In a new-Big Ten battle with top-three ranked teams, it was the Oregon Ducks narrowly getting by Ohio State in an instant classic on Saturday.
Oregon Ducks, welcome to the Big Ten.
The third-ranked Ducks stopped a late drive from No. 2 Ohio State and came away with an epic 32-31 victory in Eugene on Saturday night.
This game was a movie from the start – in the first half alone, we saw a successful onside kick, an ejection, and a blocked PAT almost taken to the house. But somehow, the ending was even better.
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Early in the fourth quarter, Dillon Gabriel found the end zone from 27 yards out on the ground, and the PAT put the Ducks up, 29-28. The Buckeyes answered, though, with a 40-yard field goal to go up two. Oregon got the ball back with six minutes left and marched down the field, and on their 11th play of the drive, they opted for the chip shot field goal to take a 32-31 lead with 1:47 left.
Will Howard was sacked for nine yards on the Buckeyes’ first play of the ensuing drive, but he quickly completed passes of 13, eight, nine, and 26 yards to get inside of field goal range. However, an offensive pass interference bumped them back out of it – it also didn’t appear that Ohio State knew the clock would be running when the ball was placed following their penalty.
With six seconds left, Howard ran for several yards to give his team a field goal shot, but he didn’t slide early enough to call a timeout, ending the game.
Had Howard broken out even a tick earlier (it did not appear to be a designed run), there may have been enough time to call a timeout. Ducks fans stormed the field almost immediately, and it took quite a while for Gabriel and head coach Dan Lanning to get off the field.
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The game was back and forth from the jump, with nobody leading by more than one possession. Ohio State scored on the first drive, but Oregon later matched it – this was where that blocked PAT happened, keeping it a 7-6 Buckeyes lead.
Oregon missed a field goal on their next drive, and the Buckeyes scored just four plays later to lead by eight. Oregon scored on their next drive, but trailing by two, they opted for the two-point conversion. It was unsuccessful, but thanks to a personal foul penalty, they kicked off at midfield. Thus, they went for the onside kick and got it. They took advantage by kicking a field goal – but they lost Traeshon Holden on the drive after he spat on an opponent and was booted from the game. Both teams then each scored another seven points before the half, thus, the Ducks led 22-21 in the locker room.
Oregon punted on their first drive of the second half, and the Buckeyes answered with a touchdown from freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith to go up six. The Ducks got inside the five-yard line on the next drive, but they failed to score, turning the ball over on downs. Thankfully for them, though, it didn’t matter, as they forced a punt and got the ball back at the start of the fourth quarter.
Gabriel finished with 341 passing yards, while Jordan James ran for 115 yards on 23 carries, one of which was a touchdown. Evan Stewart led all receivers with 149 yards on his seven catches – he and Tez Johnson scored Oregon’s receiving touchdowns.
Howard’s 326 yards through the air weren’t enough – Smith and Emeka Egbuka combined for 19 receptions, 193 yards and two touchdowns.
It was Oregon’s first win against a top-two team in program history – they had previously been 0-19-1. Oregon remains 6-0, while Ohio State is now 5-1.
Oregon heads to Purdue next Friday, while the Buckeyes will host Nebraska.
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