Will Howard threw three touchdown passes in the first half as Ohio State defeated previously undefeated Oregon, 41-21, Wednesday in a Rose Bowl game played under heavy security after at least 15 people were killed when a truck was intentionally driven into a crowd of holiday revelers in New Orleans.
The victory in the third of four quarterfinals in the first season of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff advanced the eighth-seeded Buckeyes (12-2) into a semifinal against fifth-seeded Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10. The Longhorns defeated fourth-seeded Arizona State, 39-31, in a double-overtime thriller in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
The attack prompted postponement of Wednesday’s Sugar Bowl in New Orleans between second-seeded Georgia and seventh-seeded Notre Dame until Thursday.
Ohio State scored the first 34 points, opening the scoring one minute into the game on Howard’s 45-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith, two plays after Howard’s 30-yard pass to Gee Scott Jr.
After being forced to punt on their next possession, the Buckeyes scored on five consecutive possessions — a 42-yard pass from Howard to Emeka Egbuka, a 46-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding, a 43-yard pass from Howard to Smith, a 66-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson and Fielding’s 36-yard field goal.
The Ducks (13-1) ended Ohio State’s bid for the first Rose Bowl shutout since Washington’s 28-0 victory over Iowa on Jan. 1, 1982 on Dillon Gabriel’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Traeshon Holden as time expired in the second quarter. Gabriel followed with a 2-point conversion pass to Justius Lowe.
Oregon also scored on its first possession of the second half, driving 75 yards on 11 plays, with Noah Whittington running two yards for the touchdown, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to 34-15.
Henderson ran eight yards for a touchdown with 2:24 left in the third quarter.
Gabriel threw a 27-yard pass to Holden with 10:06 remaining for the fourth quarter’s lone touchdown.
Howard completed 17 of 26 passes for 319 yards, did not throw an interception and was not sacked.
Smith was selected as the Offensive Player of the Game for catching seven passes for a game-high 187 yards.
Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon was selected as the Defensive Player of the Game for making a game-high 11 tackles, including three solo tackles for losses.
Gabriel completed 29 of 41 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, as he concluded his six-season college career with 155, matching Case Keenum’s Football Bowl Subdivision record.
Gabriel added to two FBS records he held entering the game — total touchdowns with 189 and 64 starts, the most among FBS quarterbacks.
Gabriel was sacked eight times and did not throw an interception.
The Buckeyes outgained the Ducks 500 yards to 276, led 20-15 in first downs but trailed 30:55-29:05 in time of possession in front of a crowd announced at 90,732.
Ohio State’s fifth consecutive Rose Bowl victory improved its record in college football’s oldest bowl game to 10-7. The Buckeyes’ 17 Rose Bowl appearances are third-most all-time behind USC (34) and Michigan (21).
Oregon fell to 4-5 in the Rose Bowl Game as its three-game Rose Bowl winning streak was snapped.
Ohio State increased its lead in the series, 10-2, after back-to-back losses.
The Ducks earned the top seed in the playoff and a first-round bye with a 45-37 victory over Penn State in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 7, remaining as lone undefeated FBS team.
The Buckeyes advanced to the game with a 42-17 victory over ninth-seeded Tennessee in a first-round game Dec. 21 in Columbus, Ohio.
The game was a rematch of Oregon’s 32-31 victory over Ohio State on Oct. 12 at Eugene, Oregon, when Atticus Sappington kicked the go-ahead field goal with one minute, 47 seconds to play in a game with eight lead changes.
The Buckeyes entered Wednesday’s play first among FBS teams in scoring defense, allowing an average of 11.4 points per game, total defense, allowing 242.2 yards per game, passing defense, allowing 141.2 yards per game, and red zone defense, allowing opponents to score 59.4% of the time.
Oregon entered the game as the only FBS team in the top 15 for scoring offense (13th, averaging 35.9 points per game), total offense (13th, averaging 449.8 yards per game), scoring defense (12th, allowing 17.8 points per game) and total defense (ninth, allowing 301.8 yards per game).