RUNNING UP And the Virginia Tech loss still THE SCORE loomed large The Buckeyes weren't sure if they had done enough to In the 2014 Big Ten Championship earn one of four spots in the brand Game Ohio State had the game won by halftime The Buckeyes new College Football Playoff CFP led the Wisconsin Badgers 38-0 They knew they'd have to use the and pushed that lead to 45-0 Big Ten Championship Game to send a entering the fourth quarter But message that they were CFP worthy Urban Meyer chose to leave his It was a historic rout Ohio State starters in the game rather than beat Wisconsin 59-0 It was the give some backups the chance to play Ohio State wasn't assured of Badgers worst loss since 1979. Jones a spot in the CFP Meyer knew he didn't have to win the game on his had to beat Wisconsin by as much own He just had to be efficient which as possible to show how good the he was completing 12 of 17 passes Buckeyes were The next day the Buckeyes found out they had made the playoff field As the No. 4 seed in the CFP they had to face the nation's No. 1 team the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national semifinals The game was played in Alabama's back yard at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans And at first the Tide looked every bit like the dominant team A Jones interception in the second quarter set up an Alabama touchdown that made the score 21-6 But once again the Buckeyes didn't have to rely on Jones to win it for them They had All Big Ten running back Ezekiel Elliott He scored a touchdown on the next drive to pull Ohio State closer 6
A Cardale Jones handled himself well in relief of J. T. Barrett That was the first of four straight touchdowns for the Buckeyes as they surged to a 34-21 lead Alabama scored to cut the deficit to six points But late in the fourth quarter Elliott came up with the play of the game an 85 yard ouchdown run The Buckeyes won 42-35 Elliott was named the Sugar Bowl Most Valuable Player MVP 7
Oregon had no answer for Ezekiel Elliott 15 and the Buckeyes offense The victory meant Ohio State would play for a national title for the first time in seven years The Buckeyes opponent was the Oregon Ducks Just one more win and their comeback from the Virginia Tech upset would be complete Oregon went up 7-0 early and Ohio State gained just 17 yards on its first drive But two possessions later Elliott burst free for a 33 yard touchdown to tie the game The Buckeyes defense started to clamp down too 8
Jones followed Elliot's touchdown with a 1 yard scoring strike to Nick Vannett late in the first quarter That put Ohio State on top 14-7 The Buckeyes doubled their lead late in the first half on a 1 yard touchdown run by Jones However Oregon had enough time to kick a field goal making it 21-10 at halftime The Ducks were about to make it even more interesting Jones threw an interception on the Buckeyes first drive of the second half and Oregon took advantage A touchdown pulled the Ducks to within 21-17 On the next Ohio State possession Jones turned it over again this time on a fumble Oregon drove down to kick a field goal making it a 21-20 game A national title was in danger of slipping away It was time for Elliott to take over He dominated the rest of the game Ohio State drove 75 yards and Elliott finished it off with a 9 yard touchdown run The Buckeyes defense then stopped the Ducks and the offense went on another long drive Elliott again finished it off with a touchdown Finally with time winding down Elliott put the game away His fourth touchdown of the game put Ohio State up 42-20 They ran out the clock to clinch an eighth national title Elliott was named the game's offensive MVP For Meyer it was especially satisfying as he was an Ohio native and Buckeyes fan growing up Meyer knew the importance of Ohio State football to the people of the Buckeye State To the fans having Ohio State back on top as national champion was exactly where it belonged 9
