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PASADENA — A few minutes after the clock hit zero and before the rose-colored confetti was released from the sky, long-time Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson approached a couple of media members standing nearby.
“So,” Johnson said with a grin, “did we change the narrative?”
He knew the answer without having to hear a response, check out the internet or turn on a TV. The Buckeyes pounded previously undefeated Oregon, the No. 1 team in the nation, 41-21 in a game that wasn’t anywhere near that close. It felt like it was over long before the famed Rose Bowl sunset and by that time, it seemed the rest of the college football fan base was ready to anoint the Buckeyes as the favorite for the rest of this inaugural 12-team Playoff. But Ohio State knows better than to let its foot off the gas.
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The Buckeyes defense held the Ducks to minus 23 yards rushing and sacked Dillon Gabriel eight times. That’s three more sacks than Oregon allowed in each of the past two seasons.
In the first meeting this season between the two teams, a 32-31 Oregon win in mid-October, the Buckeyes didn’t sack Gabriel once and only had two tackles for loss. Ohio State had 13 TFLs on Wednesday.
Cody Simon, the defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl, seemed to be everywhere, posting 13 tackles, three TFLs and two sacks. Bookend edge rushers J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer combined for five TFLs and four sacks.
Simon has emerged as a star in the second half of this season.
“Cody is a future President of the United States,” said Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. “He’s an unbelievable human being and a great team leader. When you put guys like that in position to make plays and see him get a chance to shine, it’s a really good feeling.”
Ohio State sacked Dillon Gabriel eight times and held the Ducks scoreless until the end of the second quarter. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
The Buckeyes started fast and set the tone early. Their offense, as it was last week in its rout of Tennessee, was aggressive out of the gate. They out-gained Oregon 233-37 in the first quarter.
“We jumped on their heads today,” said Buckeyes defensive backs coach Tim Walton.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Gabriel threw for 341 yards and the Ducks ran for 155 yards on five yards a carry.
“I think we created more looks for (Gabriel) and changed up our looks so it had him holding the ball,” said Knowles. “You’re not gonna see a high pressure rate because he’s a scrambler and they have real speed so you gotta be careful.”
Knowles said because of the Ducks speed at the skill positions, he felt you have to be judicious with their pressure packages and not overdo it.
“We came in as a collective unit and understood that we had played our worst game as a defense,” Tuimoloau said. “We knew Dillon was very elusive and very smart. We wanted to change his reads and throw his timing off.”
“I thought we really dominated the front and that led to the sacks later on,” Knowles said.
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The Buckeyes came into the day already leading the nation in defense, allowing just 4.06 yards per play. The Ducks were the only team this season that had averaged even five yards a play on them, going for 7.63 in October. Wednesday night, it was only 3.9.
“One of the biggest things we changed was our attitude and mentality,” said Simon. “There were plays in the (first) game where we weren’t aligned or ready to go. With an offense like that for Oregon, they thrive on that stuff.
“For us, it was just that mentality we had to change. We went through a lot of tough conversations after that game and a lot of changes we had to make, but I think we’re better for it now.”
In the first meeting, there were five to eight plays where the Buckeyes weren’t lined up ready for the snap, a rival coach said who scouted the Buckeyes from that first Oregon game.
“We just executed better today,” said defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. “We were on fire on offense and defense.
“It feels great, righting a wrong. We changed up a lot of things to confuse him, not giving him his first read. We made him uncomfortable and got after him, and when we do that we’re hard to beat.”
The Buckeyes came into this Playoff after a soul-crushing 13-10 home loss against rival Michigan, a three-touchdown underdog. It was their fourth consecutive loss to the Wolverines and rocked everyone around the program. Several players and coaches have said it woke this team up.
It woke up an angry giant, the most talented team in college football. Just ask Tennessee, which came to Columbus last week with a touted defense from the SEC and got beatdown 42-17 in another game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
“Losing to our rival like that, it opened up our eyes,” Williams said. “I think that definitely woke us up. We realized the issues we had on this team and we addressed them and fixed them. Now, we’re just playing ball.”
(Top photo of Cody Simon: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
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