The Ohio State Buckeyes never trailed in the 2025 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, going wire-to-wire in their 41-21 win over the Oregon Ducks.

For their efforts in the game, receiver Jeremiah Smith was named Offensive Player of the Game and linebacker Cody Simon was named Defensive Player of the Game.

Smith started the game with a bang as he scored a touchdown on the third play of the game. The freshman wide receiver caught a swing pass from quarterback Will Howard then broke a couple of tackles on his way to a 45 yard touchdown one minute into the game. Smith added a second long touchdown reception early in the second quarter. From the Ducks 43 yard line, Smith ran a route directly down the middle of the field, faked left and broke right to the corner. Howard uncorked a deep ball that found the wide-open Smith at the five yard line and he walked into the end zone. Smith finished the game with seven receptions for 187 yards and the two touchdowns. The yardage total was a record for a freshman receiver in the Rose Bowl Game and the fifth most in history of The Granddaddy of Them All. 

Simon led a Buckeye defense that held the Ducks to a season-low 276 total yards and -23 rushing yards. The rushing yard total is the lowest in Rose Bowl Game history and just the second team in the history of The Granddaddy of Them All to hold an opponent to a negative rushing total. Simon tallied a team-high 11 tackles in the game, including three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Ohio State lived in the Ducks backfield, racking up 13 tackles for loss and eight total sacks, which is the second most by a team in the history of the Rose Bowl Game.

Smith joins fellow Buckeye Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith as receivers to win Offensive Player of the Game honors in recent years. Simon is the first linebacker to with the Defensive Player of the Game award since Tommy Eichenberg won the award in 2022.