Jeremiah Smith had the kind of night that rewrites a record book. It just came in a loss that may have ended Ohio State’s season. Oregon scored 38 straight points on Saturday and stunned the Buckeyes 41-28 at Ohio Stadium, handing Ohio State back-to-back losses for the first time since 2011.
Ohio State (6-3) led 14-0 late in the first quarter and looked in control. Then the game flipped, and it never flipped back. Oregon (6-3) scored on four of its next five drives, led 17-14 at halftime and kept pouring it on after the break, while the best receiver in the country watched most of it happen without the ball.
A fake punt started the avalanche
Oregon got on the board with a field goal early in the second quarter, and coach Dan Lanning then rolled the dice. Facing fourth-and-9 deep in his own territory, Lanning called a fake punt, and Teitum Tuioti threw 30 yards to Matayo Uiagalelei. Six plays later, Dierre Hill Jr. scored to cut the lead to 14-10.
Moments later, freshman safety Devin Jackson intercepted Ohio State quarterback Luke Fahey, and the Ducks scored again in the final seconds of the half to take a 17-14 lead. Hill opened the third quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run, and Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola threw second-half touchdown passes to Dakorien Moore and Brandon Smith as the lead grew to 38-14. Hill finished with 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Raiola, starting because Dante Moore is out for the season with a concussion, completed 25 of 40 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
The best player on the field went missing
Smith started fast. He caught three passes for 46 yards in the first quarter while Ohio State built its lead. Then the targets simply stopped. According to the official stats, Smith was not targeted again until the fourth quarter, a drought that stretched across the middle of the game while Oregon scored at will.
His frustration boiled over in the second half. The Associated Press reported that Smith was screaming at coaches and teammates on the sideline at the start of the fourth quarter. Sports Illustrated noted that he was also caught shouting toward the sideline, and in the direction of Fahey, as Ohio State trailed 31-14 late in the third quarter. Smith, a Heisman Trophy candidate, rarely shows that kind of emotion in public, which is why the clip spread so fast on Saturday night.
A record night on a bad night
When Ohio State finally went back to Smith, he delivered. His 13-yard touchdown catch with 3:25 left gave the Buckeyes late life, and his 57-yard catch in the final minute set up a Nate Roberts touchdown with 44 seconds to go. Smith finished with seven catches for 133 yards and one touchdown.
The long catch also pushed him over 100 receiving yards for the 16th time in his career, passing the Ohio State record of 15 such games held by Marvin Harrison Jr. It was a milestone that deserved a celebration. Instead, it arrived with the game already out of reach.
What this loss means for Ohio State
The numbers now are harsh. Ohio State is 6-3, has lost two straight games for the first time since 2011, and has almost no room left in the playoff race. Fahey, a freshman making his second start for the injured Julian Sayin, threw for 360 yards, but the offense went scoreless in the second and third quarters while the game got away.
Oregon, meanwhile, kept its own slim playoff hopes alive with a backup quarterback and one of the gutsiest calls of the season. Read how this game fit into the day in our preview of Saturday’s seven ranked matchups, and follow every score in our Sports coverage.
Sources: Associated Press game recap via NBC Sports; sportradar box score; Sports Illustrated; Eleven Warriors; USA Today Ducks Wire; Yardbarker.