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College Football Playoff

2015 College Football Playoff National Championship

Monday, January 12, 2015 | 8:30 p.m. ET No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Oregon AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas
#4 Ohio State
42
Final
20
#2 Oregon
SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th FINAL
OSU #4 Ohio State (14-1) 14 7 7 14 42
UO #2 Oregon (13-2) 7 3 10 0 20

Attendance:
85,689
Kickoff Time:
7:33 p.m. CT
End of Game:
11:10 p.m. CT
Game Duration:
3:37




ARLINGTON, Texas - The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes claimed the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, defeating the No. 2 Oregon Ducks, 42-20, in front of a crowd of 85,689 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Led by Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, the Ducks came out charging, putting up 75 yards in 11 plays on the opening drive. However, the Buckeyes and Cardale Jones had different plans on a night that marked just the third career start for the Ohio State quarterback. The redshirt sophomore passed for 242 yards and a touchdown, while helping orchestrate 538 yards of total offense to help the team overcome four turnovers.

Ezekiel Elliott, had a breakout night, running for a career-high 246 yards, setting a championship game (BCS and CFP) record for rushing yards, to go along with four touchdowns on his way to being named the Offensive Player of the Game.

Defensively, Ohio State held Oregon to a season-low 20 points and 465 yards of total offense, almost 100 yards below the team’s season average. The Buckeyes also held the Ducks to 132 yards on the ground, over 100 yards fewer than their season average of 241.9. Tyvis Powell was tabbed Defensive Player of the Game after posting nine tackles in the game, including five solo stops and a pass breakup.

Fourteen unanswered points in the fourth quarter sealed Ohio State’s fate to become the first national champion of the playoff era, marking the eighth national championship in program history. The Buckeyes’ 14 victories on the year tied the NCAA record for most in a season, including a nation’s best 13 straight victories.



SCORING SUMMARY

QTR TIME SCORE
(V-H)
TEAM SCORING PLAY DRIVE
1st 12:21 0-7 Oregon Keanon Lowe 7 yd pass from Marcus Mariota (Aidan Schneider kick) 11-75 (2:39)
1st 04:36 7-7 Ohio State Ezekiel Elliott 33 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick) 10-97 (3:16)
1st 01:08 14-7 Ohio State Nick Vannett 1 yd pass from Cardale Jones (Sean Nuernberger kick) 4-46 (1:27)
2nd 04:49 21-7 Ohio State Cardale Jones 1 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick) 6-49 (2:16)
2nd 00:48 21-10 Oregon Aidan Schneider 26 yd field goal 12-66 (4:01)
3rd 11:23 21-17 Oregon Byron Marshall 70 yd pass from Marcus Mariota (Aidan Schneider kick) 1-70 (0:10)
3rd 06:39 21-20 Oregon Aidan Schneider 23 yd field goal 6-17 (1:42)
3rd 00:00 28-20 Ohio State Ezekiel Elliott 9 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick) 12-75 (6:39)
4th 09:44 35-20 Ohio State Ezekiel Elliott 2 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick) 9-76 (4:13)
4th 00:28 42-20 Ohio State Ezekiel Elliott 1 yd run (Sean Nuernberger kick) 5-14 (2:17)



OHIO STATE STARTERS

POS. NO. OFFENSE
LT 68 Taylor Decker
LG 54 Billy Price
C 50 Jacoby Boren
RG 65 Pat Elflein
RT 76 Darryl Baldwin
TE 5 Jeff Heuerman
WR 6 Evan Spencer
QB 1A Cardale Jones
RB 15 Ezekiel Elliott
WR 3 Michael Thomas
WR 9 Devin Smith
POS. NO. DEFENSE
DE 97 Joey Bosa
DT 92 Adolphus Washington
DT 53 Michael Bennett
DE 88 Steve Miller
SLB 43 Darron Lee
MLB 14 Curtis Grant
WLB 37 Joshua Perry
CB 13 Eli Apple
S 23 Tyvis Powell
S 11 Vonn Bell
CB 12 Doran Grant

