Dwayne Haskins threw three first-half touchdown passes to lead the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes to a 28-23 victory against No. 9 Washington on Tuesday in the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State won despite being outscored 20-0 in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes finished 13-1. It's their best record since a 14-1 mark in 2014 when they won the national championship.
This was the final game with the Buckeyes for coach Urban Meyer, whose offensive coordinator Ryan Day will take over the program starting Wednesday. Meyer closed his coaching career at Ohio State with an 83-9 record in seven seasons. This was his first appearance in the Rose Bowl and Ohio State's first since Jan. 1, 2010, when they beat Oregon 26-17.
“I’m going to enjoy tonight,” Meyer said on ESPN after the game. “I don’t believe I’ll coach again.”
Haskins completed 25 of 37 passes for 251 yards. Mike Weber led the ground game with 96 yards on 15 carries. Parris Campbell caught 11 passes for 71 yards.
The Buckeyes led 28-3 entering the fourth quarter. The Huskies got their first touchdown on a 2-yard pass from running back Myles Gaskin to Drew Sample with 12:17 to play and then cut the deficit to 28-17 on a 1-yard run by Gaskin with 6:42 left.
Gaskin scored again on a 2-yard run with 42 seconds to play. A two-point conversion pass was intercepted.
The Buckeyes clinched the victory moments later when Johnnie Dixon recovered an onside kick. Meyer pumped his fists in the air and took off his headset, and Haskins kneed on the ball as the clock wound down.
Earlier in the third quarter, the Buckeyes picked up where they left off after a dominant first half.
After stopping Washington’s opening drive, Ohio State drove 80 yards in seven plays for its fourth touchdown of the afternoon.
J.K. Dobbins’ 3-yard touchdown run was set up by K.J. Hill’s diving 34-yard reception of a rainbow throw from Dwayne Haskins.
That gave Ohio State a 28-3 lead with 8:23 to go in the third quarter.
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