The first ever home playoff game at Ohio Stadium turned out to be a victory party as Ohio State buried Tennessee, 42-17, in front of a raucous crowd featuring ~20K (?) Volunteers faithful, at least until the reality of watching a blowout loss in frigid temperatures sent many in orange filing for the exits well before the clock struck zeroes.
The win, coming on the heels of a well-documented embarrassing loss to Michigan, vaulted the Buckeyes into a CFP matchup with top-seed Oregon, set for 5:30 p.m. ET on January 1 in the Rose Bowl.
There will plenty of time for diving into the Ducks/Bucks rematch but for now, here are Five Things from Ohio State's dominant performance over an SEC foe that was simply outclassed in both the trenches and the skill positions and had nowhere near the depth of the Buckeyes.
OFFENSIVE LINE, PLAYCALLING RESPOND TO MICHIGAN DEBACLE
Coming out of loss to Michigan as 21-point favorites, the offensive line and the gameplan devised by Ryan Day and Chip Kelly were in the crosshairs of the OSU faithful, with a chunk of the fanbase wanting Day, Kelly and offensive line coach Justin Frye canned on the spot. That's a topic for another article - I can appreciate the angst in the aftermath of Day's 4th-straight loss to the Wolverines in what was the program's worst defeat since the Buckeyes got handled by Florida in the national title game at the end of the 2006 season - and changes of some kind could still be valid once the dust settles on the 2024 campaign.
But last night the re-revamped OSU offensive line playing without its two best starters and third-best starter playing out of position, the gameplan and playcalling were all on point against a team from the almighty SEC.
Finding ways to mask Ohio State's deficiencies along the interior of the offensive line was job one and getting the ball to skill players in the pass game was job two after the Buckeyes failed to do either against Michigan. Both of those happened in spades as Ohio State dialed up counters, timely quarterback keepers / read options and perimeter runs combined with quick passes on designed rollouts, throws over the middle to get playmakers in space and enough deep shots to fully weaponize Jeremiah Smith.
It wasn't just masking the line's issues as those guys absolutely had their moments. Tackles Donovan Jackson and Josh Fryar, along with the rest of the line kept Tennessee from recording a single sack and and held the Vols to two registered hurries. The ground game averaged 4.7 yards per carry against a Tennessee defense ranked No. 4 in the country coming in, giving up just 2.8 per attempt. OSU also tallied four rushing touchdowns with reserve guard Luke Montgomery providing an excellent block on a 29-yard TreVeyon Henderson scoring jaunt and the line generated more than enough push for the Buckeyes to average 5.04 yards per carry (111 yards) through the decisive first three quarters.
Touchdown TreVeyon pic.twitter.com/UWJRZgnibg
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
Back to Henderson, he was simply elite as the featured back with 14 touches for 134 yards (9.6 per). He averaged 8.0 yards per carry on ten tries including the noted 29-yard score and added four grabs for 54 yards as Kelly utilized his full skill-set.
Overall, it was tremendous offensive gameplan executed to near perfection with the season on the line.
HOWARD RESPONDS
Like the offensive line, quarterback Will Howard stunk in the Michigan game. Instead of crawling into a hole, the dude responded with his best game as a Buckeye as he completed 24-of-29 throws (83%) for 311 yards with two touchdowns and a pick, plus another 37 yards on the ground via five carries, two of which moved the chains.
His lone interception deserves an asterisk as his target, Jeremiah Smith, was interfered with in the end zone before a second defender came over to record a questionable but definitely impressive interception off a deflection in the back of the end zone.
I said on the 11W Show this week I felt it was crucial for Howard and Ohio State to get off to a fast start, not only for Will and OSU's collective confidence but also to get the fans on their side. Of course, the Buckeyes jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead to seize control of the contest early and Howard's fingerprints were all over it.
Starting the game with the ball after losing the coin toss, Howard completed 3-of-4 passes for 66 yards including a 37-yard touchdown connection with Jeremiah Smith to open the scoring and send the OSU faithful into a frenzy.
After the OSU defense forced a 3-and-out, Howard went back to work hitting 2-of-2 throws for 58 yards including a 40-yarder to Emeka Egbuka down the seam setting up 1st-and-Goal at the 6. Quinshon Judkins found the end zone two runs later and it was 14-0 good guys seven minutes into the contest.
After another 3-and-out turned in by the defense, Howard connected on 3-of-4 tosses including a 16-yarder to Egbuka on 3rd-and-5 before Henderson's noted 29-yard scamper pushed the lead to 21-0 with 3:27 left in the first quarter.
Finally of note, after Tennessee closed to 21-10 at the half and got the ball to start the second half, the defense did it's job forcing another punt and Howard took over from there. Looking to step on Tennessee's throat, Howard went a perfect 4-for-4 for 63 yards on a 6-play, 65-yard march capped by an absolute dime to Smith on a fade for a 22-yard score. At 28-10 with 9:16 left in the third quarter, the game was effectively over.
