by MARIAH THOMPSON Section Editor
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks in the NCAA National Championship Game on January 3, 2014 in Arlington, Texas at the AT&T Stadium.
The final score was 42-20. Ohio State scored six touchdowns while Oregon only scored two touchdowns and two field goals.
This was Oregon’s lowest scoring game during the whole season, as they had averaged about 47 points per game.
“I was not expecting Oregon to score so low. This whole season they have showed that they were a high-scoring team and unfortunately, they only scored 20 points in a really, really important game,” sophomore Chad O’neal said.
After winning the coin toss and deciding to receive, the Ducks came out strong on the first drive by successfully scoring a touchdown. The seven yard pass from Marcus Mariota, Oregon’s quarterback, to Keanon Lowe helped their team put the first points on the board. However, that was the only time they would score during the first quarter.
During their second possession, Ohio State scored on a 33 yard run to the end zone by Ezekiel Elliot, tying up the game.
On their next possession, they scored again on a one yard pass from OSU’s quarterback Cardale Jones to Nick Vannett. The Buckeyes began to pick up their momentum, a movement that Oregon would not be able to put an end to.
The Buckeyes showed they were not going to make it easy for Oregon to come back right before halftime. After recovering a fumble at Oregon’s 49, they scored on a one yard run by Jones.
Before the end of the first half, the Ducks showed that they still had some fight in them. They started their drive at their 25, and although they did not score a topdown, Aiden Schneider completed a 26 yard field goal, allowing Oregon to put a few more points on the board.
The first half ended with Ohio State leading the Ducks 21-10.
The third quarter only had a combined total of five drives; however, Oregon scored 10 points and OSU scored seven.
Ohio State received the ball after half-time and came out strong until Oregon’s Danny Mattingly intercepted Jones’ pass. Mariota threw a 70 yard pass to Byron Marshall on the first play of the drive and scored.
Their next possession was a success, too, adding another three points to their score from Schneider’s field goal, after recovering a fumble and driving to Ohio State’s six yard line.
Oregon’s defense seemed to be holding up the Buckeyes throughout the whole third quarter until the last drive. They drove from their own 25 to Oregon’s nine. Elliot’s nine yard run helped his team add another six to the scoreboard, plus the extra point from Sean Nuernberger, Ohio State’s kicker.
Before the fourth quarter, Oregon still had time to win the game and be named the national champions. However, Ohio State kept Oregon from scoring all fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Oregon’s defense, they could not do the same, allowing the Buckeyes to score a total of 14 points.
Jones played an excellent game, completing 16 of 23 passes for 242 yards. He ran 21 times for 38 yards. It is hard to believe that he was Ohio State’s third-string quarterback. Their original starter, Braxton Miller, was injured in August, and their second-string, J.T. Barrett, got hurt in November.
Sophomore John Monacco said, “I would have never thought that a third-string quarterback could play as well as Cardale Jones and be able to win a national championship title. It is crazy to me.”
Ohio State has played in a total of 45 bowls and championship games, and have won 22 of them.
Were you satisfied with the outcome of the game? Why or why not?