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College Football Playoff: Ezekiel Elliott lifts Ohio State past Oregon for national title College Football Playoff: Ezekiel Elliott lifts Ohio State past Oregon for national title
(less than a minute earlier)
ARLINGTON, Tex. — So good, so comprehensive and so all-grown-up was Ohio State that it did not even have to abide by a paramount football canon. The Buckeyes had amassed such power and such pluck by this momentous January that they could treat a galling minus-3 turnover margin as just another statistical detail in yet another soaring victory.ARLINGTON, Tex. — So good, so comprehensive and so all-grown-up was Ohio State that it did not even have to abide by a paramount football canon. The Buckeyes had amassed such power and such pluck by this momentous January that they could treat a galling minus-3 turnover margin as just another statistical detail in yet another soaring victory.
That’s how this latest incarnation in a Midwestern football empire became a national champion on Monday night at AT&T Stadium.That’s how this latest incarnation in a Midwestern football empire became a national champion on Monday night at AT&T Stadium.
That’s how Ohio State won the eighth national title in its decorated history and its first in 12 years with a 42-20 win over Oregon before a roaring crowd of 85,689.That’s how Ohio State won the eighth national title in its decorated history and its first in 12 years with a 42-20 win over Oregon before a roaring crowd of 85,689.
That’s how the best team in the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff turned out to be the one radiating down there at the No. 4 seeding.That’s how the best team in the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff turned out to be the one radiating down there at the No. 4 seeding.
And that’s how Ohio native Urban Meyer, the Ohio State coach who won two national championships at Florida, came to sit in Texas around midnight and say, “To bring now a national title to the great state of Ohio, it’s almost surreal.” And that’s how Ohio native Urban Meyer, the Ohio State coach who won two national championships at Florida, came to sit in Texas around midnight and say, “To bring now a national title to the great state of Ohio, it’s almost surreal.” 
Ohio State came; it fumbled (thrice); it threw a goofball interception; and it did not matter. Long since had the Buckeyes showed a knack for handling inconvenience.Ohio State came; it fumbled (thrice); it threw a goofball interception; and it did not matter. Long since had the Buckeyes showed a knack for handling inconvenience.
Their path from practice in August to prosperity in January had gone littered with some of the sourer luck known to football operations: the loss of two outstanding starting quarterbacks to injury. The second one, J.T. Barrett, went down as recently as Nov. 29. Yet by the time they reached their 15th game and their 14th win, the Buckeyes had a team full of game, two fresh stars full of potential and one head coach full of football history. Their path from practice in August to prosperity in January had gone littered with some of the sourer luck known to football operations: the loss of two outstanding starting quarterbacks to injury. The second one, J.T. Barrett, went down as recently as Nov. 29. Yet by the time they reached their 15th game and their 14th win, the Buckeyes had a team full of game, two fresh stars full of potential and one head coach full of football history. 
They could subject teams to the bruising task of trying to tackle Ezekiel Elliott, the sophomore running back from St. Louis who streamed through and around and over Oregon for his third straight 200-yard game, the other two having come against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl national semifinal. Just as he had scored on a searing 85-yard run that all but finished off Alabama at the end, he scored the telling three touchdowns in the last 16 minutes that loosed Ohio State from the precariousness of a 21-20 lead over Oregon. He rushed for 246 yards. He scored four touchdowns. He smiled his considerable smile.They could subject teams to the bruising task of trying to tackle Ezekiel Elliott, the sophomore running back from St. Louis who streamed through and around and over Oregon for his third straight 200-yard game, the other two having come against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl national semifinal. Just as he had scored on a searing 85-yard run that all but finished off Alabama at the end, he scored the telling three touchdowns in the last 16 minutes that loosed Ohio State from the precariousness of a 21-20 lead over Oregon. He rushed for 246 yards. He scored four touchdowns. He smiled his considerable smile.
“Oh, I definitely feel it now,” said Elliott, who rushed a season-high 36 times, 18 of those among Ohio State’s final 31 plays after Oregon had closed to within 21-20.“Oh, I definitely feel it now,” said Elliott, who rushed a season-high 36 times, 18 of those among Ohio State’s final 31 plays after Oregon had closed to within 21-20.
“In the second half, we definitely felt they started wearing down,” offensive lineman Darryl Baldwin said. “In the second half, we definitely felt they started wearing down,” offensive lineman Darryl Baldwin said. 
“A monster,” Meyer said of Elliott.“A monster,” Meyer said of Elliott.
Further, the Buckeyes could delight witnesses with the surprisingly effective novelty of a 250-pound quarterback who didn’t seem to require any adjustment period. In just his third start after rising by necessity from the third string, Cardale Jones threw with a veteran’s competence (16 for 23 for 242 yards) and lunged or leapt through tacklers who looked small by contrast.Further, the Buckeyes could delight witnesses with the surprisingly effective novelty of a 250-pound quarterback who didn’t seem to require any adjustment period. In just his third start after rising by necessity from the third string, Cardale Jones threw with a veteran’s competence (16 for 23 for 242 yards) and lunged or leapt through tacklers who looked small by contrast.
Fumbles and a receiver-dropped interception aside, Jones improved to 3-0, lifetime: the Big Ten championship game, the Sugar Bowl national semifinal and the College Football Playoff national championship game.Fumbles and a receiver-dropped interception aside, Jones improved to 3-0, lifetime: the Big Ten championship game, the Sugar Bowl national semifinal and the College Football Playoff national championship game.
