Tennessee fell to Ohio State in the first round of the college football playoff 42-17. The game took place in Ohio Stadium at the higher-seeded Ohio State. Ohio State was seeded eighth by the committee and Tennessee was seeded ninth. The game time temperature of 25 degrees was tied for the coldest game ever played by Tennessee. There was some thought that the cold would benefit Ohio State, but it gets cold in Tennessee also and many players on both teams are from warm climates.
The home game was not much of an advantage for Ohio State because there were about 35,000 Tennessee fans in the horseshoe. However, Ohio State’s fast start and all the Tennessee injuries deflated the Tennessee faithful. There was a question about how Ohio State would react following the awful loss at home to rival Michigan. The Buckeyes quick start answered those questions.
To Defeat Tennessee Get the Ball to the Edges
The strength of the Tennessee defense is in the middle especially the defensive line, which has two potential first-round draft picks on the defensive line, James Pearce and Omari Thomas. Both will play in the National Football League for a long time. The key to defeating the University of Tennessee, which Ohio State successfully did, is to get the ball to the edges and run away from the strength of the defense.
Ohio State Offensive Stars Shine
Trevon Henderson, Emeka Ebuka, and super-freshman Jeremiah Smith all had big games for Ohio State. With his first catch, Smith surpassed 1,000 yards for the season. Tennessee had no answer for him. Ebuka extended his pass-catching streak on the first play of the game. Henderson got the lion’s share of the carries and had a couple of big receptions.
Fast Start For Ohio State Led To Win
Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. That was a key to the resounding victory. This had been a theme for the first round of the College Football Playoff games, as the higher-ranked home teams all won and several won convincingly. It looked like Ohio State was going to jump out to a 28-0 lead, but a controversial interception by Tennessee in the end zone ended the threat and led to a field goal. Ohio State then held on for the victory.
Tennessee Game Notes
There were 111,030 people in Ohio Stadium, many of them wearing the orange of Tennessee and injuries forced Ohio State to scramble its offensive line again. Austin Seiverld started at guard and Luke Montgomery started for Ohio State.
The second-quarter interception in the end zone in the second quarter was questionable. There could have been pass interference on the play and Brooks (the defensive player who made the interception) looked to be out of bounds. The University of Tennessee had some important injuries as both Dylan Sampson and Squirrel White were injured in the first half and did not return.
The performance by Ohio State was so dominant that Devin Brown, the Ohio State second-string quarterback who entered the transfer portal played at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Ohio State outgained Tennessee 473-256 in the dominating performance.
University of Tennessee Game Scoring Summary
In the first quarter, Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Jeremiah Smith scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State a 7-0 advantage. Quinshon Judkins scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Trevon Henderson scored on a long 29-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, Max Gilbert kicked a 36-yard field goal. Then Nico Iamaleava scored a touchdown to make it 21-10 at halftime. In the third quarter, Jeremiah Smith caught another touchdown pass to make it 28-10. Judkins then had a short rushing touchdown to give Ohio State a 35-10 lead. In the fourth quarter, Trevon Henderson scored a touchdown to give Ohio State a 42-10 lead. In garbage time (1:56 left in the game) Nico Iamaleava scored a touchdown. That cut the lead to 42-17.
Conclusion
Ohio State leveraged a fast start, jumping out to a 21-0 lead to hang on to defeat Tennessee. Now it is on to the Rose Bowl on January 1 and a rematch with Oregon. The Ducks are the No. 1 team in the nation, whom Ohio State lost to by one point on the road. The Buckeyes and Ducks ought to be healthy for that game. The game was the last game for the seniors at Ohio State in Ohio Stadium.
