The Buckeyes were seen by many as college football’s best team this year until they suffered a 32-31 loss to the Ducks in Eugene on Oct. 12. Up until then, Ohio State had been the dominant team it was supposed to be, blowing out each of its first five opponents by at least 28 points. But the loss to Oregon created doubt about the Buckeyes, particularly on the defensive side of the ball after they allowed 496 yards to the Ducks in that game.

The uncertainty surrounding the Buckeyes created by that loss never fully dissipated in the second half of the regular season before they reached a fever pitch when Ohio State suffered a 13-10 loss to Michigan in its regular-season finale. At that point, the questions that had surfaced on the defensive side of the ball against Oregon were fully replaced by concerns about the Buckeyes’ offensive struggles against the Wolverines behind an injury-riddled offensive line. But even though Ohio State’s defense had reemerged as the nation’s best unit by that point, there was more talk about the possibility of Ryan Day being fired than there was about the potential for the Buckeyes to win it all in the weeks leading up to Ohio State’s first-round College Football Playoff game against Tennessee.

Ohio State started to turn doubters back into believers as they rolled to a 42-17 win over the Volunteers, but Wednesday’s game against the Ducks was expected to be a significantly tougher test. Considering the result of the first game between the two teams and the fact that the Ducks entered the Rose Bowl as the No. 1 seed in the CFP and the only undefeated team in college football, Ohio State was expected to be in for a war even though it entered the game as a 2.5-point betting favorite.

Instead, Ohio State left Oregon in the dust as it raced out to a 34-0 first-half lead before finishing with a 41-21 victory.

Even though it was just a quarterfinal, Ohio State vs. Oregon was viewed by many as a clash of the top two remaining teams in the CFP. Even if the game had been decided by one point, it’s likely whoever won would have ended the night as the betting favorite to win it all. But Ohio State’s emphatically dominant performance made it hard to envision anyone beating the Buckeyes if they continue to play the way they have in their first two CFP games.

Ohio State’s offense was electric for the second game in a row as the Buckeyes played to their strengths, getting the ball into the hands of their top playmakers early and often. Will Howard had his second 300-yard passing performance in as many CFP games while Jeremiah Smith continued his rise to superstardom with a seven-catch, 187-yard, two-touchdown performance. The Buckeyes’ offensive line stepped up once again, allowing zero sacks against an Oregon defense that had 40 sacks in 13 games going into the Rose Bowl.

The defense, meanwhile, continued to assert itself as the best in the country with a far better performance in its second duel with the Ducks than the first time around. Ohio State held Oregon to 220 fewer yards in Pasadena than it did in Eugene, as its run defense and pass rush combined to hold the Ducks to a net loss of 23 rushing yards with its defensive line sacking Dillon Gabriel eight times after failing to record a single sack against Oregon in October.

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State is now the popular choice to win the national championship, holding +125 odds to win the CFP on FanDuel. Texas, the team Ohio State will meet in the CFP semifinals, is the second-most popular choice to win it all with +300 odds – but the Buckeyes are a 5.5-point favorite to beat the Longhorns even though Texas will be playing in its own backyard in the Cotton Bowl.

As impressive as Ohio State’s win over Oregon was, the Buckeyes’ Rose Bowl celebrations came with the caveat that they aren’t satisfied with what they’ve accomplished so far. As was the case when the season began, anything less than a national championship will be seen as a disappointment – even moreso now with how well they’ve shown they can play in their first two CFP games – so they said after the game that they would quickly turn the page to preparing for the next round.

“We’re far from done,” Ryan Day said. “We’re not staying the night. We’re getting back on the plane, heading back to Columbus. We’ll get some rest and then we’ll focus on Texas.”

That said, numerous Buckeyes told reporters after the game that their expectation based on the way they’ve played so far in the CFP is to win it all.

“We’ve all seen it, we know what we have on this team. We know we can win it all if we put our heads to it and just execute,” said Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. “When we execute, good things happen.”

In the last two games, the Buckeyes have looked to be the team they were expected to be all year, and they feel as though everything has started to come together. But they know they still have to prove it two more times to achieve their ultimate goal.

“We still have a lot to prove, and we still got a lot left in the tank, and it’s a matter of just staying focused and understanding that we got two more left,” Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke said.