ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ezekiel Elliott ran 33 yards for a touchdown to cap a 97-yard drive, Cardale Jones accounted for two scores and Ohio State led Oregon 21-10 at halftime of the national championship game Monday night.
The fourth-seeded Buckeyes answered Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota’s scoring pass on the opening drive of the first title game under the four-team playoff system.
The second-seeded Ducks faced their biggest deficit of the season at 21-7 in a bid for their first national championship, with Mariota trying to become the seventh player since 1996 to win the Heisman and a national title in the same season. Florida State’s Jameis Winston did it last season.
Slightly more than half the crowd at the oversized $1.2 billion home of the Dallas Cowboys was filled with red-clad Ohio State fans hoping for the Buckeyes’ fifth national title, but first under coach Urban Meyer.
Jones, Ohio State’s third starting quarterback this season, threw consecutive 26-yard passes, the first when the Buckeyes faced third down from their 5-yard line on their first scoring drive.
That pass was to Corey Smith and the second went to Jalin Marshall, who later converted a fourth-and-2 on a shovel pass that picked up the first down by the nose of the football. Elliott’s scoring run came two plays later.
It was the second-longest scoring drive of the season for the Buckeyes.
Elliott, who had 98 yards rushing in the first half, ran 17 yards to the Oregon 1, setting up Jones’ scoring pass to Nick Vannett for a 14-7 lead with 1:08 left in the first.
The Buckeyes had two promising drives end with fumbles in the second quarter before Jones scored on a plunge inches from the goal line after his run on the previous play was ruled a touchdown but overturned on review.
Mariota’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Keanon Lowe capped a 75-yard drive to start the game.
The opening drive was kept alive when a run by Mariota initially ruled a fumble recovered by the Buckeyes was overturned on a review that showed his knee down before Curtis Grant stripped the ball.
The fast-paced, high-scoring Ducks punted on four of five drives after the quick score — and were a combined 0 of 6 on third and fourth downs — before driving to Aidan Schneider’s 26-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining in the half.
Mariota had 71 yards passing on the late field goal drive and finished the half 18 of 23 for 193 yards.
Jones was 10 of 15 for 171 yards passing and added another 48 on the ground.
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