Ohio State handles Oregon in Rose Bowl to advance in CFP

PASADENA, Calif. -- It was sweet revenge for the Ohio State Buckeyes as they came up with a dominant 41-21 victory over the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday afternoon.

The Ohio State passing game was firing on all cylinders in the first half with numerous deep connections to help get the Buckeyes the early advantage. A pair of deep strikes to Jeremiah Smith (45 yards) and Emeka Egbuka (42 yards) for a pair of touchdowns would set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

Jeremiah Smith was all over the field for the Buckeyes, totaling nearly 200 receiving yards in the contest to lead the way. Ohio State took a commanding 14-0 lead into the second, where they only continued to add on.

Another pair of big-time plays for the Buckeyes led the way in the second quarter, with Jeremiah Smith once again breaking free for a 43-yard touchdown. This time, however, TreVeyon Henderson made some magic happen on the ground, bursting free for a 66-yard touchdown that made it 31-0. 

A pair of field goals in the quarter from Jayden Fielding added six more points as the Ducks' nightmare first half had them trailing 34-0. They would finally get on the board with the final play of the half as Dillon Gabriel found Traeshon Holden on a 5-yard connection to make.

Following a successful two-point conversion, Oregon trailed 34-8 at halftime.

The Ducks did manage to add a couple more touchdowns in the second half as Noah Whittington and Traeshon Holden came up with scores respectively. However, the Buckeyes added another score of their own thanks to TreVeyon Henderson, and the game never got too close.

Ohio State finished off a 41-21 rout of Oregon and fully avenged their 32-31 loss to the Ducks in Autzen Stadium back on October 12.

Ohio State receivers dominate

Headlined by Jeremiah Smith, the Buckeyes displayed a deadly wide receiver duo on Monday afternoon that took care of business. Smith and Emeka Egbuka, who is a projected first-round pick in this year's upcoming NFL draft, combined for 264 all-purpose yards as they torched the Oregon secondary.

Smith had seven receptions on the day, racking up 187 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns as he showed off his electric speed and agility.

The freshman piled up five catches and 161 receiving yards in the first half alone.

As for Egbuka, he finished with five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown of his own.

It was a great day for Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard, who piled up 319 yards and 3 touchdowns as he completed 17 of 26 attempts. 

Perhaps the 3 1/2 weeks off that the Ducks had thanks to their first-round bye did not serve them as well as they would have hoped, with their secondary clearly seeming overwhelmed by the talent of Smith and Egbuka. While Egbuka will head to the draft, Smith will continue to terrorize college defenses for at least another year.

The duo did their thing on Monday afternoon, and now they will gear up for another marquee performance against Texas in the semifinal matchup. 

Dillon Gabriel pressured all afternoon

In Ohio State's 32-31 loss to the Ducks back on October 12, they could not come up with a single sack of Dillon Gabriel. This time around, they made the adjustment and brought him down a whopping eight times as they provided constant pressure against the Oregon offensive line.

Despite throwing 15 more passes than Ohio State's Will Howard (17/26 for 319 yards), Gabriel (29/41) only managed to collect 299 passing yards. The only receiver he found consistent chemistry with was Traeshon Holden, who caught seven passes for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Under constant pressure, Gabriel finished with -43 rushing yards on 12 attempts. The run game for the Ducks as a whole was virtually non-existent as they finished with a combined -23 rushing yards.

Cody Simon, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer were the main defensive aggressors for the Buckeyes as each collected a pair of sacks on the afternoon.

Simon was named the defensive player of the game for the Buckeyes.

The Oregon defense took a completely opposite trend. The Ducks could not come up with a sack of their own in the contest as Howard was left with plenty of time to throw and find his receivers for plentiful gains down the field.

The combination of overwhelming pressure from the Ohio State defensive line and promising display from their offensive line allowed them to dominate the game in the trenches as they cruised to victory.

Henderson keeps up strong playoff showing

Buckeye's running back TreVeyon Henderson proved to be a huge duel-threat factor in his squad's dominant win over Tennessee in the first round of the playoffs. In that game, he totaled 134 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns, rushing for 80 yards and collecting 54 receiving yards.

On Monday afternoon, he once again made a big impact for the Buckeyes. This time around, the bulk of the damage came through the ground as he piled on 94 rushing yards through 8 carries. 

He punched in a pair of touchdowns on runs of 66 yards and 8 yards.

The senior has now racked up 248 yards across the first two playoff games for Ohio State, adding another layer of depth to an offense that is already filled with speedy threats through the air. 

Next week, he draws a matchup against a Texas defense that allows 103.9 rushing yards per game. If he can continue to be an effective presence through the ground, it's going to be hard for any team to take down the Buckeyes.

They will meet the five-seeded Longhorns in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl classic with rights to the championship game on the line. Texas will be coming off of a thrilling 39-31 double overtime win against Arizona State that saw them barely squeak by. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT.