This wasn’t how Dan Lanning drew it up on the chalkboard.
Oregon picked a horrible time to suffer its first loss of the season, a 41-21 setback in the Rose Bowl and the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes advance to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl while the Ducks season ends in heartbreak.
Ohio State scored the first 34 points of the game before Oregon knew what was what. Oregon played much better in the second half, but the game was over way before the Ducks began to play like they were capable.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 29-of-41 passing for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Traeshon Holden caught seven passes for 116 yards and those two touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Ducks, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Ohio State set the tone early on the very first drive of the game as the Buckeyes just needed three plays to go 75 yards in a minute as Jeremiah Smith strolled 45 yards for the early 7–0 lead
Oregon’s offense never got on track in the first half and by the time it did, it was way too late. On the other side of the field, the Buckeyes played a near-perfect half. They took a 14-0 lead on Emeka Egbuka’s 42-yard touchdown and it was just eight minutes in the game.
It was 17-0 on a field goal and then Ohio State basically put the game away on another long pass to Smith, this time going 43 yards and it was 24-0. Smith ended the game with seven catches for 187 yards and two scores.
Tre’Vayon Henderson made it 31-0 on a 66-yard run and this was when the Oregon offense finally got on track. The Ducks ended the half with a nice 10-play, 75-yard drive that took three minutes.
Oregon could have kicked the short field goal, but instead got a touchdown on the last play of the half. Gabriel found Holden in the back of the end zone and Oregon was on the scoreboard, down 34-8 at the halftime break. The Ducks received the second-half kickoff and made it two straight possessions with a touchdown, giving the Ducks some momentum. Noah Whittington, in for an injured Jordan James, had a three-yard plunge to make it 34-15.
Of what momentum the Ducks had was erased with another Buckeye touchdown. Henderson scored for the second time and it was 41-15 OSU..
Oregon was able to find the end zone one more time as Gabriel found Holden for a 27-yard touchdown to account for the final tally, which seems closer than it really was.
The Ducks were never in this game and provided for a massively disappointing ending to what was a very successful season that saw Oregon win 13 straight games and a Big Ten championship.
But unfortunately, the final game and the loss could linger for quite a while as this was Oregon’s best chance at a national championship in a decade.
Considering how well Dan Lanning is recruiting the prep ranks as well as the transfer portal, Oregon fans shouldn’t have to wait another decade for another chance at their first national title in program history.