Here are five things we learned from Ohio State’s 42-17 trouncing of Tennessee in the opening round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday night:
This was Ryan Day’s most important win
The stakes had reached an all-time high for Day in the aftermath of a fourth straight loss to archrival Michigan.
While athletic director Ross Bjork voiced his support, even offering reassurance during a radio interview that Day would return next year, it did not squash speculation that Day was coaching for his job in the postseason.
The specter of an early playoff exit, threatening to end the Buckeyes’ season before Christmas, loomed large.
But a victory lowered the temperature surrounding the program and offered a potential springboard for a run.
Day has better wins on his résumé in six seasons at the helm. In his other playoff triumph in 2020, the Buckeyes disassembled second-seeded Clemson to reach the national championship game.
Yet the consequences of prevailing against Tennessee were profound. Few results in his tenure have offered the potential to shape the direction as much moving forward.
The offensive line stepped up
Tennessee’s pass rush portended problems for the Buckeyes’ patchwork offensive line.
The Volunteers are deep in the trenches with a group of defensive linemen led by James Pearce Jr., and few defenses in the Football Bowl Subdivision have wreaked as much havoc this year.
But the Buckeyes’ offensive line afforded quarterback Will Howard time in the pocket as he completed 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
Over 31 dropbacks, Howard faced pressure only six times, according to Pro Football Focus. He was never sacked and just twice hurried.
It was only the third time in 13 games this year that Tennessee failed to record at least one sack.
“You watch their games,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said, “and they got after everybody they played. It was a credit to our offensive line in keeping Will clean.”
Skill talent was an edge
The Buckeyes’ playmakers shined from their opening series.
Howard looked to wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith on five of their first 10 plays.
Those included Howard finding Smith streaking down the sideline for a 37-yard touchdown on the opening series and hitting Egbuka down the seam for a 40-yard completion to set up their second score.
Kelly dialed up another early call for running back TreVeyon Henderson to leak out on a wheel route that resulted in a gain of 21 yards.
“We did some things that maximized what we have in terms of our strengths and minimize our deficiencies,” Day said.
Those things seemed to involve leaning on their perimeter talent more than they had in their loss to Michigan.
The Buckeyes went to the air from the onset. During the first half, Howard attempted 21 passes, while he and the running backs rushed 14 times.
Jim Knowles’ defense remains stingy
The fast tempo of Tennessee was a bit unfamiliar for the Buckeyes, who have seen mostly slower-playing offenses in the Big Ten. The Volunteers were only their second opponent this season to total 70 plays.
But the speed mattered little.
Ohio State held Tennessee to 256 yards of offense, its fewest yards in the Josh Heupel era. Since Heupel arrived on Rocky Top in 2021, the Volunteers had only twice been unable to surpass 300 yards in a game.
An
apparent hamstring injury limited running back Dylan Sampson, the leading rusher in the Southeastern Conference who only carried the ball twice for 6 yards.
It left a lot on the plate of Nico Iamaleava, a redshirt freshman quarterback who combined for 51 pass and rush attempts that, taken together, averaged fewer than 3 yards per play.
Knowles, the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator, said they mixed up coverages, which left Iamaleava holding the ball longer, contributing to four sacks.
An SEC win prompted reveling
At several points during the blowout, the fans in Ohio Stadium broke out in a mocking chant.
“S-E-C! S-E-C!”
When players left the field, they joined the chant as well, taking additional delight in having toppled a foe from one of the premier conferences.
The Buckeyes’ last win over an SEC team was a decade ago when they upset Alabama during their national championship run.
Day had lost all three of his games against SEC teams, including two in the playoff, before Saturday.
“The Big Ten has great football,” Day said. “We have nine conference games. We beat each other up sometimes, but we have an opportunity like this, we know how important it is for the conference.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@joeyrkaufman or email him at[email protected].
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