COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State came out swinging. Tennessee withstood the blows and showed some life, but in the end the Vols' College Football Playoff debut ended in defeat.

Nine-seed Tennessee spent much of Saturday night at frigid Ohio Stadium digging itself out of a hole after the 8-seed Buckeyes took a three-score lead in the first quarter. Injuries piled up and made the Vols' climb even more daunting, leading to a 42-17 season-ending loss.

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The Buckeyes will play No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl in the playoff quarterfinals on New Year's Day.

The tone was set early. Nico Iamaleava, who had little time to establish any kind of rhythm, didn't complete a pass in a first quarter where Tennessee (10-3) totaled just 16 yards to Ohio State's 200-plus.

Will Howard, meanwhile had no such problems. The Buckeyes' (11-2) quarterback was given plenty of time to pick a part the Vols' secondary, leading to a three-score lead in the first 15 minutes and Tennessee never recovered.

Howard finally showed signs of mortality when one of his early second quarter passes to the end zone was intercepted by Will Brooks--the first sign of resistance. The turnover resulted in points and for a quarter, Tennessee built on it and hung around, trailing by two possessions at the half.

The Vols couldn't sustain it, though and injuries that limited record-breaking running back Dylan Sampson and sidelined Squirrel White and Dont'e Thronton Jr. to thin out a wide receivers room already short on depth, made their chances of a comeback even slimmer.

It's hard to say how much of an impact they would have made had they played the whole game. Iamaleava spent much of the night on the run, rushing for 20 times for 47 yards and both of Tennessee's touchdowns. He was sacked four times and finished 14-of-31 passing for 104 yards.

The Vols' once reliable defense, who had carried them to their first-ever playoff berth, gave up 4yards of total offense. Howard passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

FIRST QUARTER

Ohio State - 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:14 (time of possession)

Tennessee appeared to have Ohio State stopped on its opening drive as Bryson Eason brought Will Howard to the turf on third-and-2 from the Buckeyes' own 23. But Eason grabbed Howard's facemask and a 15-yard penalty extended the drive. Three plays later, Howard hooked up with Jeremiah Smith for a 37-yard score to take an early lead with 12:46 left in the quarter.

Ohio State 7, Tennessee 0

Ohio State - 5 plays, 68 yards, 2:39

Tennessee was unable to match Ohio State's start when it got the ball for the first time. The Vols went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Buckeyes. Howard went deep on the third play of their second drive to Emeka Egbuka for a 40-yard gain to the Tennessee 5. A couple of plays after, Quinshon Judkins punched it in on a 1-yard run to extend the lead with just over eight minutes to go in the quarter.

Ohio State 14, Tennessee 0

Ohio State - 7 plays, 58 yards, 3:22

Another Tennessee possession ended quickly after Nico Iamaleava was sacked back to the doorstep of his own endzone. With the ball back in his hands, Howard moved Ohio State down field again and TreVeyon Henderson took a handoff, caught the sideline and rushed for a 30-yard score with 3:27 remaining in the quarter.

Ohio State 21, Tennessee 0

SECOND QUARTER

Tennessee - 9 plays, 62 yards, 3:23

Ohio State was on the cusp of going up four scores early in the second quarter. Inside the Tennessee 30 yard-line, Howard tried to go to Smith in the end zone for the potential knockout blow, but Arion Carter deflected the pass and Will Brooks snagged the ball, getting a foot down before fall out of bounds and ending a Buckeyes' drive without points for the first time. The Vols' took advantage of the takeaway, putting together their best drive of the game to that point before settling on a Max Gilbert 36-yard field goal with 6:39 left in the quarter.

Ohio State 21, Tennessee 3

Tennessee - 16 plays, 79 yards, 4:03

Tennessee's defense appeared to have settled in midway through the second quarter. After Brooks' interception that led to a score, the Vols forced an Ohio State three-and-out for the first time and then came their best offensive drive. Tennessee leaned heavily on Nico Iamaleava's legs as rushed six times, including a 2-yard run for the Vols' first touchdown to trim the Buckeyes' lead just before halftime.

Ohio State 21, Tennessee 10

THIRD QUARTER

Ohio State - 6 plays, 65 yards, 3:14

Tennessee had seemingly snatched the momentum back in the second quarter, but halftime brought more bad news than good. Three of the Vols' biggest contributors were listed as questionable the rest of the way and the offense stalled on a critical drive to open the third quarter. Ohio State, meanwhile started the second half like it started the first, with Howard throwing a scoring strike to Smith for the second time, and this time for a 22-yard touchdown.

Ohio State 28, Tennessee 10

Ohio State - 9 plays, 81 yards, 4:46

Tennessee's offensive woes continued and it was unable to find any of the success it had in the second quarter. Another drive that ended in a punt allowed Ohio State to stretch its lead late in the third, a lengthy 81-yard drive that ate up nearly five minutes of clock and ended with Judkins' second touchdown run.

Ohio State 35, Tennessee 10

FOURTH QUARTER

Ohio State - 5 plays, 39 yards, 2:26

Tennessee, desperately trying to keep itself in the game, even if the window of opportunity had all but closed, were unable to convert on fourth down on its own side of the field. Ohio State was a given a short field as a result and scored in five plays. In a play that summed up the night for the Vols, Henderson broke away from defenders that met him in the backfield and found enough space for a 24-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State 42, Tennessee 10

Tennessee - 9 plays, 73 yards, 3:19

It was too little and far too late, but Tennessee scored again with less than two minutes left in the fourth. Iamaleava rushed for his second touchdown--this one a 2-yard run with 1:56 to go.

Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17

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