The chants started in Ohio Stadium with 6:23 left in the fourth quarter, and they carried a message Buckeye fans had already made up their minds about.
“St. Clair!
St. Clair!
St. Clair!”
Ohio State was unraveling again, and the student section wanted a change. But neither second-string quarterback Tavian St. Clair nor anyone else could stop the slide as the Buckeyes dropped a 41-28 decision to Oregon, their second straight loss and their third collapse of the season.
It was another brutal ending for a team that keeps finding new ways to beat itself. For the third time this year, Ohio State let a game get away in emphatic fashion, this time in Ohio Stadium, where the loss marked the Buckeyes’ first defeat there since the 13-10 loss to Michigan on Nov. 30, 2024.
“I think we have to evaluate everything, and the things that we felt like we wanted to do in this game, in particular on offense, were not met,” head coach Ryan Day said.
The pattern is hard to miss. Ohio State opened the season with a 24-23 loss to Texas after surrendering 21 points in the fourth quarter. In its second loss, at USC, the Buckeyes gave up 30 points to 18, including a 69-yard run on the opening drive that put the unranked Trojans on the board first and set the tone from there.
This one followed the same ugly script.
Ohio State came out sharp and looked in control early. A 75-yard drive ended with a 16-yard rushing touchdown from Bo Jackson, and the Buckeyes were perfect on their first three third-down chances. Jackson added another score later in the quarter, punching in an 8-yard touchdown with 1:20 left to give Ohio State a 14-0 lead.
Then Oregon flipped the game.
The Ducks used a fake punt to seize momentum and then ripped off 38 straight points, leaving Ohio State chasing the game and never truly recovering. The Buckeyes finally got two touchdowns in the last 3:25, a 13-yard catch by Jeremiah Smith and a 15-yard reception by Nate Roberts, but by then the damage was done.
Offensive lineman Austin Siereveld didn’t sugarcoat what the three losses have shown.
“You just got to keep your head up,” Siereveld said. “We can’t point fingers; the only thing you can point [at] is the mirror. Everyone has to be on their A-game now and just gotta keep fighting.”
Day said the opening stretch was what the staff expected to see, but once Oregon seized control, Ohio State had no answer. The defeat left the Buckeyes with their first three-loss regular season since 2011.
“I thought the way that we came out was how we thought we would play in this game, and then once the momentum swung, we weren’t able to stop that,” Day said.
In Other News...
Ohio States Oregon Collapse Exposed A Problem Buckeyes Fans Feared
Ohio States loss to Oregon in Columbus had the feel of a game that started with promise and then slipped away in plain sight. The Buckeyes came out strong, but the rest of the afternoon turned into a reminder that early momentum only matters if it can be sustained, and this one quickly exposed some of the same concerns fans have been carrying for a while. Jeremiah Smith was not used nearly enough, and the offense never seemed to fully settle into a rhythm as the game changed around it.
Luke Faheys performance only added to the unease, while the defense looked far removed from the unit Ohio State expected to lean on in a matchup like this. The bigger frustration, though, was the lack of clear adjustment as Oregon kept finding answers and the Buckeyes did not. For a team with playoff ambitions, a home collapse like this does more than count as one bad result - it raises the kind of questions that can linger well beyond a single Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smiths Frustration Just Raised A Bigger Ohio State Concern
Jeremiah Smiths frustration was hard to miss in Ohio States loss to Oregon, a defeat that left the Buckeyes staring at a tougher path to the playoff. Even in a game that slipped away 41-28, Smith still produced, finishing with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, which only underscored how much Ohio State leaned on him when the offense needed a spark.
The bigger concern now is what his visible irritation might say about the state of the Buckeyes season and how they handle the fallout from a damaging setback. One analyst even raised the possibility that Smith might not play again this year, though that remains unconfirmed, and for a team trying to steady itself after the Oregon loss, any uncertainty around its top playmaker only adds to the pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Just Added Fuel To Indianas CFP Debate
Urban Meyer gave the College Football Playoff debate a fresh jolt by questioning how the committee is sorting Ohio State and Indiana. The former Buckeyes coach pointed to the Buckeyes head-to-head win over Indiana and said he did not understand why No. 12 Ohio State sits eight spots behind No. 4 Indiana, especially when the discussion turns to how teams are being judged beyond the loss column.
Meyer also took aim at the committees handling of nonconference scheduling, arguing that Ohio States ranking does not match what it has shown on the field. Indianas case is strong in its own right at 8-1, with wins over Michigan and Nebraska, but Meyer noted the Hoosiers have not beaten a ranked opponent, leaving the playoff conversation with a familiar tension: rsum versus result, and a gap in the rankings that still needs explaining. [Read more 🡒]