Urban Meyer leads Ohio State past Oregon

ARLINGTON, TEXAS » In the gloom of the Oregon locker room, quarterback Marcus Mariota, covered with lei and emotion, was willing to make a deal.

"Of course," Mariota said of a willingness to trade his Heisman Trophy for a national championship. "It’s a team sport. This is what you work all season for. To me, I would trade it. Without a doubt."

Mariota then gazed around the locker room, absorbing the collective sting from Ohio State’s 42-20 victory in college football’s national championship game in AT&T Stadium.

"I mean, you put so much work into it, and then you come up short, it’s tough," Mariota said. "You understand these guys put in blood, sweat, tears. You feel for each teammate."

But this evening in North Texas belonged to a team that served a postseason ban two years ago, barely qualified for the fourth — and final — spot in the inaugural FBS playoffs, and started a once-third-string quarterback.

"I’ve never met a third-string quarterback before, and he’s 3-0," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said of Cardale Jones, who spurred victories against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game and then-No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

Jones was 16-for-23 for 242 yards and a touchdown pass.

"Best year ever," said Jones, who became a father in November. A month later, he was the starting quarterback when J.T. Barrett, who started in place of injured Braxton Miller, suffered his own shoulder injury.

Jones only needed to be a game manager, which meant dodging pressure and feeding Ezekiel Elliott. During the pregame, one of the Ohio State flagbearers tripped, leaving the O, H and I flags. Elliott provided the missing O.

Elliott carried 36 times for 246 yards — none for negative yards — and four touchdowns. He broke tackles and contorted through the slimmest of openings.

"Zeke’s the man," OSU right guard Pat Elflein said. "He’s a monster."

OSU center Jacoby Boren said: "Our job was a heck of a lot easier with (Elliott) out there. He kept breaking through tackles. Even when there wasn’t a huge hole, he made it happen by running hard. He had a great game."

It was a single-handed effort. Since training camp, Elliott has been playing despite an injured left wrist that will require surgery this offseason. He said he does not carry the football with only his left hand.

With the adrenaline draining, Elliott was feeling the effects of his season-high workload during the postgame interview session.

"Oh, I definitely feel it now," Elliott said, smiling. "I knew going into the game that we wanted to run the ball."

The strategy was twofold: It would be a counter-tactic to the Ducks’ rat-a-tat uptempo offense, and it would ease the pressure on Jones. In this matchup, the Buckeyes were the sluggers to the Ducks’ boxers.

"We knew that our O-line was bigger and more physical than their D-line," Elliott said, "and we just had to punch them in the mouth. And the O-line, they came out, they played their butts off, and they paved the way for me. … Jones kept feeding me the ball."

The Buckeyes turned the ball over four times, including once at the Oregon 9 following a 50-yard completion.

But the Ducks had difficulty parlaying breaks into touchdowns.

After going 75 yards in the opening drive for a touchdown — a series kept alive when Mariota’s fumbled was nullified — the Ducks’ offense went dry. Their next two possessions were sabotaged with third-down drops. The shotgun offense appeared to be aimed at their Nikes.

The Ducks were 2-for-12 on third down, and even worse on fourth down. Trailing 14-7 in the second quarter, they went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3. Thomas Tyner gained 3 yards on a dive into the heart of the Buckeyes’ four-man front.

Just before the half, the Ducks elected to attempt the field goal instead of running a fourth-down play.

"We consider it a stop when you hold them to a field goal," Meyer said. "Championships are won with defense, and our defense has been on a difficult journey the last couple of years."

For all of the Ducks’ misdirection and read-option plays, their attack ignites when they can successfully control the interior. The Buckeyes were able to fill interior gaps out of wide splits.

The Buckeyes’ defensive quickness kept the Ducks’ short passes to the flats to short gains. Excluding the 70-yard pass from Mariota to Byron Marshall, who found an opening vacated when a safety blitzed, the Ducks averaged 7.1 yards per throw.

Running backs Royce Freeman and Tyner gained 22 yards and 39 yards, respectively. Mariota threw for 333 yards, but rushed for only 32 on eight non-sack runs.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, controlled the clock and then the Ducks. In the second half, the Buckeyes had possession for 23 minutes, 1 second. The Ducks’ two third-quarter drives totaled 1:52.

"We don’t tackle well, we stay out on the field, and those lead to problems," Oregon defensive end Arik Armstead said. "Once they went up, they definitely started to run some clock and run the ball a lot. They’re a good team. We lost to a good team. They just played better than us."

Elliott credited the offensive linemen known collectively as the "Slobs." Elliott was named the game’s most outstanding player while setting an OSU single-game rushing record.

"It’s starting to sink in," Elliott said. "Just getting the MVP, I credit that to my big boys up front, actually everybody on offense. … But just setting that record, I feel blessed. All the great running backs that have come through Ohio State — Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Beanie Wells — just being able to accomplish some of that that others weren’t able to accomplish, it means the world to me."

For Mariota, he is ready to plot his future. He will consult with his family on whether to apply for the NFL Draft — the deadline is Thursday — or return to Oregon for his senior year. He already has earned a bachelor’s degree.

"You know, obviously, it hurts," Mariota said. "I’m sure it will weigh in a little bit, but there’s a lot of other things that weigh into that decision. There’s starting grad school, coming back for another year to improve. There’s a lot of other things that could bring me back. It’s not just specifically this loss."

NO. 5 OHIO STATE 42, NO. 3 OREGON 20

First Quarter
Ore—Lowe 7 pass from Mariota (Schneider kick), 12:21.
OSU—Elliott 33 run (Nuernberger kick), 4:36.
OSU—Vannett 1 pass from C.Jones (Nuernberger kick), 1:08.
Second Quarter
OSU—C.Jones 1 run (Nuernberger kick), 4:49.
Ore—FG Schneider 26, :48.
Third Quarter
Ore—Marshall 70 pass from Mariota (Schneider kick), 11:23.
Ore—FG Schneider 23, 6:39.
OSU—Elliott 9 run (Nuernberger kick), :00.
Fourth Quarter
OSU—Elliott 2 run (Nuernberger kick), 9:44.
OSU—Elliott 1 run (Nuernberger kick), :28.
A—85,689.

RUSHING—Ohio St., Elliott 36-246, C.Jones 21-38, Samuel 1-6, C.Smith 1-3, Marshall 2-3. Oregon, Tyner 12-62, Mariota 10-39, Freeman 10-22, Marshall 1-9.
PASSING—Ohio St., C.Jones 16-23-1-242. Oregon, Mariota 24-37-1-333, Lockie 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Ohio St., Marshall 5-52, M.Thomas 4-53, C.Smith 2-76, Vannett 2-9, D.Smith 1-45, Samuel 1-8, Elliott 1-(minus 1). Oregon, Marshall 8-169, Baylis 5-25, Stanford 4-61, Lowe 3-55, Nelson 2-21, Tyner 2-2.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.