Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer hoists the Sugar Bowl Trophy with running back Ezekiel Elliott (L) after the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans Thursday. — Reuters
NEW ORLEANS — The Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks earned victories in the Sugar and Rose Bowls Thursday, booking spots in the national championship as American college football entered a new era with its first ever playoff games. The fourth ranked Buckeyes stunned top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide 42-35 in New Orleans, as quarterback Cardale Jones threw for 243 yards, rallying his team from a 21-6 deficit in the second quarter. Jones put his team ahead to stay with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith in the third quarter, while running back Ezekial Elliott ran for 230 yards in the game. "(Elliot)'s probably the most underrated back in the country," Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer told reporters. "A lot of respect to our opponent. That was a sledgehammer game." Earlier, second ranked Oregon crushed the unbeaten Florida State Seminoles 59-20 in Pasadena. Marcus Mariota and Oregon turned an avalanche of Florida State mistakes into a mountain of points and the Ducks ran over the defending national champion to turn the first College Football Playoff semifinal into a Rose Bowl rout. Mariota and the second-seeded Ducks (13-1) scored six straight times they touched the ball in the second half, with five of the touchdowns covering at least 21 yards and the last four coming after Florida State turnovers. In the matchup of Heisman Trophy winners, Jameis Winston matched Mariota's numbers, but the Seminoles were no match for the Ducks. Third-seeded Florida State's winning streak ended at 29. In Winston's first loss as a college starter, maybe his last game in college, he threw for 348 yards. Mariota was mostly brilliant again. The junior passed for 338 yards and two touchdowns and sprinted 23 yards for a touchdown with 13:56 left that made it 52-20 and made the Ducks the first team to reach 50 points in Rose Bowl history. By winning the first ever semifinals, the Buckeyes and Ducks will head to Arlington, Texas, for the national championship game on Jan. 12. The playoff replaces the poll system that decided which teams would meet in the national championship and the Ducks left no doubt that they belong in the title game after ending the third ranked Seminoles' 29-game winning streak. "We just tried to out-team them," Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich told reporters. "I think our defense played very, very well in the second half... offensively, we just tried to do enough to make a difference. "We've got a great team. A great team of guys." In other Bowl games, Connor Cook threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keith Mumphery with 17 seconds left to cap a three-touchdown, fourth-quarter comeback in No. 7 Michigan State's 42-41 victory over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. The Spartans (11-2) got the winning touchdown after Marcus Rush blocked Chris Callahan's 43-yard field goal attempt with 1:05 left. Baylor's (11-2) Bryce Petty completed 36 of 51 passes for a Cotton Bowl-record 550 yards and three touchdowns, two to speedy freshman KD Cannon and the other to 390-pount backup guard LaQuan McGowan that put Baylor up 41-21 late in the third quarter. Melvin Gordon ran for an Outback Bowl-record 251 yards and three touchdowns and Rafael Gaglianone kicked a 25-yard field goal in overtime to lift No. 17 Wisconsin past No.19 Auburn 34-19. Also, Marcus Murphy ran for 159 yards, Russell Hansbrough added 114 yards and a touchdown and No.16 Missouri beat Minnesota 33-17 in the Citrus Bowl. — Agencies
