Ohio State’s path to redemption just took one major step in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Facing Tennessee in the first-ever home Playoff game for the Buckeyes, Ryan Day and his group delivered a resounding 42-17 thumping of their SEC foe. While it’s just the first step in the path to a potential national title, it’s a major hurdle cleared — and cleared in an emphatic fashion.

Now, Ohio State must regroup and turn its attention to the Rose Bowl where the Buckeyes will face Oregon in a rematch from earlier this season. But for now, it’s the win over the Vols that stole the show Saturday night.

Here are the key takeaways from that CFP win and resounding victory for the Buckeyes:

Jeremiah Smith’s coming out party

Jeremiah Smith was no secret coming into Saturday’s Playoff matchup, but it was a great opportunity for the historic freshman to show the nation what he’s capable of. And did he ever!

On the first drive of the game, Smith torched a one-on-one situation against Tennessee’s defense for a beautiful deep ball touchdown. He would capitalize on another situation in the 2nd half with Will Howard finding his man before Tennessee’s safety could offer help.

Smith finished as the game’s leading receiver with 6 catches for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns. Already a record-setting freshman, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his inaugural campaign in Columbus.

With his performance, Smith became the 20th player in history to record 2+ receiving touchdowns in a Playoff game. He’s the first player to accomplish the feat since Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in the 2023 national championship game at the end of the 2022 season.

TreVeyon Henderson looms as major X factor

TreVeyon Henderson has been a dynamic running back throughout his Buckeye career, averaging over 6 yards per carry across his 4 seasons. Unfortunately, the star RB juggled injuries throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and that had an impact on his individual performance and the effectiveness of Ohio State’s offense.

Most notably, Henderson was unable to suit up in a 2022 Peach Bowl matchup vs. Georgia. The Buckeyes would rush for just 119 yards (34 coming from QB CJ Stroud) in a 1-point loss in heartbreaking fashion.

There’s no use wondering what could have been, but what is important is that Henderson stayed healthy throughout 2024 after the arrival of Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss. That allowed Henderson to hit the ground running in the Playoff.

Against the Vols, Henderson delivered 80 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns while averaging 8 yards per carry. He also recorded 54 receiving yards to eclipse 130 yards of offense for the Buckeyes.

That’s the kind of impact that has been missing from Ohio State in some of the recent Playoff defeats, and it has to have the Buckeyes excited after the first-round win over Tennessee. Even with a banged-up offensive line, all Henderson needs is a sliver of space to break free and change a game in an instant.

Henderson was equally efficient against Oregon, Ohio State’s quarterfinal opponent, earlier in the season with 87 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns in Eugene. Look for him to play another big role in the Rose Bowl.

Rematch in Pasadena

With the win, Ohio State has secured its shot at a rematch against Oregon in the Rose Bowl. The midseason matchup between the two sides was arguably the best game of the college football season, and the encore should be special.

Facing the Ducks in Eugene, the two sides battled it out in a game that truly came down the wire. Ohio State ran out of time at the end in a 32-31 defeat with Oregon catapulting to the top of the Big Ten with the win.

Ohio State and Oregon have been among the national title favorites all season long, and many expected the two sides to meet again to decide the Big Ten Championship. While the Buckeyes didn’t hold up their end of the bargain in the regular season, fans will once again get to witness Dan Lanning and Ryan Day duke it out.

And, at this point in the process, it’s fair to wonder if the winner of the Rose Bowl will be the favorite to finish out the Playoff as the national champs. The winner will advance to face the winner of Texas vs. Arizona State in a semifinal matchup. Game on.