COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jeremiah Smith, while TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two scores as No. 8 seed Ohio State routed No. 9 seed Tennessee 42-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday.
Ohio State (11-2) will play No. 1 seed Oregon (13-0) in the quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1.
Smith’s second TD, a 22-yarder with nine minutes left in the third quarter, made it 28-10. Henderson’s 24-yarder early in the fourth extended the lead to 42-10.
Howard finished 24 of 29 with an interception, while Smith’s six catches went for 103 yards. Henderson gained 80 yards on 10 carries.
The kickoff temperature was 25 degrees with a wind chill of 17 before a crowd of 102,819 with about 40 percent for the Vols.
The Volunteers (10-3) rallied to trail 21-10 at the half after it looked as if they would be blown out.
Tennessee got a 36-yard field goal by Max Gilbert after an interception by Davison Igbinosun at the Ohio State 19 was nullified by a roughing-the-passer penalty.
The Volunteers pulled within 11 on a 1-yard run by Nico Iamaleava with 20 seconds left before the break to cap a 16-play, 79-yard drive that used 4:03.
Iamaleava completed 14 of 31 passes for 104 yards and rushed 20 times for 47 yards and two TDs.
Ohio State blitzed the Volunteers for first-quarter scoring drives of 75, 68 and 58 yards to lead 21-0 while outgaining the visitors 205-16 in total yards.
On the first possession of the game, the Buckeyes went ahead 7-0 on a 37-yard catch by Smith.
Quinshon Judkins made it 14-0 with a 1-yard run, and Henderson extended the lead to 21-0 on a 29-yard run.
Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, had two carries for 6 yards in the first quarter before leaving with an undisclosed injury. He returned in the third quarter to make a 2-yard catch but had no more carries.
–Craig Merz, Field Level Media
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