PASADENA, Calif. – Urban Meyer’s final game as Ohio State’s head coach went the same way 82 of his first 91 games as Ohio State’s head coach went: The Buckeyes won.
Ohio State scored 28 of the first 31 points before ultimately coasting to a 28-23 victory over Washington on Tuesday to win its first Rose Bowl appearance in nine years and send Meyer out with a victory as he concludes his seven-year tenure with the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes earned their 13th win of the season in the process, marking just the third time in school history that Ohio State has won that many games.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 OHIO STATE | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| #9 WASHINGTON | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 23 |
Both offenses got off to a slow start, losing yardage and going 3-and-out on their opening possessions. Mike Weber got Ohio State’s offense going on its second drive, though, running for 52 yards on his first four carries of the game to get the Buckeyes into the red zone, setting up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Dwayne Haskins to a wide open Parris Campbell.
After the teams traded another pair of 3-and-outs, Washington put together its first effective drive of the game on its third possession, driving 55 yards in 11 plays. The Huskies were ultimately forced to settle for a 38-yard field goal, however, allowing the Buckeyes to wrap up the first quarter with a 7-3 lead.
Less than three minutes into the second quarter, Haskins connected with Johnnie Dixon from 19 yards out for his second touchdown pass of the day to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 14-3.
Ohio State’s defense kept the clamps on Washington’s offense for the entire second quarter, forcing the Huskies to punt on each of their next three possessions, and the Buckeyes ultimately took a 21-3 lead before halftime when Haskins found Rashod Berry in the end zone from 1 yard out for his 50th touchdown pass of the season on Ohio State’s final possession of the second quarter.
| OHIO STATE | WASHINGTON | |
|---|---|---|
| 364 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 444 |
| 113 | RUSHING YARDS | 129 |
| 32 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 36 |
| 3.5 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 3.6 |
| 1 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 2 |
| 251 | PASSING YARDS | 315 |
| 25-37 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 36-55 |
| 10.0 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 8.8 |
| 3 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 1 |
| 22 | 1st DOWNS | 27 |
| 7 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 10 |
| 14 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 14 |
| 1 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 3 |
| 69 | TOTAL PLAYS | 91 |
| 5.3 | YARDS PER PLAY | 4.9 |
| 4-4 | RED ZONE | 3-3 |
| 3-13 | 3rd DOWNS | 9-20 |
| 1-1 | 4th DOWNS | 1-3 |
| 9-53 | PENALTIES | 6-46 |
| 0 (0) | TURNOVERS (DEF PTS OFF) | 0 (0) |
| 24:58 | POSSESSION | 35:02 |
The Buckeyes picked up right where they left off in the third quarter, forcing Washington to punt on its opening possession before driving right back down the field for another touchdown. Haskins connected with K.J. Hill on a 34-yard pass to set up a 3-yard J.K. Dobbins jaunt into the end zone to extend Ohio State’s lead to 28-3 with 8:23 to play in the third quarter.
After that, however, the Buckeyes seemed to let their foot off the gas pedal – and never got back on it.
Washington drove to Ohio State’s 22-yard line on its next possession, but Jeffrey Okudah broke up his second pass of the game on 4th-and-4 to get the Buckeyes off the field.
Finally, Washington scored its first touchdown with 12:17 left to play in the game, when Chris Petersen went into his bag of tricks and called a jump pass from Washington running back Myles Gaskin to tight end Drew Sample on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
After forcing back-to-back Ohio State punts, and blocking the second of those punts by Drue Chrisman, Washington scored its second touchdown of the game with 6:42 to play on a 1-yard run by Gaskin after Jake Browning found Andre Baccellia for a 24-yard completion and Aaron Fuller for a 37-yard connection.
Washington would score another touchdown on a 2-yard run by Myles Gaskin with just 42 seconds to play, cutting Ohio State's lead to five points. But Jake Browning's two-point conversion pass attempt was intercepted by Brendon White, and Johnnie Dixon fielded Washington's onside kick attempt cleanly to finally put the game away.
With Tuesday’s win, Ohio State is now 8-7 all-time in the Rose Bowl. It was the Buckeyes' first Rose Bowl appearance since the Jan. 1, 2010 Rose Bowl, when they beat Oregon, 26-17.
Meyer, who finishes his Ohio State coaching career with an 83-9 record, now hands the reins of the football program over to Ryan Day, who will officially take over as the Buckeyes’ new head coach upon their return to Columbus.
Game Notes
- With Thayer Munford sidelined for the game due to injury, Joshua Alabi made his first career start for Ohio State at left tackle. Wyatt Davis made his second career start at right guard in place of Demetrius Knox, also injured.
- Campbell, Dixon, Terry McLaurin and Isaiah Prince, all seniors playing their final games, were the captains for Tuesday's pregame coin toss.
- With Campbell's touchdown catch in the first quarter, he became the fifth receiver in Ohio State history with 1,000 yards in a single season. Campbell also broke Ohio State's single-season record for receptions, surpassing the previous record of 85 set by David Boston in 1998.
- By starting at safety for the Buckeyes on Tuesday, Brendon White and his father William (1985) became the second father-son duo to start for Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, joining Hopalong (1955) and Craig (1976) Cassady.
- 91,853 was the official attendance for Tuesday's game.
- Chase Young reached double-digit sacks for the season (10.5) with a sack in the third quarter.
