Meyer gets ‘W’ in final game

Buckeyes hang on as Huskies rally to score 20 points in fourth quarter

PASADENA, Calif. — Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Urban Meyer finished his coaching career at Ohio State with a 28-23 victory after the Buckeyes held off Washington’s thrilling fourth-quarter comeback in the 105th Rose Bowl on Tuesday.

Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Rashod Berry caught TD passes in the first half for the sixthranked Buckeyes (13-1), who took a 25-point lead into the fourth.

But Myles Gaskin threw a touchdown pass and rushed for two more scores for the No. 9 Huskies (10-4), scoring from 2 yards out with 42 seconds left.

The Buckeyes intercepted Jake Browning’s pass on the 2-point conversion attempt and then recovered the Huskies’ onside kick to wrap up the final game of Meyer’s seven-year tenure.

“I’m a very blessed man,” Meyer said. “I’m blessed because of my family, [but] this team, this year, I love this group as much as any I’ve ever had.”

The 54-year-old coach is walking away after going 83-9 at Ohio State with one national championship, three Big Ten titles and this Rose Bowl victory, the Buckeyes’ eighth overall in the Granddaddy of Them All.

Browning passed for 313 yards and Gaskin rushed for 121 in the final game of the four-year starters’ landmark careers at Washington, which has lost three straight New Year’s Six bowl games.

But after three poor offensive quarters, the Pac-12 champions made it awfully interesting late. The Huskies racked up 266 yards of offense in the fourth, but they had fallen too far behind in their first Rose Bowl game appearance in 18 years.

Coach Chris Petersen dropped to 1-4 in bowls during his otherwise remarkable tenure at Washington.

This game could be Haskins’ farewell to Ohio State as well, if the sophomore goes pro. The Heisman Trophy finalist threw his 50th TD pass of the season in the first half while picking away at the vaunted Washington secondary minus injured Taylor Rapp, the second-team All-American safety.

Berry caught a 1-yard TD pass just 14 seconds before halftime, putting the Buckeyes up 21-3.

Gaskin became the fourth running back in NCAA history with four 1,200-yard seasons during the third quarter, but Ohio State increased its lead with J.K. Dobbins’ TD run.

After this big finish, Meyer formally turns over the Ohio State program to Ryan Day, his 39-year-old co-offensive coordinator.