DALLAS — There's an old saying in football that defense wins championships. And at Ohio State, both had been absent in recent years.
But after the Buckeyes' 42-20 win over Oregon on Monday night in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Ohio State found its old form once again.
"The Silver Bullets are back," Buckeyes redshirt freshman linebacker Lee said. "That's a really great feeling for us to revive the Silver Bullets because they've been gone for a minute."
The Ducks got their yards agains the Buckeyes — they totaled 465 yards on offense. But they couldn't quite get their points. After Oregon marched down the field with ease on its opening drive, the Ducks only managed to find the end zone once more against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes were able to limit Oregon's offense on first down and then clamped down on the Ducks on third down. Oregon was just 2 for 12 in the game on third down. Ohio State's defense took the Ducks completely out of their rhythm.
"The track meet wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The practice was more challenging," said Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell, who was named the game's defensive MVP. "It helped us get really well-prepared for this game. We managed the tempo real well tonight."
Ohio State Overcomes Four Turnovers
You're not supposed to win a game when you turn the ball over four times. And to win one by 22 points makes Ohio State's feat even more impressive.
The Buckeyes fumbled three times — losing all three — and Cardale Jones threw an additional interception. Oregon, meanwhile, did not commit a single turnover. Yet, none of it really mattered.
"We stayed hungry. We knew that the offense was having success driving down the field, they just made a couple of mistakes," Powell said. "Us seeing that, we just knew we had to give them the ball back as many times as possible and keep the ball out of Mariota's hands.
Oregon had made a season out of turning turnovers into points. The Ducks scored just 10 off Ohio State's four miscues Monday night.
"It's also a testimony to the improvement our defense has made," head coach Urban Meyer said. "Our defense, to hold Marcus — I know he threw for a bunch of yards, 300-plus yards, but our defense, we tackled tonight and did a great job."
Cardale Jones Does It Again
A lot will be made over the next several months in regards to Ohio State's quarterback position next year.
Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett may have been vital parts to the Buckeyes, but it was Cardale Jones who finished the job.
Jones made his first-career start against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. He won that, 59-0. Later against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, he won again. And on Monday night, Jones threw for 242 yards and a touchdown in leading an underdog Ohio State team to the national title.
"It means a lot because going back to early August, late August, around camp, everybody counted us out when our Heisman Trophy quarterback went down, and then when the first college football ranking playoffs came out we was like No. 16 or 17," Jones said. "Long story short, we weren't supposed to be here. We had every — all the odds were stacked against us through the whole season, and for us to be sitting right here as national champs, it only means a lot to me but our community, Buckeye Nation, and our hometowns."
