No. 8 seed Ohio State (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-3, 6-2 SEC), 42-17, in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes entered the game after losing to Michigan, 13-10, in the regular season finale. Ohio State also lost at Oregon, 32-31, during the regular season. The Ducks and Buckeyes will play again in the Rose Bowl and in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Jan. 1, 2025.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day discussed the Buckeyes’ win against Tennessee in the first round.
“I’m proud of our seniors for a lot of reasons,” Day said. “One, for the fact that they were able to finish their last game at Ohio Stadium with a win like that. I’m also proud of the way that they responded.
“I told them in the locker room that in life you’re going to be, you’re defined by the way you handle adversity in life, as a person, as a man, as a dad, so to see the way that they responded in this game, you can tell from the jump that they had a look in their eye that they were going to go win this game. I thought they played that way. A lot of football ahead of us. Great win. We’ll enjoy this for 24 hours. Then it’s on to Oregon.”
PHOTOS: Tennessee-Ohio State first-round College Football Playoff game
