Ohio State had this one in hand, then watched it slip away in a hurry.
The Buckeyes were sitting on a 14-3 lead late in the first half against Oregon before the whole thing turned sideways. The Ducks ripped off two touchdowns in the final 1:25 of the second quarter, and from there, Ohio State never found its footing again in the 41-28 loss.
Ryan Day’s halftime interview with CBS Sports did little to calm anyone down. Asked about the unraveling, Day said, “Well, first off, we gotta just regroup here at halftime, come back out, and do a good job in the third quarter,” Day said before both teams made their way to their locker rooms.
“Certainly, with the fake punt, and then the turnover killed us, and then we weren’t able to get some stops right there, so we gotta get back at halftime and regroup. We were playing good there for the majority of the first half, and then we just unraveled in the last 5-6 minutes there, so we gotta come back, regroup, and come out here and play in the third quarter.
They’re going to start with the ball, so we’ve got to do a good job.”
That third quarter never brought the reset Ohio State needed. Instead, Oregon kept landing punches, and the Buckeyes had no answer.
Dierre Hill Jr. broke loose early in the third for a 48-yard touchdown, with multiple missed tackles helping spring the play. Then, with 6:37 left in the quarter, Dakorien Moore put together the kind of highlight that will be replayed all week, hauling in a one-handed touchdown from Dylan Raiola.
The Buckeyes also didn’t get nearly enough from Jeremiah Smith, even with a freshman quarterback in the mix. The source material points to Ohio State needing to lean on its standout receiver in that situation, but that didn’t happen against the Ducks.
The loss leaves Ohio State staring at a rough stretch, with the program now about to drop to 6-5 in its last 11 games. Brad Powers summed up the frustration on social media: “No one is doing LESS with MORE than Ryan Day right now.”
After the game, the bigger-picture frustration only grew. The defeat has effectively ended Ohio State’s national title hopes, and the College Football Playoff talk has been reduced to the old Jim Mora “playoffs” meme. The source material also notes that countless Buckeyes will be left wondering what this season might have looked like if Julian Sayin had not suffered his serious injury.
For Ohio State, the collapse against Oregon wasn’t just a bad night. It was the kind of loss that leaves a fan base staring at the rest of the season and wondering what, exactly, is left.
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 🡒]