Ohio State Continues Its Revenge Tour With A Stop At The Rose Bowl To Destroy Oregon; Next Stop, Texas

The calls for Ryan Day's job have gone silent into the night, just like the playoff hopes of Oregon and Tennessee over the past two weeks against the Buckeyes. This time, Ohio State destroyed the Ducks 41-21 on the latest stop of its revenge tour. 

On Wednesday evening at the Rose Bowl, the Oregon Ducks barely had enough time to catch their breath from the first Buckeyes' scoring drive to realize that they were going to be outmatched on offense, and once again, Ohio State knocked the rust off that performance against Michigan to close the regular season. 

How do you characterize what the Buckeyes have done over the past two weeks? Total domination, with an ‘Us Against The World Mentality’ since a large majority of the Ohio State fanbase decided that the loss to the Wolverines was a season-ending moment. From that game, it spurned motivation within the locker room to shut down the noise and prove to the college football world that Ohio State was not that team that looked lethargic against its biggest rival. 

PASADENA, Calif. - Jeremiah Smith of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs the ball for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Oregon Ducks during the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2025. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

In response, we've seen an Ohio State team that is on a path towards the national championship, with a pit-stop in Dallas next week for a game against Texas in the Cotton Bowl. How bad did it get for the Oregon defense as the sun set in Pasadena? Just look at the first-half stats for wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. 

In one half, Smith accumulated 161 yards on 5 catches, with 2 touchdowns, and there was nothing Oregon could do to stop him. Quarterback Will Howard had 301 yards and 3 touchdowns at the start of the fourth quarter, as his team led 41-15. 

Hopefully, Oregon fans were able to re-book their trips home and found earlier flights back to the Northwest, because that touchdown to end the first half was fools' gold. 

Ohio State Bottled Up All The Negative Talk After Michigan Loss

We are witnessing an Ohio State team that decided the Michigan game would not be defining, no matter what the local sports talk shows discussed on repeat, every single day following the loss.  It's as if the entire Ohio State football team shutdown the outside noise and surrounded itself in a massive bubble. 

I said after the win over Tennessee that the best thing that came from beating the Vols was the Buckeyes being able to leave Columbus for a few days of work in California, and I meant it. The noise surrounding the Ohio State program had gotten way too loud, with calls for Ryan Day to be fired, even though his team was competing in the college football playoff. 

PASADENA, Calif. - Ohio State Buckeyes fans react  during the third quarter against the Oregon Ducks during the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2025. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

I still remember AD Ross Bjork laughing off that discussion as I made my way around ‘The Shoe’ 24 hours before kickoff against Tennessee. From the start of that opening round game in Columbus, which saw thousands of Ohio State fans sell their tickets to those clad in orange, we witnessed a different football team. This group was on a mission, and offensively, it ran right past its opponents in the opening games of the playoff. 

And it's not just Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson or Emeka Egbuka. No, it's the defense that has come out of the gates storming against Oregon and Tennessee, making their ‘fast-paced’ offenses look like it had two flat tires. The Ducks had -18 yards rushing at the 10:15 mark of the fourth quarter, due in large-part to Dillon Gabriel being sacked six times up to that point. 

So this wasn't just an offensive showcase, it was a team effort from a group of players who were sick of being doubted because of one game. 

Buckeyes Are Ready For Semifinals, Shot At National Championship

If there was one thing that was made crystal clear on Wednesday night, it was the fact that Ohio State should be the leading candidate to take home the national championship. There was some thought that the opening round win over Tennessee was some kind of fluke. Not that the Buckeyes weren't good enough, but more so looking at the Vols' inept offense. 

But after dicing up the Oregon defense inside the historic Rose Bowl stadium, it became apparent that Ohio State was just a different animal, one that OC Chip Kelly unleashed after that abysmal game plan against the Wolverines. 

Now, it's a matchup with the Texas Longhorns next week at Jerry's World in Dallas. Judging by what we saw from Quinn Ewers against Arizona State on Wednesday afternoon, this is going to be a very tough game for Steve Sarkisian's squad. Sure, the Longhorns offense connected on some big plays against the Sun Devils, leading to the double overtime win, but it certainly doesn’t compare to what we've seen over the past two weeks from Will Howard and the Buckeyes. 

PASADENA, Calif. - Emeka Egbuka #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates a touchdown with Carnell Tate #17 during the first quarter against the Oregon Ducks during the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2025. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

For two weeks, two different teams have tried to stop Jeremiah Smith and the Ohio State offense, and both have come up very short of achieving that goal. So, are we to think that Texas is going to have the solution for what Ryan Day and Chip Kelly are doing with this Buckeyes offense? 

I guess we're going to find out in eight days. 

Ohio State started this revenge tour over a month ago after walking off the field in Columbus following the loss to Michigan. Two games later, they are taking their frustrations out on anybody standing in the way. 

If this keeps up, I'd thank Michigan for the wake-up call, because the only thing standing in the way of these Buckeyes winning a national championship is themselves.