Oregon Ducks advance to national championship game with 59-20 rout of Florida State



PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Marcus Mariota and Oregon turned an avalanche of Florida State mistakes into a mountain of points and the Ducks rolled past the defending national champions 59-20 Thursday to turn the first College Football Playoff semifinal into a Rose Bowl rout.

Mariota and the second-seeded Ducks (13-1) scored six straight times they touched the ball in the second half, with five of the touchdowns covering at least 21 yards and the last four coming after Florida State turnovers.

In the matchup of Heisman Trophy winners, Jameis Winston matched Mariota's numbers, but the defending national champions were no match for the Ducks.

Oregon will play Sugar Bowl winner Ohio State (which defeated Alabama 42-35 Thursday night) for the national championship on Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas.

Third-seeded Florida State's winning streak ends at 29. In Winston's first loss as a college starter, maybe his last game in college, he threw for 348 yards.