A major concern is the Buckeyes’ defensive breakdown in Oregon

On By Yukito

EUGENE, Ore. – An Ohio State team that had looked nearly flawless in five games against mismatched opponents was dethroned by reality on Saturday night.

No. 3 Oregon’s 32-31 victory over the No. 2 Buckeyes at Autzen Stadium doesn’t doom Ohio State in a season that was considered national championship or bust. The new 12-team College Football Playoff gives them a margin for error.

However, the Buckeyes made the kinds of mistakes against the Ducks that need to be corrected if they are to compete for the title.

Quinshon Judkins stumbled to the OSU 28 in the first quarter when it looked like the Buckeyes (5-1) were poised to take control and silence the raucous crowd after driving 75 yards for the game’s opening touchdown.

A facemask penalty on OSU cornerback Jordan Hancock after the Ducks’ touchdown allowed them to start the game from their 50. Oregon (6-0) sent a kick straight to Caleb Downs, which the safety couldn’t handle, and the Ducks recovered. Oregon then kicked a field goal for its first lead.

Such errors can be considered accidental. The inability of the Buckeyes defense to stop Oregon is impossible.

It was an OSU defense that allowed fewer points and yards than any team in the country. But Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State and Iowa proved ill-prepared for Oregon.

The Buckeyes were almost powerless to stop the Ducks. Oregon gained 496 yards, 300 more than Ohio State’s average.

They couldn’t keep Oregon on the ground. Jordan James ran 23 times for 115 yards. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel fumbled almost the entire defense on a 27-yard touchdown run that gave Oregon a 29-28 lead early in the fourth quarter.

But it was Ohio State’s loss to Oregon that was an eye-opener. Cornerback Denzel Burke said Wednesday he’s looking forward to playing against Oregon’s speedy forwards.

But Burke, who coined the “nasty or bust” mantra in the spring, had a terrible game. In the second quarter alone, Burke was picked off by Evan Stewart on a 69-yard run and a 10-yard touchdown run and by Tez Johnson on a 48-yard touchdown run.

Burke was the most obvious culprit, but it was a complete downfall of the unit. The Buckeyes did not fire Gabriel. They didn’t force a turnover.

“They did their job and we didn’t,” Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon said. “This is what will happen if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do.

“We had to make more defensive stops. We had to help with the attack. They did more than enough to win this game.

In a sense, that’s true. The Buckeyes gained 467 yards starting with a flawless touchdown drive (although Will Kacmark’s 32-yard catch could have been ruled an Oregon interception). Will Howard completed 28 of 35 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson ran for 53 yards to set up the score.

However, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said the offense was “a little chaotic.”

After rushing for 99 yards in the first quarter, the Buckeyes gained just 42 yards on the ground the rest of the game. It didn’t help that left guard Josh Simmons, arguably the Buckeye who improved the most this offseason, was injured in the second quarter. Day said it looks like Simmons could be lost for the season, which would be a huge blow.

Oregon was going to take away Ohio State’s deep passing game and, for the most part, they did. Howard was mostly content with short and medium distance passes. This worked most of the time. Emeka Egbuka (10 catches for 93 yards) made several plays to keep the offense alive.

In a seemingly quiet game, Smith had nine catches for 100 yards. The freshman will undoubtedly be most remembered for his offensive pass interference penalty. The ball fell on OSU’s final drive and blocked a 9-yard reception to the Oregon 19, instead pushing the ball back to the 43. (Despite coach Ryan Day’s claims that the Oregon defender was grabbing Smith, the receiver clearly pushed to gain separation.)

That knocked the Buckeyes out of field goal range, and they never got back into it. Howard said he thought he had it down 12 yards to 26 yards before time expired on the final play, but he was one second late.

“It sucks,” Howard said. “You don’t want to lose a game like that.”

For the second time in four seasons, Oregon exposed Ohio State’s flaws. During the Ducks’ 35-28 victory in Columbus in 2021, the defense’s problems were so obvious that Day demoted defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs.

Day isn’t going to do anything like that with Jim Knowles this time, but Saturday’s performance was sobering.

“We have to look at all of this,” Day said. “Something we preach a lot is (limiting explosive) plays and keeping the game up front, which forces them to push the ball up the court. That didn’t happen in this match. So it starts with coaching. We need to coach it better, demand it better, and then practice it better.

The Buckeyes will have ample time to practice. They have a break this week before the second half of the regular season begins.

You’ll have a tough game in early November at Penn State’s No. 4, as will, of course, the Michigan game after Thanksgiving. The Buckeyes have talked about a potential rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten championship game. This will probably happen if they go into business.

“We can sit here and look at one play here, another play there and complain about the decision,” Day said. “But we’re not going to do that. We will own it. We’re going to fix it.”

But Saturday night showed that if they don’t, Ohio’s season will once again end in disappointment. Given the expectations placed on this team, it would be devastating.

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