OHIO STATE RESERVES

0A - Erick Smith, 0D - Damon Webb, 1E - Cam Burrows, 1F - Rashad Frazier, 2A - Raekwon McMillan, 2 - Dontre Wilson, 4 - Curtis Samuel, 4B - Chris Rock, 17 - Jalin Marshall, 19 - Gareon Conley, 20 - Ron Tanner, 25 - Bri’onte Dunn, 26 - Armani Reeves, 28 - Warren Ball, 33 - Dante Booker, 35 - Chris Worley, 38 - Craig Fada, 39 - Kyle Clinton, 41 - Bryce Haynes, 48 - Joe Burger, 52 - Donovan Munger, 55 - Cam Williams, 57 - Chase Farris, 59 - Tyquan Lewis, 72 - Chris Carter, 73 - Antonio Underwood, 80 - Noah Brown, 81 - Nick Vannett, 84 - Corey Smith, 85 - Marcus Baugh, 90 - Tommy Schutt, 95 - Cameron Johnston, 96 - Sean Nuernberger.

OREGON STARTERS

POS. NO. OFFENSE
LT 75 Jake Fisher
LG 54 Hamani Stevens
C 5E Hroniss Grasu
RG 78 Cameron Hunt
RT 73 Tyrell Crosby
TE 81 Evan Baylis
QB 8 Marcus Mariota
RB 24 Thomas Tyner
WR 9 Byron Marshall
WR 7 Keanon Lowe
WR 85 Dwayne Stanford
POS. NO. DEFENSE
DE 9 Arik Armstead
NG 56 Alex Balducci
DE 44 DeForest Buckner
OLB 91 Tony Washington
ILB 48 Rodney Hardrick
ILB 22 Derrick Malone, Jr.
OLB 33 Tyson Coleman
CB 12 Chris Seisay
DB 4 Erick Dargan
S 8 Reggie Daniels
CB 13 Troy Hill

OREGON RESERVES

1B - Taylor Alie, 1G - Jeff Lockie, 2 - Tyree Robinson, 3 - Dior Mathis, 6 - Charles Nelson, 10 - Johnathan Loyd, 17 - Juwaan Williams, 18 - Jimmie Swain, 21 - Royce Freeman, 31 - Kenny Bassett, 35 - Joe Walker, 38 - Ian Wheeler, 41 - Aidan Schneider, 45 - T.J. Daniel, 46 - Danny Mattingly, 49 - Matt Wogan, 51 - Isaac Ava, 55 - Tui Talia, 58 - Tanner Carew, 62 - Matt Pierson, 76 - Jake Pisarcik, 82 - Zac Schuller, 83 - Johnny Mundt, 86 - Torrodney Prevot, 92 - Henry Mondeaux, 96 - Christian French, 99 - Sam Kamp.


 
2015 College Football Playoff National Championship

OFFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott
So., RB, Ohio State

DEFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tyvis Powell
Tyvis Powell
So., S, Ohio State


TEAM STATISTICS OSU UO
First downs 28 20
Rushing 18 7
Passing 8 13
Penalty 2 0
Rushes-Yards 61-296 33-132
Passing Yards 242 333
Passes Comp-Att-Int 16-23-1 24-38-1
Total Offense
(Plays-Yards)
84-538 71-465
Punt Returns-Yards 3-32 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-23 4-52
Punts (Number-Avg) 3-42.0 6-40.0
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 1-0
Sacks By
(Number-Yards)
2-6 1-17
Penalties-Yards 5-30 10-76
3rd Down Conversions 8-of-15 2-of-12
4th Down Conversions 3-of-3 0-of-2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Ohio State - Ezekiel Elliott, 36-246, 4 TD; Cardale Jones, 21-38, 1 TD; Curtis Samuel, 1-6; Jalin Marshall, 2-3; Corey Smith, 1-3.

