UGH! Well this one was frustrating...
It's a shame the Buckeyes had to come out on the losing end. But were we really surprised? Oregon is a great football team. Ohio State is a great football team. Neither one was going to blow the other out. There was potential for a blowout, especially if one of the offenses got going early. But I saw a shootout coming. It just stings that Ohio State couldn't lock this one down.
What went wrong? Let's take a look.
Missing Person's Report: Denzel Burke
I know Denzel is a college kid. I know he's human. I know he makes mistakes just like the rest of us do. He made plenty tonight. But he got burnt all. Night. Long. Strike that. He got roasted until he was as extra crispy as KFC classic fried chicken!
The guy who many tout as a great NFL cornerback prospect had probably his worst game as a Buckeye. His stock will definitely plummet after tonight, and it should. He flat out stunk. He didn't do his job.
He was just consistently out of position, got burnt on double moves at least twice for big plays, and just generally looked like he didn't know what the heck he was doing. He was in WAY over his head!
It's downright irritating to see pass defense like this. Ohio State didn't even need to be great in that department. If they had been, Oregon wouldn't have done squat, and the Buckeyes win in a blowout. But alas that's not what happened.
Dillon Gabriel went 23-34 for 341 yards for Oregon, and scored two touchdowns. Most of his yardage (probably at least 200 yards), came from picking on Denzel Burke. This was the biggest reason Ohio State lost. If Burke and the pass defense had been even remotely decent, Ohio State wins this one going away. So irritating!
But the next thing was extremely irritating too...
Red Rover, Red Rover, let the Ducks come on over!
I remember playing that game as a kid. The run defense may as well have been that soft. They were solid enough. But not good enough to win on primetime in Eugene.
I'm not a coach. I've never been a defensive coordinator. But if I were, nothing would tick me off quicker than allowing four to five yards on first down. You just can't do that. With an offense like Oregon's, consistently giving them second-and-medium or third-and-short, is just BEGGING to get your butt kicked up and down the field. And for Ohio State on the ground, especially in the second half, that's exactly what happened.
Oregon ran the ball 31 times for 155 yards, which came out to exactly five yards per carry. Oregon's offensive coordinator was probably salivating being in second and medium all night long.
All he had to do was dial up any kind of play. He had all sorts of options. He never consistently operated from behind the eight ball. Not once. He was never forced to call plays with his unit being stuck behind the line of scrimmage. The Buckeye pass defense was the worst part of the game, but the run defense wasn't anything to write home about either.
JT Tuimoloau biting on a fake, only for Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel to waltz right into the endzone on a keeper, was just a microcosm, a snapshot, of how the whole night went. When Ohio State needed a big defensive stop, especially on the ground, they could never get it often enough.
Dillon Gabriel's jersey was also far, far too clean. Which leads to my next reason the Buckeyes lost...
Zero pressure up front
I mean that too. Ohio State was blanked in the sack department. Not once did they get home, finish, and bring Dillon Gabriel to the turf. If they had? We're having a different conversation right now, and probably celebrating.
But he was a master escape artist. He probably made Harry Houdini smile while he gave our front seven fits! Our defensive line had no containment whatsoever, and they never got enough push up front. Oregon's offensive line kept him upright all game.
Jim Knowles needs to scheme better in this part of things. He flat out failed. The Ducks were picking up Buckeye blitzes all night long. Ohio State didn't get home once. Oh, they might've rushed Gabriel a few times in the second half. But they never got home once.
For a defense that aspires to be National Championship-worthy, this part of the game was flat out unacceptable. Not gonna sugarcoat it.
Not gonna sugarcoat the final reason Ohio State lost either.
Earth to Will Howard: FREAKING SLIDE!
Will Howard was brought over to Ohio State from Kansas State for one reason and one reason only: To compete for, and win the National Championship. He still can do that, even after tonight. The 12-team playoff is a season-saver. But this drove me crazy!
For all the mistakes Ohio State made tonight, they still had a chance to win it on that final drive. The Buckeye offense was moving at a steady rhythm in the two-minute drill, Will Howard didn't really make a mistake throwing the football, and it looked like they had a chance, even with the massive offensive PI penalty late.
But on third and long with six seconds left, Will Howard lost all concept of time. I know it's easy for me to criticize him when I'm not in his shoes. I understand that. But he knew he only had six seconds left and one timeout. How could he not remember that? I don't get it.
Why did he think he could make something happen with his legs in that short amount of time? He's not Neo from the Matrix. He can't slow down or stop time. I bet he wishes he could now though. He's probably sick to his stomach.
But in that situation, he needs to have better common sense. If you're gonna run, run straight ahead, get what you can, and call the final timeout.
Or check it down for a quick pass to Jeremiah, Emeka, or someone else, and call the timeout. Then send out the kicker for a long field goal, and let the chips fall where they may.
But don't screw your team like that! This was a crappy way to end the game. I saw the replay. I was livid initially, but I've since cooled off.
If Howard had slid with about three seconds left, Ohio State is looking at probably a 45-yard field goal. Certainly not a gimme.
But it definitely could've been a makeable field goal, especially if the execution from the special teams was flawless. But now we'll never know if Ohio State could've beaten Oregon by hitting one from that range.
Will Howard forgot about time management at the absolute worst time, tried to play hero ball and make something happen, and it cost him and the Buckeyes DEARLY. Next time he's in that position, I have three words for him: WATCH THE CLOCK!
What's next for Ohio State?
The Buckeyes have another bye week next week. Then they battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Columbus on October 26th.
Maybe the bye week came at just the right time. Ohio State might need the week off. The defense was flat out garbage, Will Howard might need to go back to work on practicing the two-minute drill, and the defensive line needs to dial up the pass rush more from here on out.
I know Oregon is a great football team. But Ohio State had a chance to make a BIG statement to the rest of the country on the road in Eugene, and they couldn't do it.
But playing Nebraska in two weeks could give the Buckeyes a chance to work out their kinks. They're gonna have to. Because the Lion is growling at the door after that game. Ohio State will play their second huge game of the season at Penn State on November 2nd.
But for now, they just need to decompress, take everything that went wrong, learn from it and come back stronger.
Something tells me this won't be the last we see of those dastardly Ducks. I have a feeling in my gut we'll face them for the Big Ten Championship in about six or seven weeks. But we'll have to wait and see...
Until then, Go Bucks.
Statistical Leaders
Will Howard: 28-35, 326 yards, 2 TDs
TreVeyon Henderson: 10 carries, 87 yards
Jeremiah Smith: 9 receptions, 100 yards, TD
Source
ESPN
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