Ohioans have said it forever: "Let's see a Southern team play here when it's cold."
On Saturday night, it finally happened, and would you know it - the Ohio State Buckeyes annihilated the Tennessee Volunteers 42-17 and advanced to the Rose Bowl portion of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Will Howard: 24/29 for 311 yards, 2 TDs & 37 yards rushing on five carries
Jeremiah Smith. Him. Himmy. Himothy. pic.twitter.com/Dnl2Fud1g9
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
Ohio State's senior quarterback came back from a horrid final outing of the regular season and turned in a performance for the ages, marred only by a deflected interception in the end zone (which also included an egregious, uncalled defensive pass interference on Jeremiah Smith).
Howard was precise and steady all night, releasing from the pocket in both designed plays for him as well as on a couple where no one was open, averaging 7.4 per carry.
He also hit nine different receivers on the evening, including Jeremiah Smith (six catches, 103 yards and two touchdowns), Emeka Egbuka (five for 81), TreVeyon Henderson (four for 54), Gee Scott Jr. (four for 39), Carnell Tate (one for 18), Quinshon Judkins (two for nine), Will Kacmarek (one for seven), Brandon Inniss (one for six) and even one to himself!
He caught a ricocheted pass and took it back to the line of scrimmage. Great night for Will.
Vols: Tennessee's Worst [Every Stat goes here] of 2024 Happened in Columbus
Jeremiah Smith. Him. Himmy. Himothy. pic.twitter.com/Dnl2Fud1g9
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
The Volunteers played 12 games prior to their visit on Saturday. Their 13th of the season produced season worst in the following critical categories:
- Point differential (-25, which was aided by a garbage time TD against the Buckeye backups)
- Opponent points (42, the Buckeyes emptied their bench and played all four scholarship QBs)
- Yards (256, by far their worst output of the season)
- Opponent yards (473, nobody in the SEC tore up the Vols' defense like the Buckeye offense)
The Buckeyes also produced 18 plays of 10 yards or more, which was second-worst of the season.
At no point in the game did it appear Tennessee had a shot of controlling the game or swinging momentum in its direction, and the stats across the board bear that out.
Weather: 25° at kickoff, and as the temps continued to drop, so did the Vols
It's 25 degrees in Columbus, Ohio
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 22, 2024
THE VOLS DO NOT CARE @Vol_Football pic.twitter.com/PCdvIsAmhP
Some Tennessee players took the field without shirts on in an attempt to downplay the conditions they would be playing in. But as they found out very quickly, just being shirtless in the cold is a lot different from playing football in the cold where if you haven't gone full-contact in these temps, oof good luck.
Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson and WR Squirrel White both left the game dinged up, and as the evening wore on there were Vols getting up slowly and subbing out after seemingly every play. It's clear they were unaccustomed to what cold weather football entails, and it's a lot more than just layers of clothing.
