Dominating is perhaps not a good enough word for what Oregon did to Florida State this afternoon at the Rose Bowl as the Ducks were the better team in every area of the game. In the very first college football playoff game, the Ducks from Eugene, Oregon, defeated the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 59-20 to reach the championship game. The Ducks will face Ohio State in the national championship game on the 12th of January in Dallas, Texas.
The quarterback battle today was between the previous two Heisman trophy winners, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. It was the current winner that had the better performance on the day as he threw for a whopping 338 yards and completed 26 of 36 passes, threw for two touchdowns and one interception. Even though Winston threw for more yards, he never really looked all that sharp tonight as he missed on 15 of his passes in Pasadena.
It was the strong running from the Oregon backs that really did the Seminoles with duel threat of Thomas Tyner and Royce Freeman. Both running backs got about the same amount of touches, but it was Tyner who was the more explosive back as he ran for 124 yards on 13 carries, averaging 9.5 yards per carry. The sophomore also found the back of the end zone on two separate occasions.
Oregon's defense was really impressive, it has to be said. They made big play after big play. The Ducks got to the quarterback early and often, making Winston rush his throw and be off target. In the second half, however, they played even faster turning Florida State time after time. All the talk has been on the offense of Oregon, and rightly so, but after tonight, the media will be talking about just how fast the defense plays.
It's going to be a very good matchup with two explosive offenses going toe-to-toe and both sides will be up for the task. Ohio State will have to hold on to the ball better against the Ducks because you remember what happens when Oregon gets extra possessions, don't you? They will make you pay dearly.