The Oregon Ducks walked into Columbus on Saturday afternoon looking to make noise against the 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, and they did a lot more than that. Ohio State opened up a 14-point lead, but Oregon answered with 38 straight points and had The Show emptying out with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
For a team that had been written off all week, Oregon needed a little time to settle in. Once it did, the Ducks took control in a hurry. They didn’t just beat Ohio State - they put 38 points on the Buckeyes’ defense and kept Jeremiah Smith quiet for most of the game.
The win should send Oregon soaring when the College Football Playoff rankings are revealed next week. The playoff still feels like a long shot, but this result gives the Ducks real life heading into November.
Dan Lanning deserves a big share of the credit. It has not been an easy season for the Oregon head coach, with Dante Moore’s injury and the offense’s struggles hanging over the program.
But when this game started to tilt against the Ducks, Lanning kept swinging. He coached with real guts, and every gamble seemed to feed Oregon’s belief that it could pull off the upset.
Oregon hasn’t lived up to the lofty preseason expectations, but after this win, the Ducks suddenly have a path to climb from 23rd in the College Football Playoff rankings and stay in the postseason conversation.
One of the boldest calls came on a fake punt that put Teitum Tuioti in the spotlight. Oregon needed a spark, and Lanning dialed up the veteran edge rusher on a trick play.
Tuioti handled the pressure calmly, floating a perfect pass to Matayo Uiagalelei to keep the drive alive. He also made his presence felt rushing the passer and held up well in coverage, which made him one of the night’s biggest difference-makers.
Uiagalelei made the most of his moment, too. He secured the catch on the fake punt and then turned it into a 30-yard gain with a hurdle after the catch.
Later, he added a sack on Ohio State’s final push in the fourth quarter. It was the kind of all-around performance that can swing a game like this.
Devin Jackson delivered another huge play when Oregon needed one. After Lanning’s aggressive fake punt, Ryan Day seemed to be pressing to add to Ohio State’s lead before halftime.
Day trusted Luke Fahey, but the freshman made a freshman mistake and threw into traffic. Jackson climbed above the crowd, somehow got both feet in bounds, and set Oregon up to score before the break.
The Ducks also got a major lift from Dierre Hill Jr. With starting running back Jordon Davison unavailable and the offensive line struggling to create much room, Oregon needed someone to take over.
Hill did exactly that on the opening drive of the second half, ripping off a 48-yard touchdown that felt like the knockout blow. He finished with 75 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns, helping carry the offense through the finish.
Ryan Day ends up as the biggest loser from the night. Both teams were missing their starting quarterbacks and several other key pieces, so this game was always going to say plenty about the coaching.
Lanning kept pushing for the win. Day lost the things his team was doing well, and once Oregon adjusted, Ohio State had no answers.
With College Football Playoff and Big Ten stakes hanging over the matchup, Oregon arrived ready for the fight. Ohio State folded once the momentum flipped. And with Oregon continuing to rise in the Big Ten and recruiting at an elite level, this matchup could tilt even more in the Ducks’ favor over time.
In Other News...
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 🡒]