Ezekiel Elliott was the difference in the National Championship Game Monday as he rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries in Ohio State’s 42-20 win over Oregon.
Elliott, a sophomore from Saint Louis, was a man among boys on the field, reminding us of Maurice Clarett in the national title game against Miami. He showed great moves like on his 33-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and then he showed his power on some of his shorter runs. It was more of the brilliance we saw from him against Alabama.
The Buckeyes quickly realized that Elliott was too much for Oregon and kept feeding him the ball. His 36 attempts, 246 yards and four touchdowns were all career high marks.
Elliott finished the season with 17 touchdown runs including nine over the past four games. He rushed for over 200 yards in each of the team’s last three games.
Ohio State really showed how good they were over the past three games as they beat Wisconsin 59-0 in the conference championship game, the SEC champions Alabama in the semifinals and then the Pac-12 champion Oregon Ducks in the title game.
