump to Early Lead, Cruise to 41-21 Win Over No. 1 Oregon

1/1/2025 8:30:00 PM | Football

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Ohio State advances to CFP Semifinals vs. Texas Jan. 10

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 8 Ohio State (12-2) built an early lead that proved insurmountable in a 41-21 win over No. 1 Oregon (13-1) Wednesday in the 2024 College Football Playoffs Quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Ohio State will face No. 5 Texas (13-2) in the 2024 CFP Semifinals Jan. 10 (7:30 p.m.) at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Longhorns defeated No. 4 Arizona State in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in double overtime (39-31) earlier in the day to advance. Will Howard completed 17-of-26 passes for 319 yards and three scores. Freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith established the passing game early with two first half scores. He finished with seven catches for 187 yards. Emeka Egbuka added five catches for 72 yards and a score. Cody Simon led the defense with 11 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. Ohio State’s defense recorded eight sacks and 13 tackles for loss with nine pass break ups. Ohio State’s ground game was led by Quinshon Judkins with 85 yards on 17 carries. TreVeyon Henderson added 94 yards on eight attempts, including a 66-yard touchdown run and another score on an 8-yard run.

Ryan Day, Ohio State vs. Oregon 1/1/2025

Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State vs. Oregon 1/1/2025

First Quarter (No. 8 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Oregon 0)

Oregon won the pregame coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Ohio State got the ball first at its 25 after a fair catch by Emeka Egbuka at the OSU5. Quarterback Will Howard got right to work connecting with tight end Gee Scott Jr., for a gain of 30 yards down the right side to the Oregon 45. Two plays later Howard found Jeremiah Smith for a 45-yard touchdown grab down the left side for a 7-0 lead with 14 minutes left in the opening quarter. Oregon was held without a first down in its first possession and punted it away to the Buckeyes, who started their second effort at the OSU22 following a 44-yard James Ross punt. Howard quickly connected with Smith again, this time for a gain of 29 yards down the right side to the Oregon 49. After a Quinshon Judkins rush for a yard, Smith was targeted again for a gain of 12 to the ORE36. Ohio State’s drive stalled at the Oregon 36, forcing a Joe McQuire punt that was brought out to the Oregon 20 after a 36-yard punt and touchback. The Ducks were forced to punt for the second time after gaining 2 yards on three plays. The Buckeyes got the ball back after a 33-yard Ross punt that went out of bounds at the OSU47. Egbuka caught Howard’s first effort of the drive for a gain of 7 to the Oregon 46. TreVeyon Henderson rushed for a gain of 4 before Egbuka caught a 42-yard touchdown pass right down the middle to make it 14-0 Buckeyes with 7:31 left. After a touchback, Oregon earned first downs on consecutive plays with a Terrance Ferguson reception for 9 and Jordan James rush for 11 to the ORE47. Ohio State’s defense then forced a fourth-and-6 situation from the OSU49. The Ducks elected to punt, a Luke Dunne boot of 40 yards to the OSU9. Judkins got the call on Ohio State’s first two plays of the drive for gains of 5 and 1 to the OSU15. Howard then found Smith down the left sideline for a gain of 32 to the OSU47. Judkins rushed for another 5 before a Howard incompletion. Egbuka then caught a Howard offering over the middle for a gain of 15 to the ORE33. Judkins added another rush for 5 yards to the Oregon 28 to end the quarter.

Second Quarter (No. 8 Ohio State 34, No. 1 Oregon 8)

Oregon stopped the Buckeyes to open the quarter on third down to bring on Jayden Fielding for a 46-yard field-goal attempt that was converted right down the middle for a 17-0 Ohio State lead. The scoring drive covered 63 yards on 10 plays. The Ducks started from their 25 after a touchback on its next possession. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel converted on third down with a 12-yard pass to Traeshon Holden to the ORE41. Oregon called timeout faced with another third down situation at their 48 needing 3 yards for a first down. Oregon went for it on fourth-and-3 but the Buckeyes got the stop after an incompletion to take over on downs. Judkins gained 5 yards on Ohio State’s first effort from scrimmage before Howard went deep to find a wide-open Smith for a 43-yard touchdown strike to the front right corner of the endzone. Ohio State took a 24-0 lead with 10:28 remaining in the half. The Ducks started from their 25 after another touchback. Oregon gained 6 yards before punting it away. Ohio State took over after a James punt sailed 35 yards and went out of bounds at the OSU34. On Ohio State’s first play, Henderson rushed for 66 yards down the right sideline to make it 31-0 Buckeyes. Oregon lost 2 yards on its next possession, giving the ball back to the Buckeyes after a 38-yard punt that was fair caught by Caleb Downs at the OSU39. Judkins gained 15 yards up the middle and added 4 more over the right side to the Oregon 42. After an Egbuka catch for 4 yards, Howard earned a first down with a 3 yard gain up the middle to the ORE35. Smith then gained 5 yards on sweep to the right before Carnell Tate caught a pass for 10 yards to the ORE20. Oregon’s defense then held at their 18 before a Fielding 36-yard field goal increased the Ohio State lead to 34-0. Oregon got its first big play of the game on a 44-yard pass to Holden down the left side to the Ohio State 22. It marked the first time in the game the Ducks entered Ohio State territory. The Ducks called timeout with 16 seconds left before a Gabriel scramble for 5 yards to the OSU13. Oregon called another timeout with two seconds left with Oregon at the OSU5 following an 8-yard pass play. Ohio State then called its second timeout before Gabriel scrambled and found Holden in the back of the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown grab to make it 34-8. Oregon converted on a 2-point conversion, a pass to Justius Lowe with no time left. Ohio State gained 390 yards in the opening quarter with 269 through the air. Howard completed 11-of-18 passes with three touchdowns. Smith caught five passes for 161 yards with two scores. Egbuka added 68 yards on four grabs and one score. Henderson rushed for 70 yards on two carries.

