Ohio
Ohio State's blowout win over Tennessee sets up epic Oregon rematch. It's just a shame it's happening in the quarterfinals
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Are you not entertained?
No, you’re probably not.
Four College Football Playoff first-round games, four outcomes by at least two scores. Two of those were outright blowouts (in State College and Columbus), a third was a dud made closer with two late touchdowns (in South Bend) and a fourth in Austin featured our only suspenseful fourth-quarter moments (thank you, Clemson).
Here in Columbus, the Buckeyes left us wondering a couple of things after a 42-17 drubbing of Tennessee:
Why couldn’t they do this against Michigan?
Are they back to being the favorites to win it all?
Perhaps, they are! After all, no other college roster is more talented, as they reminded us Saturday night in capping college football’s first-ever slew of on-campus playoff games.
Let’s take a look at how ugly this got so quickly. Ohio State’s first punt came with four minutes left in the second quarter. Tennessee’s first pass completion came six minutes into the second quarter. Suddenly, it was 21-0 and the more than 25,000 Tennessee fans who made the journey north were left angry and shivering in wind chills of below 20 degrees.
The Buckeyes (11-2) showed what they can do when they’re cooking and, boy, were they cooking. By cooking, we mean targeting two of the most explosive and talented receivers in the country. Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka tore through the Vols for 11 catches and nearly 200 yards.
Toss in an Ohio State defensive front that swarmed first-year starter Nico Iamaleava and the Buckeyes were well on their way to a win that should lower the heat on the Ryan Day Pressure Cooker, from boiling to less boiling. Afterward, even Day acknowledged that he and the coaching staff called Saturday’s game “more aggressively” than that last outing here against Michigan.
“You’re defined by the way you handle adversity in life,” he said. “To see the way they responded, they had a look in their eye.”
Up next: a rematch against Big Ten champion Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day — a glorious matchup of a team with college football’s best resume against a team with college football’s most talented roster.
Last time they met, back in October, the Ducks won 32-31 on a last-second finish in a thriller in Eugene. Whether these two should be meeting again so early in a 12-team playoff is certainly a question worth pondering.
But, alas, that’s what the format giveth. Instead of seeding teams based on the CFP selection committee’s rankings, the format calls for the four highest-ranked conference champions to be seeded Nos. 1-4 — a rule that, while understandable as an incentive for league champs, creates unbalanced seeding.
For instance, the committee’s No. 6-ranked team, Ohio State, was seeded eighth and now is pitted against the top seed in the quarterfinals. Look for the format to undergo changes, potentially starting with this very seeding rule that grants byes to only conference champions, as explained in this story last week.
But back to those blowouts.
The ACC got knocked out in the first round, its champion downed by the SEC’s runner-up and its runner-up crushed by the Big Ten’s runner-up (if you’re debating conference strength, those results should be helpful). The Big Ten’s third-best team took down the SEC’s third-best team in Columbus. And Notre Dame quite easily handled the Big Ten’s fourth-best team.
In all, the winners scored 145 points and the losers 68. All higher seeds and home teams won.
Chalk, is what they call it.
This doesn’t necessarily mean these teams — SMU and Indiana, in particular — should have missed the playoff field. Perhaps it only means that, in college football at least this year, the separation between those great teams and those good teams is a wider gap than we first realized.
This isn’t completely new. Don’t you remember all those CFP semifinals the last decade? Fourteen of the 20 semifinal matchups resulted in outcomes of at least two scores. Eight of those were at least three-touchdown blowouts.
It happens.
But what it does tell us, as someone here in the Ohio Stadium press box whispered to this writer, “Maybe this will show everyone that we shouldn’t expand anymore.”
Fourteen teams? Sixteen?
Maybe not.
And it’s now up to Boise State and Arizona State to prevent a nightmare for many college football fans and stakeholders: an All-SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame semifinal.
The Sun Devils meet Texas in the Peach Bowl, and the Broncos tangle with Penn State in the Fiesta. Boise State and ASU were ranked No. 9 and No. 12 by the committee but got the third and fourth seeds because of that pesky conference title rule we earlier mentioned.
Can they deliver? As underdogs against the sport’s big brands, they’ll have plenty across the country rooting for them.
Meanwhile, in Pasadena, we’ll get what many expected in the preseason to maybe be a national title game matchup: Oregon vs. Ohio State.
It’s a mouthwatering duel, backdropped by the sunset over the San Gabriel Mountains. In fact, as midnight struck here in Columbus, Rose Bowl officials readied dozens of single cut roses to be handed to Ohio State players and coaches.
What a difference that three weeks makes, huh? The last game here ended in an embarrassing midfield flag-planting brawl and a shocking loss to three-touchdown underdog Michigan — a fourth consecutive defeat to the Wolverines in this heated rivalry series and one that seemed to turn off some fans here.
“You don’t just move on from the game,” Day said. “You identify the issues and let the players speak. You put a plan together to get these things fixed. To say it doesn’t weigh on you, it does. These guys have a lot of pride.”
