The most impressive performance of the first weekend of the College Football Playoff came from Ohio State. The No. 8-seeded Buckeyes welcomed No. 9-seed Tennessee to Columbus and blew its doors off in a stunning 42-17 blowout that just about nobody saw coming.

In the process of getting Ohio State out to that huge lead, quarterback Will Howard had one of his best games of the season. Howard was firing rockets all over the field on Saturday night, finding star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka whenever he looked in their direction and torching the Tennessee secondary on his way to a convincing win and a spot in the Rose Bowl against Oregon.

After Ohio State took home the win, Howard trolled Tennessee and their fans with a savage caption on Instagram.

“When people ask you what happened here, tell them the North remembers. Tell them Winter came for the Volunteers,” Howard wrote. “See y’all in Pasadena 🌹”

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Howard's caption is a reference to the TV show Game of Thrones and the Tennessee fans' attempt to invade Columbus and turn The Shoe into “Neyland North.” There were, in fact, a ton of Tennessee fans at the game, which was a stunning sight for anybody who has watched a lot of Ohio State football, but the road presence in the crowd didn't deter the Buckeyes.

Howard's final stat line on the day was a stellar one. He finished the game 24-for-29 with 311 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. The Ohio State signal caller's final QBR, rated out of 100, was 98.8, ranking as one of the best games that a quarterback could possibly have.

Howard found Jeremiah Smith early and often in this one, and the strategy worked wonders for the Ohio State offense. Smith finished with six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns and was a true game-breaker on the outside for Chip Kelly's offense.

If Howard and Smith can take that connection out to Pasadena, this Ohio State team will be a handful in a rematch of one of the games of the year against Oregon. The Buckeyes will have to bring their best to knock off the undefeated Ducks.