Season Savers, Play-Calling Geniuses and Dirty Dogs: Fifteen Superlatives From Ohio State's CFP Championship Run

By Andy Anders on May 22, 2025 at 2:33 pm
Donovan Jackson
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There are many words to describe the heroics of Ohio State's players through the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff national championship run.

Legends were written in four CFP wins over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame, ones that will be told for generations. A four-game run that is as of yet unprecedented in college football lore is going to have such tales.

With the trophy hoisting four months in the rearview and many of said heroes off to fulfill NFL dreams, it's worth revisiting why so many of them were so memorable. In that spirit, Eleven Warriors is handing out 15 CFP superlatives to Ohio State players.

Most Legendary Performance: Jack Sawyer

Any reflection on Sawyer’s Ohio State story is enough to make even the most stoic of Buckeye fans a little misty-eyed. The full recollection of the Pickerington, Ohio native’s career following his famed “Scoop-and-Sawyer” against Texas is worth revisiting.

Sawyer’s 4th-and-goal strip-sack of Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers and subsequent 83-yard rumble into the pages of Ohio State lore transcended him from Buckeye great to legend. Here it is once more, set to the Titanic theme:

Sawyer was a game wrecker all playoffs, collecting 4.5 sacks with 13 total tackles and a team-high seven pass breakups. He set up his 4th-and-goal heroics with a 3rd-and-goal pressure of Ewers that forced an incomplete pass.

And they were roommates.

Deadliest Weapon: Jeremiah Smith

Smith wasn’t just Ohio State’s best weapon, he was the best weapon in the College Football Playoff. He led all CFP receivers in yardage (381) and touchdowns (five), completing his freshman season with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards, 15 scores and a national championship ring.

Smith’s biggest outing came against Oregon, a seven-reception, 187-yard, two-touchdown afternoon in the Rose Bowl. Texas surrounded him with defenders and held him to one grab for 3 yards in the semifinals, but he responded with five receptions for 88 yards and a score against Notre Dame.

The last of those catches was the since-dubbed “3rd-and-Jeremiah” play, which iced the Buckeyes’ national championship victory.

Secret Play-Calling Genius: Emeka Egbuka

The man who saw such a strike to Smith would be open was the star senior wideout Egbuka, who noticed it reviewing film on a sideline tablet.

Egbuka ingeniously hauled in 21 receptions for 268 yards and a touchdown during the CFP, securing Ohio State’s career receptions record in the process.

Most Disruptive: JT Tuimoloau

Tuimoloau led the Buckeyes in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (10) during the CFP. That’s 1.63 sacks per game, a better rate than 35 entire teams posted in the 2024 season. He racked up 23 tackles in total across the four games, adding two PBUs.

A signature “S” celebration followed Tuimoloau’s sacks in the CFP in what felt like a war dance. Or, more appropriately, the Samoan Siva Tau.

@samoana80 Replying to @user9571637151325 #JTTuimoloau #Samoans #Polynesians #FYP #SForSamoa #BigS #NFL #Colts #OhioState #ForTheCulture #RepresentationMatters #Fyp #PacificIslanders original sound - Samoana

Orchestrator: Will Howard

The CFP was the full realization of a year of tutelage under Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly for Howard. His four-game CFP run was ruthlessly efficient, with a gaudy completion rate of 75.2% and 10.6 yards per pass attempt. In total, he amassed 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns in the playoffs to cap a 4,000-yard, 35-touchdown passing season. He set Ohio State’s school record for single-season completion percentage.

He distributed the ball to an array of targets, with Carnell Tate, TreVeyon Henderson and Gee Scott Jr. joining Smith and Egbuka as 100-yard receivers in the CFP. He delivered in key spots with his legs, too, none bigger than on 4th-and-2 on Ohio State’s go-ahead fourth-quarter drive against the Longhorns.

Best Trash Talker: Jermaine Mathews Jr. (feat. Tim Walton)

Shout-out to Devin Sanchez for posting this moment to his Instagram story. #B2A

Defensive Engine: Caleb Downs

Downs posted 20 tackles with a tackle for loss and an interception in the CFP, but this superlative is all about how he was utilized by Ohio State. He moved about defensive formations throughout 2024, but in the CFP especially, he played the middle of the field 10 to 12 yards off the line of scrimmage, making full use of his elite instincts, preparation and athleticism to read, react and make plays.

There were still plenty of snaps for Downs at deep safety, but his presence all around the field is a big reason why the Buckeyes’ defense was as successful as it was in the CFP. Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame averaged a measly 4.4 yards per play, 2 yards per rush attempt and 6.5 yards per pass attempt combined.

Defensive Backbone: Cody Simon

The defensive engine is the driver. The defensive backbone is the foundation, the centerpiece, the cog that holds everything together. That was Mike linebacker Simon in the CFP.

Named the defensive MVP of both the Rose Bowl and national championship game, Simon collected a team-high 38 tackles with four tackles for loss, two sacks and two pass breakups. A team captain and Ohio State’s “Block O” wearer, he quarterbacked the defense to its greatest heights and etched his name in the great lineage of Buckeye linebackers.