Despite efforts from Ohio State administrators, many Buckeyes fans sold away their tickets to this playoff bout. Visiting teams get 3,500 tickets to CFP first-round games. The Vols brought at least 25,000 strong, peppering this 102,000-seat stadium in orange. It was more visiting fans than some long-time Ohio State reporters had ever seen in this venue.
By the start of the fourth quarter, many of them were gone, exiting into the chilly night for the jaunt down Interstate 71 having suffered what was the ugliest of the first-round blowouts. After all, OSU out-gained Tennessee 473-256 in yards and played its third-string — third-string — quarterback in the final minutes.
As a final goodbye on this cold Saturday night, Ohio State stadium operators played over the speakers a familiar refrain for those in orange: Rocky Top.
Back to Tennessee they went. And off to L.A. go the Buckeyes, deliverers of the most crushing win of this historic weekend in the sport.
Ohio
Car flipped, police investigating scene in Boardman
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) — A heavy police presence could be seen near Meadowbrook Avenue and Market Street in Boardman after one vehicle flipped on its roof Saturday evening
It happened a little before 7:30 p.m. on Market Street, right at the Meadowbrook Avenue intersection.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, multiple people involved have been taken into custody.
Large police presences were also at the corner of Southern Boulevard and Meadowbrook Avenue, and at the intersection of Indianola Avenue and Market Street.
Our crew is on the scene, but right now we’re unsure if there are any injuries or how the crash happened.
The intersection is currently blocked off while crews work.
The crash is under investigation.
No other information has been given at this time.
Dominic O’Brien contributed to this report.
Ohio
Ohio’s first mountain coaster coming to Hocking Hills
HOCKING HILLS, Ohio (WJW) — Visitors to Hocking Hills will soon have an opportunity to experience the beauty of southeastern Ohio in a whole new way.
Jake Ryan is one of the visionaries behind the Hocking Hills Mountain Coaster, a brand new attraction set to open next year.
According to Ryan, the coaster will feature 3,640 feet of track that will bob and weave through the trees at speeds up to 26 miles per hour, allowing riders to view Hocking Hills through a completely different lens.
Crews will break ground on the project August 1.
“We are so proud to bring this to the Hocking Hills community. This isn’t just for the tourists who visit this incredible area, it’s for the local community too, and we truly believe it’s going to be a blessing for everyone in the region,” Ryan wrote on social media, announcing the project and sharing a video rendering of what’s to come.
Ryan, who also manages more than two dozen cabins in the Hocking Hills area, told Fox 8 News visitors to the scenic region often share feedback about their stay, and one thing they always seem to ask for is more attractions.
Though rich with hiking trails, waterfalls, caves to explore and more, Ryan said he is filling a gap in the area with the creation of the Hocking Hills Mountain Coaster.
“It is definitely a need for the area based on feedback we get directly from guests we’re hosting,” Ryan said.
After looking across the country for different ideas and inspiration, Ryan said an alpine coaster – popular in areas like Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains – made the most sense in terms of giving visitors a unique, fun adventure they wouldn’t get anywhere else in the state.
“There’s nothing like it in Ohio,” Ryan told Fox 8. “It is a completely different experience.”

The project should be complete by late winter 2026 or early spring 2027.
Along with the coaster, Ryan said a 5,000 square foot commercial building will also be constructed to house a gift shop, merchandise and activities for the whole family.
Ohio
Has there been an explosion of chipmunks this year? Yes. Here’s why
CANTON ‒ If you have been seeing more chipmunks near your yards and gardens this year, you aren’t alone.
And it was expected, says the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
“2025 was an exceptionally hard mast year for trees in Ohio which means a surplus in food for small rodents like chipmunks,” said Monika Bowman, wildlife communications specialist for the state agency. “More food leads to more chipmunks in a cyclical nature that we expect to see.”
A mast year is when trees and other plants, such as oak drop more acorns and other seeds, which are a main source of food for chipmunks.
Chipmunks also reproduce twice a year.
“Unlike some other small rodents, chipmunks have two mating seasons,” Bowman said. “We’re coming up on the second one at the beginning of summer, so more chipmunks would be in gardens to prepare.”
Chipmunks can damage homes and gardens. They love to burrow in mulch and under logs, said Curtis Daye of Canton-based Day & Night Pest Control.
“The best thing to do to prevent animals like chipmunks from getting into your yard is to get it treated early with granular deterrents,” Daye said. “It’s safer for the yard and the chipmunks, too.”
These deterrents include plant-based remedies like peppermint and capsaicin, which can also be used to prevent chipmunks in your yard if getting it treated isn’t an option.
Chipmunks love birdseed
One food that really attracts chipmunks is birdseed.
“They really love birdseed. Chipmunks see it and say, ‘Thanks for the buffet,’” Bowman said.
Interestingly though, birds don’t need birdseed to feed on during the summer months as they can consume insects and native plants, “but if you are going to use it, add in a spicy mix to prevent chipmunks from eating it, too,” Bowman recommended.
ODNR also suggested using birdhouses on metal posts that chipmunks can’t climb.
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