Oregon vs. Ohio State: Top Plays, Highlights from College Football Championship
Ohio State's Hollywood-esque run is the stuff of legends.
Urban Meyer at the helm, the Buckeyes lost two Heisman Trophy candidates under center and still ran roughshod through all three Heisman finalists before taking down the Oregon Ducks, owners of one of the most prolific offenses in collegiate history.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
There is no script, though. Perhaps it is more befitting of a video game, but there is nobody at the controls besides Meyer.
"This will go down as one of the great stories in college football history," Meyer said after the triumph, per ESPN.com.
Indeed. The path as a whole—destroying Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game and overcoming Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal being the highlights—still pales in comparison to the 42-20 victory.
Both teams enjoyed highlight-worthy moments the globe will not forget, but only one will avoid feeling they were all for nothing.
Top Plays
Ezekiel Elliott Breaks Free
Be honest—Oregon's first score birthed plenty of "here we go" thoughts around the globe.
There was Ohio State, the team that should not have made it this far, allowing an opening-drive touchdown to Marcus Mariota and the Ducks.
Not only that, but it happened in the blink of an eye. Mariota and the offense needed all of 2:39 to move 75 yards up the field on 11 plays before the Heisman winner hit senior wideout Keanon Lowe.
Ohio State had a response, though.
Sophomore back Ezekiel Elliott, who had ripped off 450 yards and four scores over the course of his prior two games, broke free on a 33-yard touchdown scamper to tie things up in the middle of the first quarter:
As SportsCenter noted, the eye-popping touchdown run was a first against Oregon's defense:
Wildly enough, Elliott was just getting started, too.
Byron Marshall's Blooper
Along with Lowe, the Ducks needed a major performance by junior wideout Byron Marshall with names such as Devon Allen, Pharaoh Brown and Darren Carrington out of the lineup.
The Ducks got it too, as the native of San Jose, California, led the team with eight catches for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Marshall's biggest play of the night is one that will go down in history for its importance at the time, as well as its near-disaster conclusion.
Mariota found Marshall deep near the beginning of the second half when the Ducks needed it most, and the 70-yard touchdown connection brought the score to 21-17 in favor of the Buckeyes. About that near-disaster, though:
Officials ruled that Marshall will not live in DeSean Jackson-worthy infamy, although the play would go down in history no matter which way the officials went with the decision.
Cardale Jones' Fumble
It seems Cardale Jones looks up to Florida State's Jameis Winston.
That, or Oregon's defense has a way of forcing quarterbacks to periodically lose control of their extremities in flailing fashion.
In all seriousness, one of the most talked about moments from Monday night is Jones' wild fumble, as Martin Rickman of Sports Illustrated captures:
The resemblance is quite scary, really:
The fumble was one of four turnovers by Ohio State. Again, where are the Hollywood agents? The Buckeyes turned the ball over four times to Oregon's one with a third-string quarterback under center.
No matter, though. The most talked about backup quarterback in the land finished with 242 yards, a touchdown and interception, with another 38 yards and a score on the ground to go with several chain-moving rushes.
Jones can live with a bit of a humorous fumble.
Ezekiel Elliott, Finisher
Elliott started the scoring for Ohio State, and then finished the Ducks with prejudice.
The Saint Louis, Missouri, native ran nine yards to paydirt to end the third quarter and put the Buckeyes ahead by eight points.
He then owned the fourth quarter.
First was a two-yard scamper to go up by 15. Then in the waning moments, not content with just bleeding the clock, the future offensive MVP of the contest bulldozed his way into the end zone a fourth time, as ESPN CollegeFootball captures:
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Elliott's 246 yards and four scores are enough to help him rewrite the record books:
It is impossible to single out one play by Elliott, clearly.
The first-ever CFP National Championship was Elliott's showcase, a launching pad for surefire Heisman contention next year. His two scores in the final frame embody his season as a whole, as his performance did nothing short of rise to the occasion down the stretch.
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
