No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 3 Oregon 20: Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns as the Buckeyes powered past the Ducks in the College Football Playoff title game at Arlington, Texas.

Cardale Jones complimented Elliott’s third straight 200-yard game by passing for 242 yards and one touchdown and also scoring one on the ground for fourth-seeded Ohio State. The Buckeyes (14-1) overcame four turnovers, racked up 538 total yards and controlled the ball for 37:29 while winning the school’s first national championship since 2002 and eighth overall.

Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted once in what may have been his final collegiate game for second-seeded Oregon (13-2). Byron Marshall caught eight passes for 169 yards and one touchdown for the Ducks, who were 2-of-12 on third-down conversions and came up empty on both fourth-down attempts.

Ohio State controlled most of the first half and re-established dominance in the latter half of the third quarter after the Ducks pulled within one by possessing the ball for the final 6:39 of the quarter, going 75 yards on 12 plays with Elliott scoring on a 9-yard jaunt. The Buckeyes went 76 yards on nine plays on their next drive as Elliott’s 2-yard scoring run made it 35-20 with 9:44 remaining and Elliott tacked on another TD when he scored from the 1 with 28 seconds remaining.

The Ducks trailed 21-10 at halftime and received a break early in the third quarter when Ohio State receiver Jalin Marshall let a ball bounce off him and Oregon’s Danny Mattingly intercepted it and Mariota followed with a 70-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Byron Marshall with 11:23 left to pull the Ducks within four. The Buckeyes committed their fourth turnover on the next series when Jones lost the ball as Tyson Coleman applied pressure and Arik Armstead recovered it at the Ohio State 20-yard line, setting up Aidan Schneider’s 23-yard field goal to make it 21-20.

Oregon began the game by travelling 75 yards on 11 plays with Mariota tossing a 7-yard scoring pass to Keanon Lowe before Ohio State answered on Elliott’s 33-yard run with 4:36 left in the quarter. The Buckeyes moved ahead on Jones’ 1-yard pass to Nick Vannett with 1:08 to go in the opening quarter and took a 21-7 lead on Jones’ 1-yard sneak with 4:49 to play in the second before Schneider kicked a 26-yard field goal with 48 seconds left to pull the Ducks within 11.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The national title is the third for Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, who won two at Florida (2006, 2008). … The Ducks had a chance to tie the score early in the second quarter, but RB Thomas Tyner came up a yard shot on fourth-and-goal from the 3. … Elliott finishes the season with 1,878 rushing yards, second-most in Ohio State history behind Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George (1,927 in 1995).