ALUMNI NOTEBOOK: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal – Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio State

The second of two games on the New Year’s Day slate of games in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal put the Ohio State Buckeyes Longhorns against the Oregon Ducks in a rematch at the famed Rose Bowl in California. The Buckeyes are coming off a 42-17 win at home in the first round against the Tennessee Volunteers while Oregon got the first-round bye by virtue of being one of the four best conference champions and being the No. 1 overall seed. In total, there were eight Florida HS Football Alumni between the two teams.

The game itself was a rematch between the two Big Ten teams that saw Oregon taking a 32-31 victory over Ohio State in Eugene, Oregon back on October 5. The Buckeyes who were looking for revenge did just that with Ohio State’s Will Howard throwing two massive touchdown passes in the first quarter to open a 14-0 lead. One of those two touchdown passes went to Chaminade-Madonna alum Jeremiah Smith who hauled in a 45-yard reception for the first score of the game. From there the scoring streak continued for Ohio State building up a 34-0 lead before Oregon scored on the last play of the first half that saw the Buckeyes take a 34-8 lead into the locker room for halftime. The second half saw Oregon scored twice but Ohio State got an insurance touchdown run from TreVeyon Henderson late in the third quarter that would eventually seal off a 41-21 victory.

Here is how the Florida HS Football representation fared during the Rose Bowl game:

The Texas Longhorns will advance to the College Football Playoff Semifinal on January 10 at 7:30p ET/6:30p CT in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Buckeyes will face the Texas Longhorns, who emerged victorious against Arizona State Sun Devils at the Peach Bowl Game in Atlanta, Georgia.