Ohio State and Oregon showed the upside of the growing power conferences on Saturday.
Now a Big Ten Conference matchup, Ohio State and Oregon normally wouldn’t have played each other in past years unless it involved a bowl game or the College Football Playoff. With the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC expanding, two highly-ranked teams meeting in conference during the regular season could become all the more commonplace.
All four conferences have plenty of teams who could ascend the rankings any given year but the addition of the Pac-12 schools from that conference’s shakeup only expands that possibility. A packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, after a visit by College GameDay earlier in the day set the stage for what could be in the coming years.
“I’m so proud of our players,” Lanning said. “I’m so proud of our crowd. You talk about big moments, big games. This is why you come to Oregon. That’s a good football team. Hard to stop. Our guys stopped them tonight. They scored enough. They threw enough jabs and we got the dub.”
Ohio State opened the act strong with a 10-play touchdown drive capped by quarterback Will Howard’s 1-yard touchdown run. The Buckeyes couldn’t build on the lead after the Ducks punted on the second drive of the game because running back Quinshon Judkins fumbled at his team’s 28-yard line.
Oregon running back Jordan James pounced on the opportunity with a 25-yard run followed by a 2-yard touchdown to make it 7–6. The Ducks defense then held the Buckeyes to a three-and-out but Oregon’s offense couldn’t capitalize amid a missed field goal by Sappington from 44 yards out.
Ohio State struck quickly afterward with a 53-yard run by running back TreVeyon Henderson, which set up a Judkins 1-yard touchdown run for a 14–6 lead. The Ducks answered as quarterback Dillon Gabriel connected with wide receiver Evan Stewart for 69 yards, which later led to a Gabriel-Stewart connection again on a 10-yard touchdown. Sappington then bounced back from his first miss with a 27-yard field goal for a 15–14 lead.
Ohio State regained the lead, 21–15, a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive as Howard connected with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on a 15-yard touchdown. Oregon then answered with a 75-yard scoring drive in seven plays as Gabriel found wide receiver Tez Johnson on a 48-yard score for a 22–21 advantage.
Both defenses stiffened to end the half and the Buckeyes kept the Ducks off the board in the first two drives of the second half. Meanwhile, Ohio State grabbed the lead, 28–22, with another Howard touchdown pass.
The Buckeyes defense shut out the Ducks in the third quarter but Oregon’s defense kept pace by holding Ohio State to that lone touchdown. It bought the Ducks offense enough time for Gabriel to start the fourth quarter with a bang on a 27-yard touchdown run for a 29-28 lead.
“Yeah, unbelievable decision there by Dillon,” Lanning said. “You hope that you give an opportunity for your players to see every look that they can possibly see within a week but it’s just not reality. So I don’t know how many times Dillon actually got to see that exact look. A tight crash from the edge but he did an unbelievable job pulling the ball there in that moment. And then again, if you look at that play, you’re going to see guys with bodies on bodies down the field, blocking their tails off for him so he can create a big play.”
While both teams moved the ball in the fourth quarter, it came down to the kickers after that, as Ohio State’s Jayden Fielding put his team back ahead 31–29 on a 40-yard field goal with six minutes left. Oregon then went 11 plays and 74 yards before Sappington’s game-winner, and the Ducks defense held on in the end as the Buckeyes drove eight plays and 49 yards to the Oregon 38-yard line but ran out of time.
“We kept hanging in there. And after all that, they were winning by one at halftime,” Day said. “So we felt like we'd come out and play if we just got lined up and communicated well and fit the runs better and kind of went back and forth. But couldn’t quite get the stops we needed them to. And couldn’t finish it.”
Howard’s otherwise stellar game ended with a 12-yard where he couldn’t set his team up in time for a last-second field goal. He finished with 326 yards passing for two touchdowns and one rushing score.
“And again, we talk about leaving no doubt and not coming down to one play. And that’s what happened in this game,” Day said. “So we can sit here and look at one play here, one play there, or complain about a call.”
“But we’re not going to do that. We’re going to own it. And we’re going to get it fixed,” he added.
Gabriel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns plus a rushing score. James led the way rushing for the Ducks with 115 yards on the ground and touchdown, and Stewart led all receivers for the game with 149 yards and a touchdown.
“You know, he played really, really well tonight, and [had] some really big moments,” Lanning said of Gabriel. “So proud of his performance. And I know he'd be willing to tell you he’s proud about the people that were around him that helped that performance be possible.”
