By Matt Schulz
FANSonly.com

ORLANDO, Fla. -- For half of the Citrus Bowl, it looked as if Virginia may be on its way to pulling off another monster upset.

But those dreams died in the third quarter, thanks to the arm of Ohio State's Joe Germaine.

Bolstered by 17 unanswered points in the third quarter, the 4th-seeded Buckeyes beat the 12th-seeded Cavaliers, 45-21. OSU advances to next weekend's Virtual Championship Series semifinals vs. No. 1 Tennessee in the Rose Bowl.

The Volunteers won a squeaker over Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl to advance.

Virginia's defense shut down Heisman finalist Cade McNown in their stunning upset of No. 5 UCLA last week. However, Germaine (22-of-34, 310 yds., 5 TDs, 1 INT) butchered the Cavaliers' defense throughout the game. His five touchdown passes went to four different receivers: Dee Miller (twice), David Boston, Reggie Germany, John Lumpkin. He threw three strikes of 20 yards or more.

However, despite the offense's dominance, the Buckeyes entered the locker room tied 14-14 at the half. Ohio State needed its defense to step up.

In the second half, it finally did. Virginia gained only 83 yards and five first downs in the second half. Meanwhile, the Ohio State offense rolled on.

In the third quarter, OSU scored 17 unanswered points, including two touchdown strikes from Germaine.

The Buckeyes dealt a fatal blow to the Cavaliers' upset hopes late in the third quarter on an interception return by Percy King. The reserve safety picked off an errant pass by Virginia's Aaron Brooks at the Cavaliers' 27-yard-line and returned it to the 7 before being run out of bounds.

On the next play, Germaine threw to a wide-open Reggie Germany in the end zone. The score gave the Buckeyes a 31-14 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach.