Ohio State Football: Buckeyes crush Trojans in Cotton Bowl

Ohio State football crushed Southern Cal in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, proving once and for all they belong in the conversation of the nation’s top teams.

More: Complete 2017-2018 bowl schedule

The consolation prize for landing outside the top four of the final College Football Playoff rankings for both Ohio State and USC was a Cotton Bowl pairing against each other. These teams came close to a Playoff berth, but neither managed a crisp enough season to crack the top four.

Ohio State’s blemish was a 31-point loss to unranked Iowa on the road. USC too fell by 31-points on the road but to No. 13 Notre Dame which seemed more understandable at the time. However, both schools still finished with two losses. There has never been a 2-loss team selected for the College Football Playoff, and that is still true following this season.

J.T. Barrett kicked off the scoring for Ohio State with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarterback. That began a 24-0 run for the Buckeyes which was only halted by a muffed punt which set USC up in the red zone to score a relatively easy touchdown before the half.

USC was unable to overcome their 24-7 halftime deficit. Neither team cracked the scoreboard in the second half. That meant Ohio State was able to close out the victory over USC by that same 24-7 margin. Here are three takeaways from the Buckeye’s victory over the Trojans.