Ohio State looked ready to roll when it jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead against Oregon. Then the whole thing unraveled.
The Buckeyes were outscored the rest of the way as Oregon seized control, put up 41 points and sent Ohio State to its second straight loss. At 6-3, the Buckeyes have taken a major hit to their playoff chances.
Luke Fahey still put together a big passing day, throwing for 360 yards and two touchdowns, but Ohio State never found balance. The run game never got going, finishing with only 53 rushing yards, and the defense had a rough afternoon of its own while giving up 395 total yards and struggling to consistently slow the Ducks.
There was plenty for Ohio State to sort through after Saturday, and the issues piled up on both sides of the ball. The defense couldn’t generate enough pressure, couldn’t get off the field when it needed to and eventually let Oregon take over after the opening quarter. On offense, the Buckeyes left points out there with questionable decisions and little production on the ground.
Jeremiah Smith’s quiet stretch in the second and third quarters also stood out, especially given how central he is to the offense. And as the game slipped away, the question of why Ohio State didn’t give Tavien St. Clair a chance in the second half only added to the frustration.
Now the focus shifts to what comes next. With the Buckeyes sitting at 6-3, a College Football Playoff run looks extremely unlikely, and even a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game would take a lot of help. With three regular-season games left, the conversation is already turning toward the future of the program.
Cole and Joey also dig into the jobs done by Ryan Day, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, including which coaches they’d want back next season. They go further, too, weighing how many current starters should be kept, which players need to be priorities and what has to change heading into 2027.
Ohio State still has Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan left on the schedule. With the playoff picture nearly out of reach, those games now feel like a chance to evaluate the roster and figure out what the Buckeyes need to do to get back to championship form.
In Other News...
Ohio State Fans Have A New Reason To Worry About Legend Bey
Legend Bey arrived at Ohio State with some buzz, but his first season has not gone the way many Buckeyes fans hoped. The freshman running back has seen limited playing time, and his path has already been complicated by a suspension early in fall camp. Even with the season moving along, Bey has not been able to carve out much of a role in a backfield that has been difficult to crack.
Bey added another layer of uncertainty this week by posting a cryptic message on social media, which naturally sparked concern about where things stand. Nothing official has been announced, and there is no confirmation that he is entering the transfer portal, but the timing of the post is enough to make people around the program pay attention. For a player still trying to find his footing, and for a fan base watching the running back room closely, it is the kind of development that raises more questions than answers. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Makes Another Special Teams Change After Costly Problems Persist
Ohio State has moved on from special teams coordinator Robby Discher after the 2026 season, another sign that the Buckeyes are still searching for answers in a phase of the game that never quite stabilized. Discher was hired in January with the expectation that he would help clean up a unit that had become a recurring concern, but the same issues kept surfacing, from kickoff and punt return troubles to penalties and miscues in important moments.
Head coach Ryan Day has already acknowledged the problems and made clear the responsibility does not rest with Discher alone, which suggests this is as much about broader accountability as it is about one staffing change. For a program with Ohio States standards, special teams has become too familiar a source of frustration, and the latest move only adds to the sense that more adjustments could still be coming. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Owns Ohio State Collapse As Pressure Builds Fast
Ohio States latest setback was the kind that lingers, because it began with control and ended with a collapse. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 14-0 lead against Oregon, then watched the Ducks reel off 38 unanswered points as the offense stalled and the game slipped away, leaving Ohio State at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play.
Ryan Day did not try to soften the aftermath. He acknowledged the teams problems on offense, where the Buckeyes have struggled to find consistent production on the ground and through the air, and said coaching changes, play calling and personnel adjustments are all under consideration. With the season moving deeper into November, the pressure around the program is only getting louder, and the next steps now matter as much as the loss itself. [Read more 🡒]