This game was circled on everyone’s calendar since the 2024 college football schedule came out.
Ohio State at Oregon promised to be a big game with playoff implications and Big Ten title hopes for both teams.
The two teams didn’t disappoint as it came down to the wire, but it was No. 3 Oregon which came out on top of No. 2 Ohio State 32-31 in front of a record crowd of 60,129 inside Autzen Stadium.
There were seven lead changes in the contest, four in just the second half alone. Both teams had a last chance to win the game and ultimately, it came down to Atticus Sappington’s 19-yard field goal with 1:50 left that turned out to be the difference.
“Anybody got heart monitor? What an unbelievable atmosphere tonight,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “Our fans, man, they made such a difference. We’re so proud of them. We talked all week with our players about taking jabs. It’s not about throwing haymakers. It’s about being accurate and precise with jabs, right? And just the next play is the most important play. I thought they really owned that tonight. We talked about coming in this game that we, you know, we have to outrush our opponent.
“We have to out physical our opponent. He outrushed Ohio State. We talked about field position in this game and how important that was going to be. I thought we gave them some long fields, and that is a great team that we just played.”
The Ducks found themselves down 31-29 with six minutes left after Jayden Fielding hit a 40-yard field goal. Everything was set up for an epic drive and a drive all Oregon fans will remember for a long time and Dillon Gabriel and the rest of the offense came through. They drove down 73 yards and although the Ducks didn’t punch it in the end zone, the chip shot from Sappington was just enough.
But Ohio State still had plenty of time to kick their own game-winning field goal and it looked as though that was exactly what was happening when Jeremiah Smith caught a pass down to the Oregon 20.
But the true freshman was called for an offensive pass interference penalty and that put the Buckeyes back to the 40 with just 10 seconds to go. After off-setting penalties on the play, Ohio State was faced with a third down with six seconds to go.
They needed to get a quick play for about 10 yards to have any hope, but quarterback Will Howard was flushed out of the pocket and by the time he slid to stop the play, there were zeros on the clock and the Ducks won the game.
Both teams played great as there were no turnovers, but Gabriel played a bit better than his counterpart, going 23-of-34 passing for 341 yards and two touchdowns. But just as importantly, no interceptions.
Receiver Evan Stewart had a big day with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. Jordan James added 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
NEXT UP; The Ducks will try to move on from this huge win when they go to a 1-5 Purdue team on Friday. ( Primetime on Fox TV – 5:00 PM )
GAME HIGHLIGHTS