It was a dominating win for the Ohio State football team over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night, 42-17, as they advance in the College Football Playoff, set for a rematch against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks. As the Ohio State football team looks to build off the huge win, quarterback Will Howard spoke about preparing to face the Ducks once again on an even bigger stage.

In the game, Howard would throw for 311 yards to go along with two touchdown passes and one interception in what was no doubt an impressive performance in the first round. He wouldn't hesitate to say he is “excited” for the rematch according to ESPN as the last time they faced off, Oregon won a close one, 32-31, on Oct. 12.

“Yeah, I'm excited, man,” Howard said. “It's going to be a heck of an opportunity for all of us. We've all been looking forward to this one and for another crack at [those] guys. The way that last one ended doesn't sit right with me. It still bugs me.”

“We did a hell of a job not letting off the gas,” Howard continued. “We could've let that become a game. Being able to keep the foot on the pedal was huge.”

Ohio State football's Ryan Day shares how “proud” he is of the team

Ohio State Buckeyes running back Quinshon Judkins (1) celebrates with quarterback Will Howard (18) after a touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of a College Football Playoff first round game at Ohio Stadium.
Adam Cairns-Imagn Images

It would also be a good win for Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day as after the win over the Volunteers, it would mark his first victory over an SEC team with the Buckeyes. He would say after the game to the media how he was “proud” of how the team played since they ended the regular season on a sour note, losing to Michigan.

“Proud of the way they responded,” Day said. “You could tell from the jump they had a look in their eye that they were going to win this game.”

It was a great outing especially for the Buckeye's defense as they would not let opposing Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava complete a pass until 9:36 left in the second quarter. By that point, Ohio State was already up 21-0, which was the beginning of the end for the Volunteers.

“These guys have a lot of pride,” Day said. “I think this said a lot about who our guys are to be able to respond like that in a big way.”

There were no doubt a ton of expectations for the Ohio State football team at the beginning of the season, but the road to the national championship will be tough with the Ducks on the horizon. Though, Day would talk about what led to the dominating win according to Chase Brown.

“We called this game more aggressively,” Day said. “There's no question about that. But also, I think we did some things in this game that maximized what we have in terms of our strengths and minimized our deficiencies. Not that everything was perfect in this game. It wasn't. But I do think — I also thought Will was excellent in this game. Played really well. Did a really good job of placing the ball. He made some big-time throws. When he needed to make plays with his legs, he did. Certainly, Jeremiah (Smith) was dynamite again. But Will was a leader.”

The Ohio State Buckeyes face Oregon on Jan. 1.