Oregon Football: 3 Hot takes from Ducks road win against Ohio State

Oregon football went to Columbus and defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 35-28. Here are three hot takes after the Ducks’ win. 

In the best game of the season, the Oregon Ducks made the 2,450-mile trip to Columbus, Ohio, and defeated the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes 35-38 this afternoon. This was the best win for Oregon football since Mario Cristobal became head coach.

The Golden Gophers gave the Oregon Ducks a formula for defeating the Buckeyes last weekend. Minnesota running back Mohammed Ibrahim ran for 163 yards against the Buckeyes. The Ducks came into this game with a similar game plan.

The Ducks ran for 269 yards, led by running back C.J. Verdell, who ran for 160 yards and two scores. Quarterback Anthony Brown chipped in with 65 rushing yards. The Ducks were balanced offensively with 38 rushes and 35 passes.

For the Buckeyes, it was the defense that did them in. This was the second week in a row the Buckeyes gave up over 200 rushing yards. Offensively, C.J. Stroud threw for 484 yards and three touchdowns.

The difference in the game was Oregon football’s ability in the third quarter to get up three scores and hold on for the win.

The Ducks were able to win the game despite their two best players, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Justin Flowe, out for the game.

What does this win mean for the Ducks? Here are three hot takes from their win

3. Oregon has the biggest win for a Pac-12 team this season.

This might not be as much of a hot-take after this weekend. The Pac-12 looks average at best after two weeks. The Stanford Cardinal looked flat-out awful in week one against the Kansas State Wildcats in their 24-7 loss on a neutral field.

Fast forward a week, and Stanford mauled USC 42-28 (and the game was not that close) in the Los Angeles Colusseum. The Trojans looked overmatched and were whipped in the trenches against a team that was thoroughly outclassed by a middle-of-the-road Big 12 team.

Speaking of the Big 12, future member BYU defeated Utah in the Holy war, and Cal lost to TCU. The Ducks were clearly the best team in the North coming into the season; they look like the conference class.

In a season where many teams have the “if not this year, when” label, the Ducks have a clear path to the championship and the Playoff. The South looks average at best, and Oregon football is the best team in the north by far.

If the Ohio State game showed us anything, the game showed us that Mario Cristobal had relinquished control of the offense to coordinator Joe Moorhead.

The game plan against Ohio State was masterful.

The Ducks are officially frontrunners; they have to play like it. Hopefully, Cristobal learned that during his time with Nick Saban at Alabama.