In what was billed to be an instant classic, Ohio State fell to Oregon in what could be the game of the year thus far. From the jump, it looked like Ohio State was going to be able to work on offense. On defense, the Buckeyes looked like they were feeling out the Ducks after forcing a punt after six plays. Not even the best scriptwriters had in mind what went down in Autzen.
The game featured a “gimme that!” strip, a botched extra-point snap, a near-two-point interception return, a missed field goal, a goal-line stand for a turnover on downs, seven lead changes, and all kinds of narratives put to rest and exacerbated others.
Ohio State Falls in Heartbreaker at Oregon, 32-31
Knitting Sweaters
The Ohio State pass rush was so invisible on the night that Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel could have learned how to knit and knit his family sweaters with the amount of time he had in his pocket. When you, as Larry Johnson and the Ohio State defense, recruit the defensive line as well as you do, you should expect something more than a zero-sack effort.
There were moments where Jaylahn Tuimoloau or Jack Sawyer looked like they were a fingernail away from taking down the Ducks’ quarterback. However, those snaps allowed Gabriel to hit his highly-touted receivers for chunk yardage. For a quarterback who has been excellent at short and mid-range throws, Gabriel feasted on the Ohio State defense as a whole and took deep shots.
Denzel Burke had himself a nightmare of a game. Gabriel targeted him numerous times and it paid off. It was a coming-out party for Evan Stewart at Burke’s expense. Heading into this game, he had 16 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. In this one alone, he finished with 149 yards and a touchdown off seven receptions.
The Ohio State secondary was, essentially, exposed. However, most of the blame can be levied on the no-show by the pass rush.
Silver Linings on Offense
If you put the clock management issues on Ryan Day — which would be fair as he should have assumed the clock would restart after that offensive pass interference on Jeremiah Smith when the clock was stopped prior to the play, or something — Will Howard had a fantastic day.
The Kansas State transfer finished 28-of-25 passing with 326 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, he ran the ball nine times for 13 yards and a touchdown. He did not turn the ball over nor was he sacked. Throughout the game, Howard was able to stand in the pocket and deliver strikes to his talented receivers. In a few cases, he trusted the abilities of his wideouts and let them make the play.
The best part of his game is what the Buckeyes had been missing from Kyle McCord. Ohio State can use him in the read option game and also trust him to scramble for yardage or to extend the play. He pulled the ball on a read option for his touchdown and his touchdown pass to Smith was thanks to him scrambling and extending the play.
Smith continues to be worth the price of admission. The freshman phenom added 100 yards and a touchdown off just nine receptions on the night. That brings his season total to 553 yards and seven touchdowns. His running mate was just as good. Emeka Egbuka finished the night with 93 yards and a touchdown off 10 receptions.
Finally, shout out to Gee Scott, Jr. The fifth-year tight end had a career night with 46 yards off three catches.
Something Had to Give
One of the keys to the game was to take advantage of a less-than-stellar run defense. Due to the defense being exposed, the game script did not have much room for rushing attempts.
TreVeyon Henderson reminded folks of his explosivity. It looked like he was going to have a massive day with his 17-yard and 53-yard runs to close out the first quarter. In total, he finished with 87 yards off 10 rushes. It felt like Ohio State’s offensive line was not blocking as well for Quinshon Judkins as it did for Henderson. Judkins’ longest run on the night was six yards. He finished with 23 yards off 11 rushes and a touchdown.
Heading into this game, Ohio State was 15th in the country with 222.2 yards per game on the ground. Oregon was 23rd while allowing 101.4. It looks like the 221 yards allowed to Boise State was an aberration/evidence that Ashton Jeanty is for real. Ohio State was only able to muster 141 on the day.
The issue is that the Buckeye backs were getting chunks. They weren’t getting those explosive plays, however. In total, they recorded just four plays of at least 10 yards. One of them was Egbuka and the other was that infamous Howard rush to end the game.
The Sky is Falling
Well, Ohio State lost to a top-five opponent again. “Fire Ryan Day” “Fire Jim Knowles” “Frauds” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Day is now 2-6 against top-five opponents with wins coming against Clemson in the 2020 Sugar Bowl and Notre Dame in 2022. Now that Ohio State lost to a top-three team on the road by one point in a game where there were a number of unlucky breaks, there are some who just want to burn the program to the ground.
One loss is not the end of the world. A one-point loss on the road to the soon-to-be best or second-best team in the country is not the end of the world. Oregon is a very good football team and will be even better if it can get out of its own way.
The John Cooper era is still fresh in the minds of the Ohio State faithful. Should Ohio State fall again without winning the Big Ten and National Championship, those whining cries will just get louder.
Be careful what you wish for.
