38 straight: buckeyes eliminated. ohio state vs oregon game recap

O

regon walked into Columbus on Saturday and made a statement. After the Buckeyes jumped off to an early lead, the Ducks took the playoff world by storm with 38 points to knock Ohio State firmly out of the playoff picture for good.

Dylan Raiola played great, Jeremiah Smith was locked down by the Ducks secondary until the end of the game, and Ohio State's run defense looked absolutely atrocious yet again. Recap an extremely important Big Ten matchup below.

First Quarter

The Buckeyes jumped out to an early 14-0 lead following two drives that were capped off by Bo Jackson rushing touchdowns. The second of these two touchdowns ignited Columbus, and many in attendance believed the game was over right there.

On the group's second scoring drive in the first quarter, Buckeyes freshman QB Luke Fahey was slinging it. A 2-minute scoring drive saw Fahey deliver a 32-yard strike to Jeremiah Smith before airing it out to Devin Mccuin on the sideline for another 41. After Jackson ended the drive with a score, however, the Buckeyes would not return to the scoreboard for another 3 whole quarters.

Despite stalling out, the Buckeyes were dominating 14-0 at the end of the first thanks to efficient red zone offense and shot plays called by OC Arthur Smith.

Second Quarter

The Ducks opened up the second quarter with a quick field goal to even the score at 14-3. This is when the momentum changed. After a quick stop from both defenses following the Ducks' early-quarter field goal, the Buckeyes looked to get the ball back up 14-3 in the middle of the second quarter with the opportunity to go up 3 scores at the half. That was until Dan Lanning dropped his nuts.

A risky fake punt saw the Ducks' up-man throw a floater to DE Matayo Uiagalelei to pick up a first down. Uiagalelei hurdled a man after his reception before setting the Ducks' offense up for a quick score from RB Dierre Hill Jr. on a 9-yard rush just six plays later.

The trick play flipped the script. Instead of OSU getting the ball with the opportunity to take the lead 21-3, the game became 14-10 Buckeyes with time on the clock and opportunity for the Ducks to get the ball back, which they quickly did and took advantage of.

Then, on the Ducks' next possession with just seconds left in the half, the Ducks ran a trick play called polecat where offensive linemen spread out wide, and TE Jamari Johnson rushed the ball in for a 2-yard rushing TD as the clock ticked into the half.

Lanning chose a TE sneak trick play over a field goal, showing exactly who he is to the entire world.

The Ducks gutsy comeback was propelled by their elite second half performance. A fake punt and a gutsy goal-line call allowed the Ducks to enter halftime leading 17-14 on the road.

Third Quarter

The third quarter saw the Buckeyes go scoreless for yet another period, and marked the quarter where Ohio State's playoff hopes were officially killed.

To start the second half scoring, Hill broke loose for a 48 yard TD to put the Ducks up 24-14. The Buckeyes responded with another 3-and-out before Ducks WR1 Dakorien Moore capped off a dagger of a drive with a beautiful one handed catch in the back of the endzone to put the Ducks up three scores.

The 31-14 deficit the Buckeyes found themselves in at the end of the third was a far cry from the 14-0 lead the group initially jumped out too. Dan Lanning made the adjustments he needed and led an absolutely electric comeback with two third quarter scores.

Multiple false start penalties and an abysmal snap that lost 17 yards after sailing over Fahey's head didnt help, but perhaps the most worrisome stat of the game for the Buckeyes is the groups lack of third quarter offensive production. The group tallied just 22 offensive yards in the quarter and didnt record a single sack while giving up two touchdowns on defense.

Late in the season in Big Ten play, it is nearly impossible to win any game with a third-quarter goose egg.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter of this game was characterized by points, backups, and anger. The Ducks opened up the Q4 scoring with a Raiola TD pass to Brandon Smith before Jeremiah Smith responded with a diving TD catch in front of OSU transfer DB Aaron Scott Jr. The Buckeyes, following a two-point conversion, would keep the score at 2 possessions (38-22) following Smith's TD reception.

Despite his garbage time TD, Jeremiah was visibly frustrated throughout the game due to his teams lack of offensive production. Tempers flared multiple times on the field and sideline from the superstar WR.

After getting the ball back and bleeding away multiple minutes of clock, the Ducks killed all hope in Columbus with a late field goal to push the score to 3 possessions (41-22). The Ducks' field goal drove Buckeye fans to the exits to the point that most fans in attendance for the Buckeyes ' garbage-time TD to TE Luke Roberts were Oregon fans.

Fahey's garbage-time strike to Roberts would represent the final score of the game after a failed two-point conversion. While two late touchdowns from Smith and Roberts made the score look better, the Buckeyes were shut out for two whole quarters while their defense let the Ducks QB2 Dylan Raiola, throw for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns in a masterful performance. Raiola was a former OSU commit out of HS, so this road victory must be extra sweet for him

The Recap

Now that both teams have three losses, it's quite possible that both teams are fully eliminated from playoff contention. However, identical 6-3 records for the Ducks and Buckeyes look quite different. The Ducks hold momentum following rivalry wins over USC and OSU, respectively, and look to finish 3-0 to keep a playoff argument intact.

However, with a backup freshman QB and two straight losses where the Buckeyes were truly dominated, hope is all but gone in Columbus. Calls to fire Ryan Day have only gotten louder following the loss, and Jeremiah Smith is all but guaranteed to leave Columbus without a playoff berth.

An absolutely embarrassing home performance for the Buckeyes sees seasons reset. Oregon looks to keep momentum at home, hosting Michigan in a week while the Buckeyes host Northwestern. The Ducks' takeover of Ryan Day and the Buckeyes in Columbus changes the playoff picture entirely.