Ohio State wins first College Football Playoff championship

The talk heading into the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship game was about offense.

Oregon played at the speed of light, with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota leading the way. Ohio State was at full speed with running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Cardale Jones making his third start.

But what gave the Buckeyes a 42-20 victory at AT&T Stadium Monday -- their eighth national title -- was defense.

Ohio State made Oregon’s lickety-split offense seem almost ordinary. Sure, the Ducks rolled up yards, mostly on Mariota’s 333 yards of passing. But when a big play was needed, the Buckeyes were there to make it.

Oregon got inside the Ohio State 10-yard line three times. All the Ducks got were two Aiden Schneider field goals.

Trading threes for sevens was a losing proposition.

Jones was Ohio State’s third-string quarterback in August. Starter Braxton Miller was injured before the season began. Jones then became the starter the week before the Big Ten championship game when J.T. Barnett broke a leg. Jones threw for 242 yards and one touchdown in the national title game. He also scored on a one-yard run.

Elliott had gained 220 yards against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game and 230 yards against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. His effort Monday topped those. He hammered away at the Oregon defense, finishing with 246 yards and four touchdowns.

The victory moved Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer into exclusive company. He is the eighth college football coach to win three or more national titles. He is tied with USC’s John McKay, Minnesota’s Bernie Bierman and Oklahoma’s Barry Switzer. Notre Dame’s Frank Leahy and Nick Saban have won four. Saban won his first with Louisiana State and three more at Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s Bear Bryant is the all-time leader with seven.

Oregon trailed, 21-10, at halftime. Ohio State helped the Ducks out.

The Buckeyes, which had four turnovers in the game, lost the ball on its first two possessions of the second half.

Oregon’s Danny Mattingly grabbed the ball out of midair after Ohio State receiver Jalin Marshall bobbled a pass. Mariota hit Byron Marshall for a 70-yard touchdown on the Ducks’ next play.

Jones then dropped the football while trying to pass, giving Oregon the ball at the 23-yard line. But as it had done throughout the game, the Ohio State defense stiffened. Oregon settled for 23-yard field goal by Aiden Schneider to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to, 21-20, with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Elliott took it from there. He scored on runs of 11 and two yards to push the Ohio State lead to, 35-20.

Mariota threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns. But the Buckeyes took away the Ducks’ running game. Oregon finished with 132 yards rushing, but they were hard yards. The Ducks averaged 4.0 yards per carry. They came into the game averaging 5.5 per carry.

The inability to run hurt Oregon near the goal line.

The Ducks scored on their first drive, with Mariota throwing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Keanon Lowe. After that, the Buckeyes’ defense held the upper hand.

Twice the Ducks got inside the 10-yard line. All they had to show for it was a 26-yard field goal by Aiden Schneider. Ohio State held on a fourth-down play earlier, with Oregon running back Thomas Tyner coming up inches short.

Oregon has averaged less than three punts a game this season. The Ducks punted six times Monday.

Part of that was self-inflicted. Oregon receivers Charles Nelson and Dwayne Stanford both dropped third-down passes on drives in the first half.

Ohio State’s offense had no such troubles.

By halftime, Jones had 171 yards passing, including a one-yard touchdown strike to Nick Vannett. Elliott had 98 yards rushing, including a 33-yard scoring run.