Ohio State jumped out early on the College Football Playoff’s No. 1 seed and routed Oregon 41-21 to advance to the CFP semifinals.
If anything, the Buckeyes sent a signal to the rest of the field that this isn’t the team that laid an egg against Michigan.
How did the Buckeyes grade on Wednesday? Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis.
Ohio State offense (5 leaves)
This was a Chip Kelly master class on how to take advantage of a second chance.
The Buckeyes ripped through the Ducks in the first half, jumping out to a 34-0 lead. It was a continuation of the attack that silenced Tennessee, getting the ball to playmakers on the outside instead of the puzzling game plan against Michigan that tried to ram the ball up the middle.
Perhaps the most impressive moment came in the third quarter, after the Ducks scored on consecutive possessions to make it 34-15 and woke up their fans. The OSU offense went back on the attack and finished the smooth drive with an 8-yard touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson for a 40-15 lead.
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The game plan obviously was to showcase freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith, and he shined. He was unstoppable and finished with 187 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. He also passed the previous single-game Ohio State freshman mark of 172 yards set by Cris Carter in a Jan. 1, 1985 Rose Bowl matchup with USC.
The first-quarter stats were astounding. The Buckeyes outgained the Ducks 233 yards to 37, including 212-30 through the air.
The offensive line didn’t allow a sack, and quarterback Will Howard completed 17 of 26 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
Ohio State defense (5 leaves)
Jim Knowles had Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel confused from the start, and the high-flying Ducks struggled to gain yardage.
Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams again were outstanding and likely made some good NFL money with their showings. The Buckeyes sacked Gabriel eight times.
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Linebacker Cody Simon finished with a game-high 11 tackles and two sacks. Safety Caleb Downs is a wonderful leader and center fielder, and he’s so effective and rangy that at times, it seems as if there are multiple No. 2s on the field.
The Ducks rushed for 33 sack-adjusted yards, good for 1.7 yards per carry.
Ohio State special teams (3 leaves)
Jayden Fielding made field goals of 46 and 36 yards and looked confident in doing so.
The Buckeyes had another bumbled kickoff return in the fourth quarter, resulting in only 3 yards. That’s two games in a row of confusion with Henderson back there.
Ohio State coaching (5 leaves)
Both sides had smart game plans that were executed well. Perhaps most important is that the Buckeyes did not seem intimidated at all by a No. 1 seed they lost to earlier in the season.
Fun quotient (3 leaves)
The picturesque Rose Bowl and explosive offense made for a great day.
The only bummer was that the blowout removed the fun and drama of a close game.
Oregon Ducks (1 leaf)
Did the week off cause the Ducks to be surprised by Ohio State’s speed? Perhaps. Either way, they were outclassed from the start.
Puzzling was Oregon’s decision not to go at the Ohio State cornerbacks, particularly penalty-prone Davison Igbinosun. The Ducks tried to run the ball and failed. They tried short passes. They rarely went deep.
Oregon was so confused by the Ohio State defense that it went to a trick play in the fourth quarter, and it failed with a halfback throw out of bounds.
Officials (3 leaves)
This was either an extremely clean game or the officials just decided to let the players play. The first penalty was not called until 2:46 remained in the third quarter, and there were only five in the entire game.
The first Ohio State penalty came with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter, and it was actually a bad call, as tight end Will Kacmarek was flagged for holding even though he merely pancaked a defender.
Officials stayed out of the spotlight until 5:04 remained in the game, when they reviewed a catch by Oregon and did not overturn the call.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football vs Oregon: How OSU grades in CFP Rose Bowl
