Ohio State is the best team left in the College Football Playoff — and it's not close

As the quarterfinal round of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff came to a close, there was one overarching theme: this was a lot of fun!

Penn State kicked off the quarterfinal round with an impressive 31-14 victory over Boise State in which they held Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty to a season-low 104 rushing yards on 30 carries, an average of just 3.5 yards per carry. Jeanty finished 27 yards shy of Barry Sanders' FBS single-season rushing yards thanks to a brilliant defensive performance by the Nittany Lions.

New Year's Day kicked off with a double-overtime thriller between Texas and Arizona State in which Quinn Ewers connected with Matthew Golden for a memorable 28-yard touchdown throw on fourth-and-13 to force a second overtime. Then, it was Andrew Mukubah who secured a game-winning interception to secure the victory for the Longhorns.

The nightcap featured a dominant showing by Ohio State freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who torched Oregon's defense with seven receptions for a season-high 187 yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns of 45 and 43 yards. The Buckeyes ended the Ducks' perfect season after losing to Oregon, 32-31, in the regular season.

Then in the final game of the quarterfinal round, Riley Leonard and Notre Dame put together a memorable performance to defeat Georgia, 23-10, in the Sugar Bowl. The victory came in the wake of a deadly terror attack in New Orleans early Wednesday, which is when the game was scheduled to be played. This led to the first postponent of a Sugar Bowl in its history.

With that, here is a look at my top takeaways from the CFP quarterfinal round.

1. Ohio State is the best team left in the College Football Playoff, and it's not close.

Did you know that Purdue didn't win a single game against an FBS opponent in 2024? Did you know Ohio State led Purdue by 21 at halftime of its 45-0 railroading of the Boilermakers?

Did you know Oregon did not lose a single game in 2024? Did you know Ohio State led Oregon by 26 at halftime and made certain the Ducks lost their first game of the season, 41-24, at the Rose Bowl.

Well, now you know. 

You know how to measure the turn for the Buckeyes, from simply a desire to win to becoming desperate to win. And that's what you need to remember.

You can forget about Buckeye phenom Jeremiah Smith breaking Cris Carter's freshman record for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, or that he has turned into Thanos with his hand snug in the Infinity Gauntlet in possession of all five gems.

Remember that he warned you, Oregon.

Forget that Will Howard forgot the clock was against him at Autzen Stadium or that he became the third Ohio State quarterback in four years to lose to Michigan. Forget those calling for his benching.

Remember that he torched Tennessee and Oregon, throwing for 300-plus yards in each game while totaling five touchdowns and just one interception throughout the postseason.

Forget about the calls for Ryan Day to be fired. Forget that he took the best team he could muster into the fight for four consecutive years and has not made it beyond this point.

Remember, he and his team vanquished the Vols and laid waste to the last undefeated team in the sport in a win that has forced us all to react with but one question: Who is left that can stop the Buckeyes?

Ohio State doesn't have a Heisman finalist. The Buckeyes don't have a Broyles Award finalist. They didn't win a Big Ten title, and they aren't undefeated.

This team is two wins away from the biggest prize in college football.

Like Odysseus, after the Greeks won the Trojan War, the Buckeyes still must make it home. The ships that didn't crash, they burned. The only way home to their queen, to their family, to stave off the suitors and sackers, posers and pundits, to your beloved city, is to take the crown. Ohio State is a team of men who can't go home without winning it all, knowing the only way is through. And that's enough.

2. We're two wins away from an All-Big Ten national championship game between Ohio State and Penn State. 

While this would be fun, I have my reservations because Penn State still hasn't beat anybody. After losing to both Ohio State and Oregon during the regular season, and falling again to the Ducks in the Big Ten title game, Penn State got the door prize of playing two teams who were Group of 5 members in 2023 and played one of them at home.

Given that Oregon beat both Ohio State and Penn State, the No. 1 seed wasn't worth the bracket it was printed on. Now, James Franklin's team will face a top-five team for only the third time this season. And yes, Franklin will once again be asked if his team can beat a squad fit to win the national title, not one that has never accomplished such a feat, like SMU or Boise State. 

Many believe Penn State's only path to the semifinals was the one it took. Now it's time to ruminate upon that and show the world what you're made of in the Orange Bowl.

Are you as hard as you claim to be?

3. Texas better fight.

The Longhorns have forgotten how to run the football, and that memory loss nearly cost them a chance to play in the CFP semifinals. Against Arizona State, they rushed for just 53 yards after rushing for 292 against Clemson. But apparently the Sun Devils learned from film review of Texas' only losses this season — each to Georgia — where Steve Sarkisian's sleight-of-hand-offense rushed for just 29 and 31 yards, respectively.

If not for Quinn Ewers' heroics in the final minutes of the game and two overtime periods, Texas would've squandered its double-digit lead against a team it was earmarked by many outside of Phoenix to beat.

Against Ohio State, which is playing the best football of any team this postseason, the Longhorns will have to play at a level they've not reached in over a month. And even that might not be enough. 

Meanwhile, the Longhorns are the SEC's only hope of winning a national title thanks to Georgia's loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

4. CFP seeding will have to change.

With Georgia's loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, all four top seeds (Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State) fell in the quarterfinal round of the first-ever 12-team CFP. This also means that only one SEC team, Texas, made the CFP semifinals, and it isn't even the highest-seeded team from the conference. 

Changes will be made to avoid such an outcome in the future. But, goodness, this was fun.

5. We get to do this again this year, and the sport is better for it.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him at @RJ_Young.

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