RELATED CFP Run Made Cody Simon an Ohio State Linebacker Legend

Mr. Momentum: TreVeyon Henderson

On three different occasions during the CFP, TreVeyon Henderson rocked opponents with big, momentous plays. The first came against Tennessee, a game Buckeye Nation entered with lots of lingering angst coming off a fourth straight loss to Michigan. All doubt was erased in the first quarter, however, as the Buckeyes left the Volunteers at the starting gate to build a 21-0 lead that opening frame. Henderson capped it all with a 30-yard touchdown run.

Henderson delivered a similar death knell as the capstone of perhaps the most momentum Ohio State has ever had in any game against Oregon, securing the iconic first-half score of 34-0 with a 66-yard race to the house. But his biggest play of the playoffs wasn’t about delivering on momentum, it was about recapturing it.

Ohio State opened the Cotton Bowl with a touchdown drive against Texas. Then, for their next four possessions, the Buckeyes punted. The defense would suppress Steve Sarkisian’s lauded offense for drive after first-half drive, the offense responded by spinning its tires – a 15-yard penalty against Henderson may have cost Ohio State a shot at scoring more points on its second possession.

Then, the Longhorns scored to tie the game 7-7 with 29 seconds left in the first half. The entire tenor of the tilt felt had shifted to Texas. Ohio State got the ball at its own 25-yard line and thoughts were that they might run the ball to take it into halftime or, at best, try a draw play or quick pass to see if it could get things rolling toward a last-second field goal. Or a screen.

Kelly chose screen. Henderson reversed the wind that had just caught Texas’ sails.

Nastiest, Stinkiest, Dirtiest Dog: Josh Fryar

Eleven Warriors cannot take credit for the name of this superlative; it instead belongs to center Carson Hinzman, who broke into an interview with Fryar to express his opinions on the man in the locker room following Ohio State’s national championship victory.

“I’m gonna stop you right there. This dude, big 7-0 the bear, is the nastiest, stinkiest, dirtiest (expletive) dog I’ve ever met in my whole life,” Hinzman exclaimed. “He’s a (expletive) champ. A national champ. A national (expletive) champ. And he’ll be a national champ forever.”

Alternatively, one could call this award “toughest.” Fryar gutted out a lower-body injury he sustained against Tennessee that pained him in all four CFP games to secure the right flank of the Buckeyes’ offensive line. It was a position group that overcame more adversity than any other for Ohio State in 2024, losing two All-American-caliber starters to season-ending injuries, and Fryar stood as its stalwart.

RELATED Josh Fryar Overcomes Injuries, Online Harassment and Heartbreak to Become Title Team’s Stalwart Right Tackle

Season Saver: Donovan Jackson

The options for Ohio State at left tackle following Josh Simmons’ Week 7 season-ending injury were detrimental to the whole of their efforts, as demonstrated in in following week’s Nebraska game. But after playing guard at an All-Big Ten level for three and a half years in Columbus, Jackson risked his draft stock to slide outside and fill a desperate need for his team.

All Jackson did was emerge as one of the nation’s best offensive tackles – again, despite never playing the position at the college level – during Ohio State’s CFP run. Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr., a first-round 2025 NFL draft pick, was held to three tackles and no sacks through Jackson and Fryar’s efforts. Equally praised edge rushers like Texas’ Colin Simmons and Oregon’s Jordan Burch and Matayo Uiagalelei shared similar zero-sack fates.

All told, Jackson allowed just two total pressures and no sacks in the CFP, per Pro Football Focus.

Freedom Fighter: Tyleik Williams

No. 91 was truly free in the CFP. He was a primary reason for Ohio State’s success defending the run, collecting 14 tackles with 2.5 TFLs in the four contests. 

Enforcer: Lathan Ransom

No Buckeye defender dished out more punishment per hit than Ransom, fitting the mold of iconic hard-hitting Ohio State strong safeties like Jack Tatum. This hit of Ducks running back Jordan James set the tone for a dominant defensive day from the Silver Bullets:

Ransom finished his CFP gauntlet with 19 bone-clattering tackles, three TFLs, a sack and a PBU, forging the second half of the nation’s best safety tandem with Downs.

Most Underrated Title Game Performance: Quinshon Judkins

Judkins scored three touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards in the CFP national championship game, and it feels like no one ever talks about it. He made the longest run in CFP title game history to start the second half:

Unsung Hero: Jordan Hancock

This is another superlative that a lot of names could fill. Fryar is a clear candidate, as is nose guard Ty Hamilton, who both excelled at positions that don’t often get a lot of love. Linebacker Sonny Styles was Ohio State’s most improved defender throughout 2024, and outside of one mistake against a wheel route that allowed a touchdown vs. Texas, he also had a fantastic CFP.

But with Downs recognized as Defensive Engine earlier in these superlatives, it is only fair to recognize the man who excelled at playing a difficult position in the background to enable Downs’ versatile role. Hancock took on a lot of deep safety responsibilities in addition to his normal nickel duties, playing 111 of his 248 defensive snaps at free safety in the CFP, per Pro Football Focus. He totaled 16 tackles with two pass breakups in the postseason.

Hancock allowed just 6.1 yards per target when he was thrown at in the CFP, a yards per pass attempt that would have ranked 128th out of college football’s 134 offenses in 2024 if it were a team’s average for the season.

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