COLUMBUS, Ohio — For 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon, Ohio Stadium watched the game everyone expected. Then Oregon rewrote it. The No. 23 Ducks scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, capped by tight end Jamari Johnson’s 2-yard touchdown run with two seconds left in the half, and No. 12 Ohio State went to the locker room trailing 17-14 in a game both teams likely have to win to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
The Buckeyes could not have started better. Ohio State took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 11 plays, going 3 for 3 on third down before Bo Jackson finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run, according to the Register-Guard’s live updates from Ohio Stadium. Two possessions later, Jackson struck again, spinning through a tackle for an 8-yard score at the 1:20 mark of the first quarter to close a four-play, 82-yard drive built on pass plays of 17, 32 and 41 yards. Ohio State outgained Oregon 174-61 in the first quarter, and backup quarterback Luke Fahey — starting in place of the injured Julian Sayin — went 8 for 12 for 132 yards in a near-perfect opening frame.
The second quarter belonged entirely to the visitors. Oregon got on the board at the 11:26 mark when Gage Hurych capped a 12-play, 60-yard drive with a 33-yard field goal, and from there the Ducks’ defense took the game over. Ohio State gained just 17 yards in the entire second quarter, per the game’s official statistics. Oregon pass rusher Nasir Wyatt sacked Fahey for a 10-yard loss on third-and-7 to kill one Buckeye possession, and Ohio State punted three times in the quarter without crossing midfield.
Oregon’s comeback turned on a gamble. Facing a punt late in the half, the Ducks snapped the ball directly to linebacker Teitum Tuioti, who threw to fellow linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei for a 30-yard gain — a fake punt that flipped the field and the afternoon, the Register-Guard reported. Dierre Hill Jr. kept the drive alive with a 20-yard reception on third-and-15, then scored on a 9-yard run with 1:25 left in the half to cut the deficit to 14-10.
Fahey then handed Oregon one more chance. Forced to answer with 1:25 on the clock, he threw into coverage and freshman defensive back Devin Jackson intercepted him at the Oregon 41 with 1:05 remaining. Dylan Raiola — starting for the Ducks in place of the injured Dante Moore — drove Oregon 54 yards in eight plays, helped by two Ohio State defensive holding penalties in the red zone, and Johnson powered in from 2 yards out with two seconds left. Hurych’s extra point sent Oregon to the locker room ahead 17-14, and a stadium that had been shaking an hour earlier went quiet.
The halftime numbers tell the story of the swing, according to the official box score. Oregon leads in total yards 239-191 and first downs 14-9 despite running its offense behind a backup quarterback of its own. Raiola is 16 of 28 for 172 yards without a turnover. Fahey is 13 of 19 for 143 yards, but nearly all of it came in the first quarter, and his interception is the game’s only takeaway. Jackson carried eight times for 37 yards and both Ohio State touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith, the Buckeyes’ record-setting receiver, has been held to three catches for 46 yards.
What happens next decides both seasons. Ohio State (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) entered the day No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings — the first team out of the projected field — and a third loss, at home, to another backup quarterback would almost certainly end its playoff case. Oregon (5-3, 3-2) arrived with no margin at all. The Ducks won the opening coin toss and deferred, so they will receive the second-half kickoff with a chance to push the lead to two scores before Fahey and the Buckeyes touch the ball again. Ohio State’s defense, gashed for 17 points and 178 yards in the second quarter, has to rediscover the unit that owned the first 15 minutes — and Fahey has to shake off the first real adversity of his young career, in front of 100,000 people who suddenly have every reason to be nervous.
Photo: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0