Third Quarter (No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 15)

The Ducks started the second half with the ball and after a touchback opened from their 25. Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer sacked Gabriel for a loss of 12 to the Oregon 13 but Gabriel responded with a completion to Lowe of 21 yards to the ORE34. On fourth-and-1, a Gabriel keeper got the first down with a 1-yard gain. Gabriel then got the Ducks inside Ohio State territory with a 17-yard pass to Terrance Furguson to the OSU48. Another completion, this time for 15 yards to Holden led to a reception of 25 to Ferguson down to the OSU3. After a rush of 1 yard, Oregon called its first timeout of the half before scoring on a Noah Whittington 2-yard rush up the middle to make it 34-15 Buckeyes. The scoring drive covered 75 yards on 11 plays over 6:05. Ohio State’s first drive of the second half started from their 25 after a touchback. The Buckeyes gained 7 yards before a McGuire punt of 43 yards gave the Ducks the ball at their 25. Sawyer blocked a pass and then sacked Gabriel for a loss of 7 back to the ORE18. Cody Simon then added another sack for the Buckeyes, dropping Gabriel at the ORE12 after a loss of 6. The Buckeyes took over at their 44 after a 44-yard Dunne punt with 5:34 on the clock. After a couple short Henderson gains, Howard found Smith for a gain of 10 to the ORE44. Howard went to Smith again on the next play, this time for a gain of 16 along the right sideline at the Oregon 28. Judkins carried on the next play for a gain of 12 before a face mask penalty on the Ducks moved the ball to the ORE6. Henderson then got the call and went left for an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 41-15 Buckeyes with 2:19 left. The drive covered 56 yards on six plays over 3:16. Gabriel started Oregon’s next drive with a pair of completions of 10 and 8 yards to the ORE43. Sawyer batted away his third Gabriel attempt before a Lathan Ransom sack for a loss of 2 at the Oregon 41. Ohio State got the ball back after a 44-yard Dunne punt fair caught by Brandon Inniss at the OSU15. The quarter ended after a holding penalty and short Judkins rush put Ohio State back to its 10.

Fourth Quarter (No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21)

Judkins opened the final quarter with a 4-yard gain on second down over the left side to the OSU14. Howard was sacked on the next play for a loss of 5. McGuire then delivered a 42-yard punt to the ORE49. Gabriel moved to the OSU28 before Ohio State’s Caden Curry got a sack for a loss of 8 back to the OSU36. Gabriel responded with a completion for 12 yards and a first down at the OSU24. After a scramble and gain of 2, Gabriel pitched right to Whittington but was called for an illegal forward pass to move the ball back to the OSU27. On the next play, Gabriel connected with Holden for a 27-yard touchdown pass. The Ducks went for two but the rush attempt failed to make it 41-21 Buckeyes with 10 minutes left. The drive covered 51 yards on 10 plays over 3:36. The Buckeyes took over at their 15 after a Henderson return of 3 yards on the ensuing kickoff. Judkins opened Ohio State’s drive with an 18-yard rush down the left sideline to the OSU33. Henderson then added another 18-yard gain on a reception over the right side to the Oregon 48. The drive stalled and McGuire punted it away. After a touchback and 47-yard punt, Oregon took over at its 20. Oregon was forced to punt after a Simon sack of Gabriel back to the ORE20. The Buckeyes took over at their 37 following a 43-yard punt. Ohio State kept the ball on the ground winding down the clock to the two-minute timeout. The Buckeyes ran the clock down to 21 seconds before punting it away. Oregon ran one more play to end the game.