Heading into a quarterfinal showdown with No. 1 Oregon, Ohio State coach Ryan Day is confident that the Buckeyes can make a run in the College Football Playoff.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has a rare smile on his face near the end of the game during action in the CFP game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on Saturday, December 21, 2024. The Buckeyes won 42-17 and head to the Rose Bowl to play Oregon in the next round. David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

As the Buckeyes routed Tennessee in the College Football Playoff on Saturday, a lot of the focus — for better or worse — remained on their loss to Michigan.

By the time the beating was finished, most of the thousands of Tennessee fans who flooded into Ohio Stadium were gone. At least two remained — one in a Peyton Manning jersey and another in a coonskin cap — and hovered over the tunnel as the stone-faced Vols walked into the beginning of the end of their season.

Quarterback Will Howard threw two touchdown passes to freshman Jeremiah Smith, and Ohio State routed Tennessee 42-17 in a first-round College Football Playoff game, setting up a New Year's Day rematch with No.