89 Fires Reported After Buckeyes' Big Win

"This will go down as one of the great stories in college football history," coach Urban Meyer said after the Ohio State Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff National Championship last night, beating the Oregon Ducks 42-20 in Arlington, Texas. The Buckeyes overcame two injured Heisman contenders and one awful 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech to win their first national title since the 2002 BCS championship. Ohio State began the first major College Football Playoff as the fourth and final seed and was an underdog against both top-seeded Alabama and second-seeded Oregon.

Ezekiel Elliott, an Ohio State sophomore, was the offensive MVP and ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries. "With all the stuff we went through to get here, it's just crazy," he said afterward. "It doesn't feel real." After the big win, police in Columbus used tear gas to disperse some Ohio State students and football fans. Thousands converged on the Ohio State football stadium, where police turned them away. Most headed back to the bar area, and the Columbus Fire Department says 89 fires were reported near Ohio State's campus in the hours after the win. The fires involved trash bins, Dumpsters, and couches, and no injuries were reported. No problems were reported in Oregon. (More Ohio State Buckeyes stories.)