PASADENA, Calif. — Second-ranked Oregon scored six second-half touchdowns — five off No. 3 Florida State Seminoles’ turnovers — to turn the first college football playoff semifinal from a close game to a rout in a 59-20 Ducks victory in the 101st Rose Bowl game Thursday night.
The Ducks will play the winner of the Alabama-Ohio State semifinal, played later Thursday night in the Sugar Bowl, in the championship game on Monday, Jan. 12.
Florida State, which trailed 18-13 at the half, had the first possession in the second half and immediately put together a promising drive that took it from its own 20 to the Oregon 41. But running back Dalvin Cook, after running 10 yards, was stripped of the ball by Oregon linebacker Derrick Malone.
Five plays later, Ducks running back Royce Freeman scored from three yards out to give his team a 25-13 lead.
That was just the beginning of the end for Florida State.
Another Cook fumble would be converted by Oregon into a 30-yard touchdown pass from Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota to wide receiver Darren Carrington for a 39-20 lead.
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston then fumbled, with the ball scooped up by Oregon linebacker Tony Washington and returned 58 yards for a touchdown and a 45-20 lead with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
Winston threw an interception on the Seminoles’ next possession, which Oregon turned into a 23-yard touchdown run by Mariota to make it 52-20.
Mariota completed 26 of 36 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns. His counterpart, former Heisman winner Winston, completed 29 of 45 passes for 348 yards and one touchdown. Both were intercepted once.
Oregon running back Thomas Tyner closed the scoring with a 21-yard run that made it 59-20 with 10:19 remaining in the game. That score was made possible by another Florida State fumble, this one by receiver Jesus Wilson.
In all, Oregon scored 41 second-half points. Its 59 points set a single-season record for the Rose Bowl.
Mariota guided Oregon on touchdown drives of 73 and 75 yards in the first half, but overthrew a wide-open receiver Dwayne Stanford at the goal line with what would have capped a third scoring pass.
Mariota, who had been fortunate to have a sure interception dropped by Florida State safety Jalen Ramsey near the Seminoles’ end zone, was picked off late in the first half by defensive back Nate Andrews.
Winston guided his team on a 71-yard touchdown drive in the first half, and was lucky that an errant pass was dropped by an Oregon defender in the end zone.
Florida State opened the scoring with Roberto Aguayo’s 28-yard field goal with 9:06 left in the first quarter.
Oregon responded with Mariota moving the Ducks down the field, completing four passes and deftly pitching the ball to wide receiver Charles Nelson for a 14-yard run to the Seminoles’ 1-yard line. Two plays later, running back Royce Freeman scored on a 1-yard run. Quarterback Taylor Alie’s two-point conversion pass to linebacker Christian French gave Oregon an 8-3 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
Oregon took an 11-3 lead on Aiden Schneider’s 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter and Florida State closed to 11-6 on Aguayo’s 26-yard field goal with a little more than five minutes left in the half.
Mariota took his team 75 yards on 10 plays, with Tyner’s 1-yard run giving the Ducks an 18-6 lead.
Florida State responded immediately, driving 71 yards to a 10-yard touchdown run by running back Karlos Williams with 36 seconds left in the half to close the gap.
NOTES: Oregon held a decided edge in the game even before it started as about two-thirds of the crowd were clad in green and gold. Not surprising because the distance between Eugene, Oregon, and Pasadena, California, is 859 miles and Tallahassee, Florida, is a more than 2,200 miles away. … Despite concerns that the Rose Bowl weather would be unseasonably chilly, the temperature at kickoff was 57 degrees. … WR Devon Allen, Oregon’s second leading receiver in catches and yards, limped off the field after returning the opening kickoff. He appeared to injure an ankle and did not return to the game.