BUCKEYES ARE NATIONAL CHAMPS
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Ohio State Buckeyes are National Champions!
The underdog in all three of their postseason games, the Buckeyes rode a record-breaking performance from sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott to a 42-20 victory over the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium.
After losing their first and second-string quarterbacks to injury right before the regular season and postseason, respectively, the Buckeyes entered the postseason as the ultimate underdog, and upset Wisconsin, top-ranked Alabama, and then, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Ducks in order to win the school's eighth national title.
ELLIOTT DOES IT AGAIN
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ezekiel Elliott's third rushing touchdown of the game gave the Ohio State Buckeyes a 35-20 lead over the Oregon Ducks with 9:44 to play in the fourth quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium.
One play after converting a first down with a four-yard run, Elliott finished off the nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge, his third of the game. Of those 76 yards, Elliott accounted for 20, including the final six.
Earlier in the possession, the Buckeyes had a first-and-10 from their own 41-yard line when quarterback Cardale Jones found Michael Thomas on the right side of the field for a gain of 23 yards. Thomas was able to get more than the 10 the Buckeyes needed by side-stepping a defender along the sideline. Three plays later, Jones found halfback Jalen Marshall over the middle of the field for a gain of 19 yards.
ELLIOTT, OHIO STATE ANSWER
ARLINGTON, Texas -- After 10 points from the Oregon Ducks on two Ohio State turnovers, the Buckeyes finally answered.
On the final play of the third quarter, Buckeyes sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott took a handoff from quarterback Cardale Jones, rushed through the initial hole at the line of scrimmage toward the left sideline, turned his shoulders square to the end zone and blasted through a final tackle attempt for his second rushing touchdown of the game.
Elliott's touchdown put the Buckeyes in front of the Ducks, 28-20, with 15 minutes to play. It also put him over the 200-yard mark for the third straight game, which happened to be against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon in postseason games.
OREGON DRAWS WITHIN A POINT
ARLINGTON, Texas -- A second turnover in the second half from the Ohio State Buckeyes turned into points for the Oregon Ducks in the third quarter.
After Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones fumbled the football, the Ducks recovered the ball at the Buckeyes' 23-yard line, and six plays later, kicker Aiden Schneider made it a one-point game, 21-20, with 6:39 to play in the third quarter.
Ohio State moved the ball to its own 49-yard line, but on first-and-10, Jones was flushed from the pocket and Tyson Coleman sacked him for a loss of 17 yards. As he was bringing Jones to the turf, he jarred the ball loose, and defensive end Arik Armstead recovered Ohio State's fourth turnover of the game.
QUICK-STRIKE OFFENSE GIVES OREGON A TD
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Sooner or later, Ohio State's inability to hang onto the football was going to cost them against a quick-strike offense like Oregon, and it did with 11:23 to play in the third quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium.
After twice failing to turn Ohio State fumbles into points in the first half, the Ducks did not mess around. On the first play after the turnover, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota found wide receiver Byron Marshall wide open over the middle of the field for a 70-yard touchdown that drew the Ducks to within four points of the Buckeyes, 21-17 less than four minutes into the second half.
Much like they had in the first half, the Buckeyes drove deep into Oregon territory before turning it over. After getting the second-half kickoff, Ohio State's offense moved the ball to Oregon's 32-yard line, but following a false start penalty, Cardale Jones' pass ricocheted off the hands of halfback Jalen Marshall and into the arms of Danny Mattingly.
DUCKS SETTLE FOR A FIELD GOAL
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Oregon drove down to Ohio State's nine-yard line, but were stopped short of the first-down marker on third-and-four, and settled for a 27-yard field goal from Aidan Schneider that cut the Buckeyes' lead to 21-10 with 48 seconds to play in the first half of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium.
Oregon's drive started at its own 25-yard line, and quarterback Marcus Mariota used both his legs and hands to make enough plays to move them 66 yards on 11 snaps. Mariota was directly responsible for all but nine of Oregon's yards on the scoring drive.
