How It Happened: No. 8 Ohio State beats No. 9 Tennessee 42-17 in the College Football Playoff

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 9 Tennessee’s stay in the new 12-team College Football Playoff was over in 12 minutes. No. 8 Ohio State scored three touchdowns on its first three possessions, building an early 21-0 lead and never got challenged in a 42-17 win over the Vols in the first round of the expanded playoff Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes (11-2) advance to face No. 1 Oregon (13-0) in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, while Tennessee (10-3) saw its season come to a bitter end.

Here’s how it happened, as it happened:

First Quarter

Ohio State 7, Tennessee 0 (12:46): The Buckeyes struck first with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith on the opening drive of the game. Ohio State converted a second-and-16 with a 21-yard pass on the previous play. Tennessee appeared to be off the field with a sack of Howard on third-and-2 earlier in the drive, but Bryson Eason was called for a facemask on Howard during the sack. The touchdown drive went 75 yards in five plays, taking 2:14 off the clock.

Ohio State 14, Tennessee 0 (8:09): Ohio State went 2-for-2 on touchdown drives to start the game, sandwiched around a Tennessee three-and-out. Quinshon Judkins scored on a 1-yard run to make it a 14-0 Ohio State lead midway through the first quarter. Howard set up the score with a 40-yard pass to Emeka Egbuka two plays earlier. The scoring drive went 68 yards in five plays. 

Ohio State 21, Tennessee 0 (3:27): Make it 3-for-3 on touchdown drives. This time TreVeon Henderson ran in from 29 yards out to make it a three-score lead before the game was 12 minutes old. The drive went 58 yards in seven plays and gave the Buckeyes 191 yards on the three touchdown drives. Tennessee, meanwhile, had negative-6 yards on its first two possessions, both ending in three-and-outs.

Second Quarter

Ohio State 21, Tennessee 3 (6:39): Max Gilbert finally got Tennessee on the scoreboard with a 36-yard field goal. The scoring drive went 62 yards in nine plays and started after Will Brooks intercepted a Will Howard pass in the end zone on the other end. Nico Iamaleava completed his first pass of the game with 9:35 left in the second quarter, throwing completions of 21 yards to Bru McCoy and 17 yards to Squirrel White to start the drive.

Ohio State 21, Tennessee 10 (0:20): Nico Iamaleava ran 2 yards for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the first half, capping 16-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that Tennessee absolutely had to have to have any kind of life in the second half. 

Third Quarter

Ohio State 28, Tennessee 10 (9:16): Ohio State got right back to business to start the second half, forcing a Tennessee punt then going 65 yards for a touchdown. Will Howard threw a 22-yard touchdown to Jeremiah Smith to get the lead back to 18. The touchdown made Howard 21-for-25 for 283 yards and two touchdowns and gave Smith six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Ohio State 35, Tennessee 10 (1:18): Josh Heupel opted to punt on fourth-and-4 the Tennessee 43-yard line and Ohio State made the Vols pay. The Buckeyes drove 81 yards in nine plays for another touchdown and build its biggest lead of the night. 

Fourth Quarter

Ohio State 42, Tennessee 10 (10:53): TreVeon Henderson got back in the end zone on a 24-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, capping a 39-yard touchdown drive that started after a failed fourth-down attempt by Tennessee.

Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17 (1:56): Nico Iamaleava scored his second 2-yard rushing touchdown of the night late in the fourth quarter, finishing a drive that went 73 yards in nine plays. Iamaleava finished the game 14-for-31 fro 104 yards passing and rushed 20 times for 47 yards and Tennessee’s only two touchdowns.