Ohio State Football: 3 takeaways from tough loss to Oregon

The last time Oregon and Ohio State football met on the field was the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015. As we know, Ohio State cruised to a 42-20 victory led by a monster performance by Ezekiel Elliott.

While today’s game had a different set of cast, it appeared as if the Ducks were out for revenge. After a scoreless first quarter, Oregon kicked off the scoring with a 14-yard rushing touchdown by CJ Verdell.

Ohio State would respond with a quick touchdown of their own, but would soon find themselves playing catch up for the remainder of the afternoon.

A big reason for this was the Buckeyes’ stagnant offensive output. Ohio State started off the day 0-for-3 on fourth down and had an early drive in which they punted from the Oregon 34-yard line.

The second half is where things really heated up between these teams. Five of the first seven drives in the second half resulted in a touchdown.

The Buckeyes stayed within distance and had three shots to tie up the game in the fourth quarter. Similar to the first quarter, the Buckeyes stalled on each drive and were not able to convert on any of these chances.

This would lead to Ohio State’s first loss to Oregon in school history, and now the Buckeyes face an uphill battle to get to the College Football Playoff.

Let’s take a look at the key takeaways from this game.