The Buckeyes didn’t let Tennessee take over Ohio Stadium.
In the first-ever College Football Playoff game at the Shoe, Ohio State defended its home field against its invaders from Knoxville, blowing out the Volunteers 42-17 to advance to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, where the Buckeyes will face Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
The Buckeyes raced out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and controlled the game from there to earn their first College Football Playoff win since they defeated Clemson in the 2020 CFP semifinals.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 Ohio State | 21 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| #9 TENNESSEE | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| DEC. 21, 2024 • Ohio STADIUM • COlumbuS, OHIO | |||||
Ohio State put seven points on the board just two minutes and 14 seconds into the game when Will Howard connected with Jeremiah Smith for a 37-yard touchdown pass on the Buckeyes’ opening drive.
JEREMIAH SMITH OPENS THE SCORING IN COLUMBUS WITH AN UNREAL GRAB
— ESPN (@espn) December 22, 2024
THE FRESHMAN SENSATION CONTINUES TO BALL OUT THIS SEASON pic.twitter.com/uoi6Jp1pxw
After Buckeye defense forced a 3-and-out on its opening series, Ohio State made it 14-0 on its second possession as a 40-yard strike from Howard to Emeka Egbuka set up a 1-yard touchdown run for Quinshon Judkins.
QUINSHON JUDKINS MAKES IT 14-0 OHIO STATE IN A BLINK OF AN EYE
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 22, 2024
WHAT A START FOR THE BUCKEYES pic.twitter.com/vxel9h3Pzp
Less than five minutes later, Ohio State made it 21-0 after another Tennessee punt as TreVeyon Henderson broke free for a 29-yard touchdown.
TREVEYON HENDERSON MAKES IT 21-0 OHIO STATE IN THE FIRST QUARTER
— ESPN (@espn) December 22, 2024
THE BUCKEYES' OFFENSE IS ROLLING IN COLUMBUS pic.twitter.com/7Jbpov9dL1
Tennessee finally stole some momentum away from the Buckeyes on their fourth possession when Howard forced a throw to Smith into double coverage and Will Brooks got one foot down in the back of the end zone for an interception. The Volunteers drove into the red zone and kicked a 36-yard field goal to score their first three points of the game, though not without a questionable roughing the passer penalty against Kenyatta Jackson Jr. that nullified an interception by Davison Igbinosun.
Roughing the passer...? pic.twitter.com/nOj5GwzbUt
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
The Buckeyes went 3-and-out on their subsequent possession and Tennessee drove 79 yards in 16 plays to make it a 21-10 game with 20 seconds left to play before halftime.
Ohio State put together a quick three-play, 37-yard drive to set up a 56-yard field goal attempt before the break, but Jayden Fielding’s kick came up short.
The Buckeyes quickly regained momentum in the third quarter, forcing a punt on Tennessee’s opening drive of the half then scoring a touchdown on their opening drive as Howard threaded a 22-yard touchdown pass to Smith.
Freshman Jeremiah Smith's second touchdown of game extends OSU's lead! pic.twitter.com/eEOuUhp0JV
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 22, 2024
Ohio State reached the end zone again on its next possession with a nine-play, 81-yard drive that ended with Judkins’ second 1-yard touchdown run of the night.
Ohio State makes it 35-10 vs. Tennessee pic.twitter.com/hlhL1RDVQr
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 22, 2024
Following a turnover on downs by Tennessee, Henderson ran for a 24-yard touchdown to make it a 32-point game with 10:53 to play, after which Ohio State took its starters out of the game.
TreVeyon Henderson puts the icing on the cake with a 24 yard touchdown run as Ohio State takes a 42-10 lead against Tennessee! pic.twitter.com/W82kK9x314
— The Sports Place (@offsportsplace) December 22, 2024
With Ohio State’s backups in on defense, Nico Iamaleava ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 1:56 left to play to make the final score slightly more respectable.
Howard had his second 300-yard game as a Buckeye as he completed 24 of 29 passing attempts for 311 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Henderson led all Buckeyes with 132 yards from scrimmage (80 rushing, 54 receiving) while Smith led all receivers with six catches for 103 yards in his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
Cody Simon led Ohio State’s defense with 12 tackles. Defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau both had monster games as Tuimoloau recorded a career-high eight tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass breakups while Sawyer had five tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup.
Ohio State will now have 10 days to prepare for a matchup with the No. 1 seed in the CFP as the Buckeyes will face Oregon in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Day. The game will be a rematch of Ohio State’s sixth game of the regular season, which the Ducks won 32-31.
Team Stats
| OHIO STATE | TENNESSEE | |
|---|---|---|
| 473 | TOTAL YARDS | 256 |
| 156 | RUSHING YARDS | 152 |
| 33 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 39 |
| 4.7 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 3.9 |
| 4 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 2 |
| 317 | PASSING YARDS | 104 |
| 25-31 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 14-31 |
| 12.7 | YARDS PER COMPLETION | 7.4 |
| 2 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 24 | 1st DOWNS | 17 |
| 70 | TOTAL PLAYS | 64 |
| 7.4 | YARDS PER PLAY | 3.7 |
| 4-9 | 3RD DOWNS | 6-16 |
| 3-25 | PENALTIES | 6-50 |
| 32:50 | POSSESSION | 27:10 |
| 1 | TURNOVERS | 0 |
Game Notes
- Austin Siereveld started the game at left guard and Tegra Tshabola started the game at right guard, but Luke Montgomery also saw playing time at left guard with Siereveld seeing reps at right guard.
- Jeremiah Smith became the 10th receiver in Ohio State history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
- 102,819 people attended the game.
- Ohio State is now 4-4 all-time in College Football Playoff games.
- The game was the first-ever College Football Playoff ever played at Ohio Stadium and the first-ever December game in the Shoe.