Oregon - Thomas Tyner, 12-62; Marcus Mariota, 10-39; Royce Freeman, 10-22; Byron Marshall, 1-9.
Passing: Ohio State - Cardale Jones, 16-23-1, 242, 1 TD.

Oregon - Marcus Mariota, 24-37-1, 333, 2 TD; Jeff Lockie, 0-1-0, 0.
Receiving: Ohio State - Jalin Marshall, 5-52; Michael Thomas, 4-53; Corey Smith, 2-76; Nick Vannett, 2-9, 1 TD; Devin Smith, 1-45; Curtis Samuel, 1-8, Ezekiel Elliott 1- -1.

Oregon - Byron Marshall, 8-169, 1 TD; Evan Baylis, 5-25; Dwayne Stanford, 4-61; Keanon Lowe, 3-55, 1 TD; Charles Nelson, 2-21; Thomas Tyner, 2-2.
Punting: Ohio State - Cameron Johnston, 3-126, 42.0.

Oregon - Ian Wheeler, 6-240, 40.0.
Returns: Ohio State - Punt: Jalin Marshall, 3-32; Kickoff: Curtis Samuel, 1-23; Intercept: Eli Apple, 1-8.

Oregon - Punt: None; Kickoff: Charles Nelson, 4-52; Intercept: Danny Mattingly, 1-0.
Field Goals: Ohio State - None.

Oregon - Aidan Schneider, 2-2 (26 Good, 23 Good).
Tackles:
(Solo-Assist-Total, Sacks-Yds, TFL-Yds)
Ohio State - Tyvis Powell (5-4-9, 0, 0); Darron Lee (4-4-8, 0, 0); Eli Apple (5-2-7, 0, 0); Curtis Grant (5-1-6, 0, 0); Vonn Bell (3-3-6, 1.0-1, 1.0-1); Joshua Perry (2-4-6, 0, 0); Doran Grant (4-1-5, 0, 1.0-1); Raekwon McMillan (3-2-5, 0, 0.5-2); Adolphus Washington (1-2-3, 1.0-5, 1.0-5); Joey Bosa (2-0-2, 0, 1.0-2); Tommy Schutt (1-0-1, 0, 0); Steve Miller (1-0-1, 0, 0); Armani Reeves (1-0-1, 0, 0); Chris Worley (1-0-1, 0, 0); Jalin Marshall (1-0-1, 0, 0); Corey Smith (1-0-1, 0, 0); Kyle Clinton (1-0-1, 0, 0); Tyquan Lewis (0-1-1, 0, 0); Rashad Frazier (0-1-1, 0.5-1); Michael Bennett (0-1-1, 0, 0).

Oregon - Reggie Daniels (7-2-9, 0, 0); Arik Armstead (5-4-9, 0, 0); DeForest Buckner (5-3-8, 0, 0); Rodney Hardrick (6-1-7, 0, 0); Chris Seisay (5-2-7, 0, 1.0-1); Tony Washington (4-3-7, 0, 0.5-0); Troy Hill (4-1-5, 0, 0); Erick Dargan (4-1-5, 0, 1.0-1); Alex Balducci (3-2-5, 0, 0.5-1); Derrick Malone, Jr. (4-0-4, 0, 0); Joe Walker (3-1-4, 0, 0); Tyson Coleman (1-3-4, 1.0-17, 1.0-17); Danny Mattingly (2-0-2, 0, 1.0-2); Christian French (1-1-2, 0, 0); Charles Nelson (1-0-1, 0, 0); Jimmie Swain (1-0-1, 0, 0); Tyree Robinson (1-0-1, 0, 0); Keanon Lowe (0-1-1, 0, 0); Dwayne Stanford (0-1-1, 0, 0); Ian Wheeler (0-1-1, 0, 0); Sam Kamp (0-1-1, 0, 0).