“That’s almost unheard-of, a third-string quarterback winning the national title,” center Jacoby Boren said. “That’s almost unheard-of, a third-string quarterback winning the national title,” center Jacoby Boren said. 
“I’ve never met a third-string quarterback and he’s 3-0,” Meyer said.“I’ve never met a third-string quarterback and he’s 3-0,” Meyer said.
“Unbelievable and unreal,” Jones said.“Unbelievable and unreal,” Jones said.
 And above all, authority-wise, Ohio State had Meyer, who joins Alabama’s Nick Saban in winning national championships at two universities. Meyer won the 2006-07 and the 2008-09 titles while at Florida. He went 12-0 in 2004 while at Utah. And his third national title at age 50 brought his three-year record at Ohio State to 38-3. And above all, authority-wise, Ohio State had Meyer, who joins Alabama’s Nick Saban in winning national championships at two universities. Meyer won the 2006-07 and the 2008-09 titles while at Florida. He went 12-0 in 2004 while at Utah. And his third national title at age 50 brought his three-year record at Ohio State to 38-3.
The university figures to keep him.The university figures to keep him.
“This is one of the closest teams in college football history,” Meyer said. “We play for each other.” “This is one of the closest teams in college football history,” Meyer said. “We play for each other.” 
From the first half of this match between a program with a big history (Ohio State) and a program trying to cement a big recent history (Oregon), it seemed Meyer and his staff and their players had solved their most important puzzle. They saw to it that Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Heisman Trophy winner, could look plenty excellent but insufficiently damaging. After Mariota drove Oregon 75 yards right off the bat in the first 2 minutes 39 seconds for a 7-0 lead, he would get only one more touchdown thereafter, that on a sudden 70-yard pass to Byron Marshall in the third quarter.From the first half of this match between a program with a big history (Ohio State) and a program trying to cement a big recent history (Oregon), it seemed Meyer and his staff and their players had solved their most important puzzle. They saw to it that Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Heisman Trophy winner, could look plenty excellent but insufficiently damaging. After Mariota drove Oregon 75 yards right off the bat in the first 2 minutes 39 seconds for a 7-0 lead, he would get only one more touchdown thereafter, that on a sudden 70-yard pass to Byron Marshall in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes played a bit “sideways” on that first drive, in the word of defensive end Michael Bennett. He thought they became more direct thereafter. “The biggest thing was getting lined up when they did their tempo, and playing football,” he said. “There were very, very few times that we didn’t get lined up, and even those times we were still ready to play.”The Buckeyes played a bit “sideways” on that first drive, in the word of defensive end Michael Bennett. He thought they became more direct thereafter. “The biggest thing was getting lined up when they did their tempo, and playing football,” he said. “There were very, very few times that we didn’t get lined up, and even those times we were still ready to play.”
Mariota connected on 24 of 37 passes for 333 yards, but he never accessed his full potency. He suffered two stunning first-half drops from wide receivers Charles Nelson and Dwayne Stanford, both on third-down passes right in their guts. He and the Ducks converted a mere two of 12 third downs, prompting Coach Mark Helfrich to say, “Third down was a big deal.” Their fluid offense kept getting clogged up inside the 10-yard line, stalling for two field goals and a key fourth-down halt in the second quarter when Buckeye defenders Adolphus Washington, Tyvis Powell and Chris Worley converged on running back Thomas Tyner. On the final play of the game, Mariota heaved his only interception, only his fourth in 445 attempts in his storybook season. Mariota connected on 24 of 37 passes for 333 yards, but he never accessed his full potency. He suffered two stunning first-half drops from wide receivers Charles Nelson and Dwayne Stanford, both on third-down passes right in their guts. He and the Ducks converted a mere two of 12 third downs, prompting Coach Mark Helfrich to say, “Third down was a big deal.” Their fluid offense kept getting clogged up inside the 10-yard line, stalling for two field goals and a key fourth-down halt in the second quarter when Buckeye defenders Adolphus Washington, Tyvis Powell and Chris Worley converged on running back Thomas Tyner. On the final play of the game, Mariota heaved his only interception, only his fourth in 445 attempts in his storybook season. 
Then he headed for an offseason to make his decision about forgoing his final year and leaving for the NFL. “You know, obviously it hurts,” Mariota said. “I’m sure [the loss] will weigh in a little bit, but there’s a lot of other things that have to play into that decision.”Then he headed for an offseason to make his decision about forgoing his final year and leaving for the NFL. “You know, obviously it hurts,” Mariota said. “I’m sure [the loss] will weigh in a little bit, but there’s a lot of other things that have to play into that decision.”
His final throw had become Oregon’s lone turnover. That statistic could have combined with Ohio State’s four to make Ohio State’s coach queasy. Instead, Meyer stood amid a scrum in the locker room and said, “If you start making excuses, then your players respond to those excuses.” Only 45 days prior, his team had seen its surging second-string quarterback go down, broken, in the terribly inconvenient 12th game. Yet by the 15th game, the first champion in the sport’s new format had become expert at surmounting, as well as every other football skill. His final throw had become Oregon’s lone turnover. That statistic could have combined with Ohio State’s four to make Ohio State’s coach queasy. Instead, Meyer stood amid a scrum in the locker room and said, “If you start making excuses, then your players respond to those excuses.” Only 45 days prior, his team had seen its surging second-string quarterback go down, broken, in the terribly inconvenient 12th game. Yet by the 15th game, the first champion in the sport’s new format had become expert at surmounting, as well as every other football skill.