JONES EXTENDS OHIO STATE'S LEAD
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Persistence pays off!
It took quarterback Cardale Jones two tries, but he was able to blast through Oregon's defensive front for a touchdown that gave the Ohio State Buckeyes a 21-7 lead over the Ducks with 4:49 to play in the second quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Jones took a shotgun snap from second-and-goal at Oregon's four-yard line and dove the final two yards to reach the goal line. However, a replay review ruled that Jones' left elbow hit the goal line when the ball was short of the end zone. On the next play, Jones followed his blockers into the end zone for the touchdown.
Before he scored the touchdown, Jones found senior wide receiver Devin Smith streaking down the middle of the field for a gain of 45 yards down to Oregon's six-yard line on third-and-12.
On their previous possession, the Buckeyes moved the ball to Oregon's nine-yard line, but wide receiver Corey Smith was stripped of the football and the Ducks recovered inside their own 10. However, the Buckeye defense stood tall and forced a three-and-out and a punt from inside the end zone that halfback Jalen Marshall fielded at the Oregon 49-yard line.
VANNETT'S TD GIVES BUCKEYES THE LEAD
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tight end Nick Vannett's one-yard touchdown reception gave the Ohio State Buckeyes a 14-7 lead over the Oregon Ducks with 1:08 to play in the first quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
On first-and-goal from the one, quarterback Cardale Jones faked an inside draw handoff, squared his shoulders and found Vannett on an out route at the goal line. After securing the catch, Vannett fell backwards into the end zone for the touchdown.
One play before the touchdown, sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott ran for a gain of 17 yards down to Oregon's one-yard line.
After getting a defensive stop on third-and-12, the Buckeyes forced a punt from the Ducks, and freshman halfback Jalen Marshall broke through a couple tackles for a gain of 17 yards to Oregon's 46-yard line.
ELLIOTT PUTS BUCKEYES ON THE BOARD
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ohio State sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott ran around and through several tackle attempts and scored a 33-yard touchdown that drew the Buckeyes even with the Oregon Ducks, 7-7, with 4:36 to play in the first quarter from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
On second-and-10 from Oregon's 33-yard line, Elliott took the handoff from quarterback Cardale Jones and initially, ran right of center. However, Elliott cut back to the left side of the field and ran through a tackle attempt before getting into the second and third levels of Oregon's defense. Then, Elliott hit the afterburners and outran a diving tackle attempt inside the five-yard line.
Earlier in the drive, which went 97 yards, the Buckeyes faced a third-and-eight from their own five-yard line, but Jones was able to avoid the rush and deliver a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Corey Smith for Ohio State's second first down of the game. On the next play, Jones found halfback Jalen Marshall for a gain of 26 up to Oregon's 43-yard line.
Jones threw the ball to Marshall's backside shoulder, and he made the one-handed catch by trapping the football against the back of Oregon defensive back Erick Dargan before corralling it with his right hand and maintaining control all the way to the ground.
OREGON TAKES EARLY LEAD
ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- The Oregon Ducks won the toss, took the ball, and then, methodically marched 75 yards for the first score of the game, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota to wide receiver Keanon Lowe with 12:21 to play in the first quarter from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mariota and the Ducks did not once face a third down on the opening drive, as he completed all four of his passes for 30 yards and added another 15 on two carries, including a run that gave the Ducks at first-and-goal from the Buckeyes' seven-yard line.
Before Mariota scored the touchdown for Oregon, he nearly turned the ball over.
On a run to the left side of the formation, Mariota was stripped of the football and Ohio State recovered. However, a replay review showed that one of Mariota's knees hit the turf before the football came out, meaning he was down my contact.
Earlier in the drive, Ducks running back Thomas Tyner recovered his own fumble after a run of 12 yards from Oregon's 45-yard line to Ohio State's 43.
