After forcing a three-and-out, the Buckeyes went right back to work on the next drive with Howard completing passes of 18 and 40 yards to set up Quinshon Judkins for a 1-yard touchdown run. That capped a drive that took less than three minutes and gave Ohio State a 14-0 lead with 8:09 left.
They made it 21-0 less than five minutes later when TreVeyon Henderson took a handoff up the middle then cut back against the grain for a 29-yard touchdown run.
After being credited with an interception of Howard in the end zone on the next Ohio State possession, Tennessee put together a nine-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard field goal by Max Gilbert with 6:39 left in the second quarter.
The drive was kept alive by a roughing the passer penalty on Kenyatta Jackson that wiped out an interception by Davison Igbinosun.
The Volunteers cut the lead to 21-10 late in the second quarter when Nico Iamaleava capped a 16-play, 79-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with :20 on the clock.
Ohio State forced a punt to start the third quarter then went on a six-play, 65-yard touchdown march capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Smith, who got behind All-SEC cornerback Jermod McCoy and hauled in a rainbow throw in the end zone after faking a handoff.
The Buckeyes added another touchdown out of the I-formation late in the third quarter when Judkins charged in from a yard out to make it 35-10.
Henderson then broke free for a 24-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a route and send many of the thousands of Tennessee fans who made the trip north to the exits.
Tennessee got a face-saving touchdown with 1:56 left when Iamaleava scored from a yard out.
Howard ended up completing 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 37 yards and was not sacked as a beleaguered offensive line held up well against a talented Tennessee front.
Henderson ran for 80 yards on 10 carries and caught four passes for 54 yards while Smith finished with 103 yards on six catches and Egbuka caught five passes for 81 yards.
Cody Simon led the Buckeyes with 12 tackles while J.T. Tuimoloau had a pair of sacks and fellow senior defensive end Jack Sawyer added 1.5 more.
Next up the 8th-seeded Buckeyes will head to California to take on No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
The Ducks downed Ohio State 32-31 in Eugene in early October and are the only undefeated team left in the country.
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