This time, Ohio State left no doubt.

The No. 8 seed Buckeyes, with their one-point October loss to No. 1 seed Oregon still on their minds, rose to the occasion and bludgeoned the undefeated Oregon Ducks 41-21 at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, avenging that loss and advancing to a College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 5 seed Texas.

“After that game, we had a bad taste in our mouth,” Ohio State freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith said. “We just had to come in the next day and see what were the issues, fix the issues, and get on the field and work it. Offensively, we had to get the ball to the perimeter, take shots, and just win our one-on-one matchups. That’s what we did.”

Smith set the tone for the Buckeyes on the third play of the game. On second and 10, he took a pass in the backfield off a motion, cut up the field, made the Ducks’ safeties miss as they dove at his ankles and walked into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.

Two possessions later, Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard stood tall in the pocket and threw a 42-yard dart just out of reach of Oregon’s Brandon Johnson and into the hands of receiver Emeka Egbuka for Ohio State’s second touchdown. Both early scoring drives spanned one minute.

Howard finished 17 for 26 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, building on his 311-yard, two-touchdown performance in the first-round win over Tennessee.

Smith said the receivers tell Howard during practice to “just throw it out there” and they’ll make a play on the ball, regardless of whether it’s considered a bad throw.

“Will does a great job in practice just trusting us, just throwing the ball out there,” Smith said. “We gotta make our quarterback look good. But Will plays on that confidence that he has, just being a leader out there. I feed off his energy. … I love Will to death and I’ll do anything for him.”

The Ohio State defense matched the offense’s intensity, smothering Oregon’s run game and holding the Ducks to minus-26 rushing yards, their fewest in 16 years. The Buckeyes (12-2) also made 13 tackles for a loss. The pass rush that Dillon Gabriel was able to expertly elude during their first matchup hounded the Ducks quarterback with eight sacks.

Highlights from Ohio State’s 41-21 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

The proverbial nail in the coffin came at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter. Oregon (13-1), facing fourth and three from its 48-yard line while trailing 17-0, went for it. The pocket collapsed around Gabriel, who tried to find Terrance Ferguson running across the field, only for his pass to be broken up by Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon.

Two plays later, Howard connected with Smith again, this time for a 43-yard bomb to extend the lead to 24-0.

Simon, who had a game-high 11 tackles, including three for losses and two sacks, won defensive most valuable player.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass in the first quarter against Oregon at the Rose Bowl.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

“One of the biggest things we changed was just our attitude, our mentality,” Simon said. “There was a lot of plays in the first game that we weren’t even aligned. We weren’t ready to go and with an offense like that in Oregon, they thrive on that stuff.

“We went through a lot of tough conversations after that game, but I think we’re better for it now. We made those changes and like Coach [Ryan] Day said, it’s all about execution. No matter what, no matter who’s across the ball, you have to do your job.”

Smith ended up with 187 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions, setting a school record for receiving yards in a game by a freshman (previously set by Cris Carter in the 1985 Rose Bowl) and earning offensive MVP. It was Smith’s fifth 100-yard game, making him the 12th receiver in program history — and the first freshman — to accomplish the feat.

With the game in hand, the Buckeyes got the run game going as the duo of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Oregon running back Noah Whittington is stopped by the Ohio State defense during the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly also got a boost. Day notched his third playoff victory and fifth win against a top-five team amid criticism he struggles to win big games. After Kelly was roasted for his play calling during a loss to rival Michigan, his Buckeyes were ready to overpower the Oregon defense.

“Chip called a great game,” Day said. “The whole offensive staff worked hard to put the plan together, but ultimately it comes down to the players putting it on the field. … I thought they really put it on the field and came out aggressive, but I thought Chip called an aggressive game and certainly had a big smile on his face after.”

Ohio State will face Texas at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 for a spot in the title game. While Day recognizes the significance of winning the Granddaddy of Them All, he also knows there’s a lot of football left to be played.

“We knew we had to be at our best today, and it’ll be the same thing next week,” he said. “When you’re playing in the playoffs, you’re playing against very, very good teams and so we hold ourselves to a high standard. … We’re not staying the night. We’re getting back on that plane, we’re headed back to Columbus, we’ll get some rest and then we’ll focus on Texas.”