Ryan Day had the last laugh, at least on this night.

The Ohio State head coach, who’s taken a boatload of criticism the past 3 weeks since the Buckeyes went belly-up against Michigan, got to stand on the frozen field at Ohio Stadium and bask in a first-round Playoff demolition of Tennessee. The Buckeyes roared to a 21-point first-quarter lead and cruised to a 42-17 victory that sends them to the Rose Bowl and a rematch with top-seeded Oregon in the quarterfinals.

“I thought we did a nice job coming out for the 2nd half of winning those first 4 minutes,” Day said in the postgame interview on ABC. “The defense did a good job getting a stop, we came down and scored, (and) that got us going in the 2nd half.”

Day wasn’t lulled to sleep by his team’s fast start. He knew there was a lot more work to do.

“I know we got out to a fast start, but I’m proud of these guys to be able to finish for these seniors,” he said. “Their last game in Ohio Stadium, to get a win like this, it goes a long way for these guys. I’m proud of them.”

Now, Day and the Buckeyes can look forward, or west to be precise, and that rematch with the Ducks in Pasadena.

“These are great guys, they really are. And we’ve got a lot of football ahead of us, and we want to keep this team together,” he said. “It’s a great group. We’re going to enjoy this for about 24 hours, then it’s on to Oregon.”