Oregon left Columbus with the kind of win that changes the conversation fast.
The No. 23 Ducks stunned No.
12 Ohio State 41-28 on Saturday, erasing an early 14-0 deficit in the first quarter and then ripping off 38 straight points to seize their best victory of the season. The result pushed Oregon to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play, keeping the Ducks squarely in the mix for the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff after that loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini had made those goals look out of reach.
The turning point came in the second quarter, when Oregon was down 14-3 and took a gamble that paid off in a big way. On a fake punt, linebacker Teitum Tuioti took the direct snap and found fellow linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei for a 30-yard completion. That shot of life helped spark the offense, and quarterback Dylan Raiola then guided the Ducks down the field for a score by running back Dierre Hill Jr.
From there, Oregon’s defense took over and never really let Ohio State breathe again.
By the third quarter, the Buckeyes’ crowd at sold-out Ohio Stadium was starting to thin out, and the mood inside the building had turned from confident to stunned. With 6:37 left in the third, Oregon was up 31-14 and Ohio State fans were streaming for the exits.
Hill was one of the day’s biggest difference-makers. His 46-yard touchdown in the third quarter stretched the lead into double digits and helped put the game out of reach.
He finished with 13 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns, a performance that could give Oregon’s run game a real boost heading into its final three games against the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 14, the Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 20, and the Washington Huskies on Nov. 28.
Dakorien Moore also delivered another big outing for the Ducks. With Evan Stewart and Jeremiah McClellan still out, Moore kept shining, and his one-handed touchdown catch in the third quarter pushed Oregon’s lead to 31-14. He led the team with seven catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Raiola kept building on his recent rise as well. Since taking over the starting job after Dante Moore’s injury, he has looked more comfortable each week.
After getting benched in his first start against the No. 8 UCLA Bruins and then coming off the bench to help beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Raiola’s confidence has only grown.
Against Ohio State, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns.
Oregon’s defense deserves plenty of credit for the finish, especially after Ohio State came out strong. The Buckeyes scored twice in the first quarter on runs by Bo Jackson to grab a 14-0 lead, and the Ducks had trouble getting off the field on third down early. But once the first quarter ended, the game flipped.
Luke Fahey, making his second career start after the loss at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the No. 20 USC Trojans, had a rough time under pressure from Oregon’s defense. The Ducks also did a strong job on Jeremiah Smith, and Fahey’s interception before halftime proved costly for Ohio State as Oregon moved ahead.
In the end, the only blemish on an otherwise huge afternoon for the Ducks was the slow start. Once they settled in, they took control and never gave it back.
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Oregons Huge Win Came With One Serious Concern For Duck Fans
Oregons 41-28 road win over Ohio State was the kind of statement victory that can reshape a season, and the Ducks made it look even more commanding by ripping off 38 straight points during the game. For a program that went into one of the toughest environments in the sport and came away with a huge result, it was the sort of performance that had Duck fans thinking big picture almost immediately.
Teitum Tuiotis late-game injury, though, put a jolt into the celebration. The edge rusher was taken to the locker room with his left knee heavily wrapped, and Dan Lanning did not offer a definitive update afterward, only saying he was hopeful for good news. After a win that carried so much weight, Oregon now has at least one uneasy question hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Admits Oregon Delivered A Statement Ohio State Never Saw Coming
Ohio States home loss to Oregon landed with the kind of force that tends to linger, especially with the Ducks ripping off 38 straight points in a game that quickly slipped out of control. For Ryan Day, the surprise was as much about how it unfolded as the final result, with the Buckeyes left to sort through a performance that never found much footing once Oregon started piling on.
Day pointed to the need to take a hard look at everything, from a pivotal fake punt to the defenses inability to slow the Ducks surge. Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey also had a difficult night, and Day said the Buckeyes have to do a better job of supporting him going forward, a reminder that the fallout from this one goes beyond a single loss. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Made A Statement Ohio State Fans Wont Forget
Oregon walked into Columbus and turned a tense early hole into a runaway, beating Ohio State 41-28 after ripping off 38 straight points. Dan Lannings team kept its foot on the gas with bold calls, including a fake punt that helped swing momentum and a late gamble before halftime that fed into the Ducks control of the game. By the end, Oregon had the kind of road win that travels well, the sort that changes how a team is viewed beyond its own locker room.
Ohio State never found a clean answer after the opening stretch, and the offense largely stalled once the first quarter passed, with Luke Fahey unable to steady things. Oregon, meanwhile, kept piling on behind backup quarterback Dylan Raiola, who helped drive the Ducks to 395 yards and five touchdowns in the latter part of the game. For a program trying to make a national statement, this was the kind of performance that leaves a mark, even if the full ripple effect is still to come. [Read more 🡒]