Jeremiah Smith. Him. Himmy. Himothy. pic.twitter.com/Dnl2Fud1g9
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
Just a tremendous performance by Howard on the heels of his worst game in Columbus.
DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
Amid all the vitriol directed at Day, his offensive staff and many of the players after the truly perplexing and disgusting loss to Michigan, the lone bright spot was a defense that continued to do its part. The group has been on a roll pretty much since the Oregon loss and yesterday was a masterclass in gameplanning and execution.
Through three quarters, as Ohio State built a 35-10 lead leading to reserves trickling in with greater frequency in the fourth quarter, the Silver Bullets dominated the Vols, holding them to 175 total yards on 3.4 yards per play. Tennessee came into the contest averaging 6.3 yards per snap.
With star running back Dylan Sampson mostly watching from the sidelines (3 touches for 8 yards) and receivers Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Squirrel White dealing with ailments, a lot of pressure was put on backup tailback Peyton Lewis and freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
With Ohio State's defensive front often overwhelming UT's offensive line, Iamaleava mustered 11 completions in 22 attempts for a mere 88 yards. His four yards per attempt were less than half his season average of 8.3.
Edges Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau dominated outside and tackle Tyleik Williams generated consistent push inside, helping hold the Vols to 87 rushing yards on 2.9 per try and generating three sacks across across those decisive first three quarters while allowing just four chunk plays - passes of 17 and 21 yards and runs of 12 and 14 yards across 52 snaps.
The Volunteers managed 10 points during those first three quarters with three coming after a questionable roughing the passer call wiped out a Davison Igbinosun interception to extend the drive. Kenyatta Jackson did pancake Iamaleava during the throw and was whistled for driving Nico into the ground but I'm not sure where else he could've fallen given the tight quarters around him including a UT offensive lineman essentially guiding his fall onto the quarterback.
Roughing the passer...? pic.twitter.com/nOj5GwzbUt
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
On Tennessee's lone touchdown drive which cut the OSU lead to 21-10 right before halftime which included solid tempo and execution from Iamaleava, the Vols only averaged 4.9 yards per play, needing 16 snaps to go 79 yards. Sometimes you have to tip your cap but OSU didn't have to do that often in an excellent performance from the defense.
When the dust settled on the suffocation of Tennessee's offense, linebacker Cody Simon tallied 12 stops and a PBU, Tuimoloau and Sawyer combined for 13 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, 3 PBUs and a forced fumble while the secondary swallowed up the Vol receivers to the tune of just 104 passing yards on 7.4 per completion with zero touchdowns. And here's a stat for you: Iamaleava completed only 1-of-7 passes on third down for a total of five yards and zero first downs.
2 MUCH 4 TENNESSEE
The dyanmic duo of Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka was back in action after recording just nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets against Michigan.
Versus the Vols, it was a much different story as the pair recorded 11 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns on 13 targets.
Smith was the best player on the field as he posted six grabs for 103 yards and two touchdowns on six targets. His 37-yard touchdown grab on OSU's opening possession set the tone for the night and his 22-yard scoring strike on Ohio State's first possession of the second half was huge in that it erased any chance of a Vols comeback, putting the Buckeyes in front 28-10 midway through the third quarter.
Jeremiah Smith is HIMpic.twitter.com/Jkbik1mkU1
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024
He also drew a pass interference flag and three of his four catches that directly result in touchdowns moved the chains with one on 3rd down and one on 4th down.
Egbuka was the perfect sidekick posting five grabs for 81 yards on seven targets. His 40-yard snag down the seam set up a Judkins score two plays later giving OSU a 14-0 lead. On the next OSU possession he recorded a 16-yard catch on 3rd-and-5 to set up Henderson's 29-yard TD run pushing the lead to 21-0 and on Ohio State's first possession of the second half, he converted a 3rd-and-2 via a 7-yard catch. Three plays later, Smith touchdown catch made it 28-10 Buckeyes.
Simply excellent nights from two of OSU's key playmakers.
NEYLAND NORTH MY ASS
On one hand, I want to give some credit to Tennessee fans for accounting for roughly 30% of the crowd last night - easily the most visiting fans to ever find their way into the Shoe.
That said, a fanbase that big should show out considering it was their program's first ever CFP appearance and probably just their second or third truly meaningful postseason game since like 2001. That's not snark, that's reality. So yeah, lots of time to save up some money to drive five hours north.
Throw in the presale code ticket fiasco, a significant portion of OSU's fanbase either still too pissed about the loss to Michigan, too meh on attending another home game in frigid temps and/or holding out to spend money on a trip to Pasadena (and/or beyond) instead and in hindsight, Tennessee should've had more fans in attendance if they're truly as rabid as they say they are.
Props to the OSU fans who busted out the "S-E-C" chant as the game got out of hand early, serenading the Volunteers faithful as many bolted for the exits well before time expired on their season. Drive home safely - thanks for the revenue.
