COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State's Ryan Day offered a prophecy three days before Saturday's first-round College Football Playoff game against No. 9 Tennessee at Ohio Stadium.
"Sometimes when we try to play out a game or pre-determine what's going to happen, you can get yourself a little bit sideways," Day said at his press conference.
That turned into a lesson for those who pre-judged the scene before No. 8 Ohio State took on the Volunteers. The 13-10 loss to Michigan on Nov. 30 had not expired yet. A high percentage of the 102,819 in attendance were Tennessee fans who invaded The Shoe blaring "Rocky Top" at every turn. The Volunteers emerged from the tunnel with two flags – the "Power T" and the Tennessee state flag. Neither one was planted into the turf, but when a flock of white doves hovered over the stadium after the national anthem, this had the feel of an Ohio State wake complete with an award-winning headline: "Orange Is the New Black."
This is what happens when you pre-determine outcomes. Day quieted critics in a tenure-defining victory. The Buckeyes (11-2) turned that pre-determined outcome sideways with a 21-point first quarter and a 42-17 blowout.
The Big Ten beat the SEC head-to-head in frigid weather in their first conference matchup in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The Volunteers (10-3) suffered the worst loss in a weekend of chalky blowouts that stirred debate about who does and does not belong.
Well, Ohio State does. This is part of the program's most-offbeat path ever to the Rose Bowl Game against No. 1 Oregon on Jan. 1. Day took the vindication into the post-game press conference.
"The execution," Day said. "You have heard us harping on execution, execution, execution. There were a lot of things with that last game that we look back on and we just did not execute very well. There were things we could have done better because of the scheme, but we did not execute. Even coming out of warmups you could feel it. We wanted to play in this game."
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Ohio State stuns Tennessee in first quarter
The Buckeyes did not have a hangover from the loss to the Wolverines – another dispelled narrative flushed in the first quarter. Quarterback Will Howard threw a 37-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Smith on the game's first possession – and the freshman star flexed in front of the student section.
Quinshon Judkins scored on a 1-yard TD on the next possession, which prompted a fist pump from Day on the sideline. Tag-team partner TreVeyon Henderson added a 29-yard TD run with 3:27 left in the first quarter. Three TDs in three possessions, and Ohio State looked like the team expected to breeze through the Big Ten before that detour against the Wolverines.
"There were a lot of things that played into the game but one of them was we called this game more aggressive," Day said. "There is no question about that. We did some things in this game that maximized what we have with our strengths and minimized our deficiencies."
The Buckeyes out-gained Tennessee 208-16 in the first quarter, and Tennessee star running back Dylan Sampson – who had 1,485 yards and 22 TDs in the regular season – left with a leg injury after just two carries. Howard threw his arms up when the final seconds of the first quarter ticked off.
"They thought they were going to take over this place and we showed them pretty quick that we were not going to let that happen," Howard said.
Tennessee recalibrated in the second quarter with the help of an end-zone interception by Will Brooks and a questionable roughing the passer call by Kenyatta Jackson Jr., which set up a 36-yard field goal by Max Gilbert. Quarterback Nico Iamaleva capped a 16-play, 79-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 20 seconds left in the first half, and the Volunteers trimmed that lead to 21-10 by halftime.
Did a little doubt creep in at that point?
"That's why we knew coming out in the second half we had to win the next four to five minutes and we did," Day said.
MORE: Ohio State revamps game plan after loss to Michigan
Will Howard reconnects with Jeremiah Smith
The Buckeyes stopped the Volunteers on the first possession in the second half, and Howard went back to the best player on the field in the next drive. Howard threw a perfectly timed fade to Smith for a 22-yard TD pass with 9:16 remaining that pushed Ohio State's lead back to 28-10.
Smith finished with six catches on six targets for 103 yards. The freshman had five catches on seven targets for 35 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Michigan. This is the Buckeyes' most-threatening asset in the playoff. It works.
Judkins added a 1-yard TD run with 1:18 left in the third quarter, and the heavy-Tennessee continent began heading for the exits. Henderson added a 24-yard TD run with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter. The sequence mirrored the first half. Ohio State fans even busted out the "S-E-C! S-E-C!" chant. Day embraced senior edge rusher Jack Sawyer – who was at the center of the post-game brawl with Michigan – and the coach smiled. Game over.
"I just said 'All day long,'" Sawyer said. "I'm trying to make that a catch-phrase for him. (Day) just goes through so much. I don't pay it any mind, but it was so hard for him and his family after a loss like (Michigan). Coach Day is awesome. We all love him. He's the best coach in college football by far."
Howard finished 24 of 29 for 311 yards, two TDs and an interception. Iamaleava finished 14 of 31 for 104 yards.
MORE: What Ryan Day had to say after blowout win
Bring on Ohio State-Oregon II at Rose Bowl
The 12-team College Football Playoff experience offered a second chance for Ohio State, and they took advantage. The worst thing that could have happened – a fourth straight loss to Michigan – happened.
The Buckeyes won bowl games after losing to the Wolverines in the past – including a 48-45 victory against Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl. This was Ohio State's most authoritative response to a loss to the Wolverines since a 27-10 victory against Colorado in the 1976 Orange Bowl.
It also served as a reminder this team is capable of winning the Rose Bowl against the Ducks. Oregon won a 32-31 thriller on Oct. 12 in a matchup where both teams left points on the board. The Rose Bowl is Big Ten vs. Big Ten in the new world, and the Buckeyes found their way to Pasadena, Calif. Ohio State players clutched roses on the field, a reminder of the brave, strange and beautiful world of the new playoff.
"The way that last one ended (with Oregon) does not sit right with me,'" Howard said. "It still bugs me. I am just thankful for the opportunity for a second crack at them. In life, you don't get many second chances. … We're going to go out there and have some fun and let it rip."
