Ohio State’s offense exploded in an impeccable College Football Playoff performance while demolishing Oregon and achieving redemption in the Rose Bowl, but coach Ryan Day says the Buckeyes are “far from done.”
The Buckeyes led by 34 points in the first half of the 41-21 blowout Wednesday in Pasadena, Calif. Freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who logged 166 yards and two scores through the first two quarters, carried the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal triumph.
“We’re at a place where you can hear a lot of noise, but they didn’t do that,” Day told reporters. “And I’m very, very proud of our staff. I’m very, very proud of our players.
But we’re far from done.” The eighth-seeded Buckeyes (12-2) will now take on No. 5 Texas (13-2) in the Cotton Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal, on Jan. 10 in Arlington, Texas. The winner will advance to the national title game Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard threw a shot pass to Smith on the third play of Wednesday’s Rose Bowl and the rout was on. Smith caught the feed behind the line of scrimmage before ripping through the Ducks defense for a 45-yard touchdown.
“Will does a great job in practice just trusting us, just throwing the ball out there,” Smith said of Howard. “We tell him, just throw it out there. We’ll make a play for you.
It don’t matter if it’s a bad ball or not, we’ll make our quarterback look good. “But Will playing with that confidence that he has, just being a leader out there, I feed off his energy. He’s just great guy.
I love Will to death. And I would do anything for him.” Fellow Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka scored a 42-yard touchdown later in the quarter. Smith caught a 42-yard pass for another score early in the second. The Buckeyes got a 66-yard touchdown run from running back TreVeyon Henderson less than two minutes later and led 34-8 at halftime.
