Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes National Championship Ranks Most-Watched Ever
Oregon Ducks fans had to watch the National Championship on Monday with a sour taste in their mouth knowing that their team came up two wins short of playing in the game despite a 12-0 regular season and a Big Ten title.
The team that eliminated Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl, the Ohio State Buckeyes, instead got to feel the flurry of the confetti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after holding off Notre Dame for a 34-23 win. But despite this year’s national title game being the first in the 12-team College Football Playoff era, it didn’t match the hype of the 2014 CFP National Championship when it comes to TV ratings.
That game over a decade ago marked the most recent time the Ducks have played in the national championship of college football. Unfortunately for trophy-hungry Oregon fans, the Ducks were beat by the Buckeyes who were led by third-string quarterback Cardale Jones and star running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Though their meeting in the Rose Bowl didn’t exactly live up to the hype, the two programs’ historic meeting in the inaugural CFP remains the most-watched national championship in the College Football Playoff era.
In order to make it to that game, Marcus Mariota and the No. 3-seeded Ducks had to head to the Rose Bowl to take down star quarterback Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles, who were the defending national champions.
And in a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2015 NFL Draft a few months later, Mariota got the best of Winston and the Seminoles. Oregon left little doubt in that one, using a 27-point third quarter — highlighted by a 58-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tony Washington — to cruise to a 59-20 win.
However, the Ducks were unable to build off of that dominant performance and fell short of the program’s first-ever national title once again. The Buckeyes were just too dominant, ending Oregon’s championship hopes with a 42-20 win in the title game.
Elliott finished with a historic stat line in the win, totaling 36 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns. That year’s national championship marked his third straight 200-yard game.
As for Oregon, Mariota went 24 of 37 passing for 333 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his final game as a member of the program. Former Ducks receiver Byron Marshall had eight catches for 169 yards and one touchdown.
