Ohio State Gains Ground
Alabama | 10 | |||||||||||||||
Notre Dame | 8 | |||||||||||||||
Oklahoma | 7 | |||||||||||||||
USC | 7 | |||||||||||||||
Ohio State | 6 | |||||||||||||||
-- ESPN Stats & InformationElliott's Record-Setting Night
Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott was the key to Ohio State's national title win Monday night, putting up one of the best performances in a championship game since the start of the BCS era in 1998.
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Oregon Struggles Across The Board
Season Rank | ||
---|---|---|
Points allowed | 42 | Most |
Punts | 6 | 2nd-most |
3rd-down conv. | 2-12 | Worst |
First downs | 20 | 2nd-worst |
-- ESPN Stats & Information |
Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliot
, a sophomore, was the offensive MVP and ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries. In the past three games -- the Big Ten championship against Wisconsin, the Allstate Sugar Bowl semifinal against Alabama and the final against Oregon -- Elliott had 696 yards rushing.
Mariota passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns, but the Ducks' warp-speed spread offense missed too many red zone opportunities and couldn't unleash its running game against linebacker Darron Lee and an Ohio State front seven stacked with future NFL draft picks.
"We fought through a lot of stuff," Mariota said. "We ended up short tonight, but that shouldn't take away from what we were able to do this year."
Even with the benefit of four Ohio State turnovers, the Ducks were held to their lowest point total of the season, four touchdowns fewer than their average coming in. They went 2-for-12 on third downs, with two dropped passes in the first half.
"Their front seven is unbelievable," Oregon receiver Byron Marshall said. "I think we missed some opportunities, and they played a great game."
When Jones surged and spun his way into the end zone with 4:49 left in the second quarter, it was 21-7 Ohio State, and the "O! H! I! O!" chant made the dome in North Texas sound like the horseshoe in Columbus. The Ducks were facing their largest deficit of the season.
If there was any concern that fans wouldn't travel to the championship game in the new postseason system, the packed house at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, awash in Buckeyes scarlet and Ducks yellow, put that to rest. The crowd of 85,689 was as charged as that at any BCS national championship game.
But by the time Elliott went in from 2 yards out with 9:44 left in the fourth to make it 35-20, it was clear this night had turned into a Buckeyes bash.
Ohio State is 9-0 against Oregon, its best record against any school in program history.
Ohio State joins Alabama, Notre Dame, USC, and Oklahoma as the only schools with six national titles.
Ohio State has now defeated a pair of Heisman Trophy winners - O.J. Simpson and Marcus Mariota. Ohio State was ranked 5th in the final AP poll before bowl season. That's tied for the highest jump ever from the second-to-last AP poll to the final AP poll.
Watch Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1xBsB63hog
Read More At: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400610325