The start looked like the Ohio State everyone expected in August. The Buckeyes scored 14 in the 1st quarter, Oregon scored nothing, and on a cloudy 47-degree afternoon with barely any wind it looked like the home team would pull away. It also looked a lot like the Northwestern game, where Oregon trailed 10-0 after 1 and came back. The Ducks did it again, and this time they did it on the road against a ranked team.
Then came 2 quarters where the game changed hands. Oregon scored 17 in the 2nd quarter to lead 17-14 at the half, then added 14 more in the 3rd. Ohio State scored 0 in that stretch. In Luke Fahey's 2nd start, the Buckeyes followed an 18-point night at USC with 2 straight scoreless quarters at home. The defense that carried them all season gave up 31 points in 30 minutes.
Ohio State put 14 on the board in the 4th quarter, but Oregon scored 10 of its own, so the Buckeyes never got closer than they had been at the end of the 3rd. The box score we checked doesn't break down Fahey's passing line, Dakorien Moore's receiving day, or what freshman Brandon Smith did in place of Jordon Davison. The scoring says enough on its own. Ohio State scored all 28 of its points in the 1st and 4th quarters and none in between, and that was the difference in the game.
The injury list was supposed to tilt this toward Ohio State. Oregon was without Davison, I. Hooks and J. McClellan, plus Moore at quarterback. Ohio State had Jay Timmons back, Ian Moore expected at left tackle, and Ja'Kobi Jackson still out. None of it stopped Oregon from scoring 41. Before this game the Ducks had scored 10 at Illinois and 15 against UCLA. Now they've won their last 2, and Ohio State has lost 2 straight since Julian Sayin got hurt.
For Ohio State, the split the preview described is now the whole story of the season. With Sayin, the Buckeyes beat Illinois, Iowa and Maryland by 17 or more each. Without him, they lost by 12 at USC and by 13 at home to an unranked team. Ryan Day has said Sayin won't be back within a month, so Fahey has to find answers fast.
