Game Observations: Ohio State Offense Thrives In Loss to Oregon

Here are my initial observations of the Buckeyes offense in Oregon's upset win at Ohio Stadium.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Sep 11, 2021 4:04 PM EDT

Ohio State's offense in the first half felt a bit dull to me for the majority of their time with the ball. The Buckeyes didn't really open up things up much with the exception of their only scoring drive.

But just as they did a week ago, Ohio State's first drive of the second half looked like they were using an entirely difference playbook. Stroud looked poised in the pocket, had a bunch of time to throw and made a number of really good throws. Twice, he connect with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on touchdowns.

Three failed fourth down conversions sure loomed large when you looked at the final score board, but OSU finally converted on a critical 4th and 3 from the 25 yard line, when Stroud zipped a pass to Garrett Wilson for 23 yards and a first down. TreVeyon Henderson ran the next play into the end zone to bring the score to 28-21 Oregon with 12:54 to play.

Dawand Jones was hit with two false start penalties in the second half, and he's lucky he wasn't called for several more.

Chris Olave is an absolute star. He is so reliable, runs incredibly good routes and is quite a luxury for a young quarterback. He caught a career-high 12 passes this afternoon.

Game Observations: Ohio State Defense Struggles vs. Oregon

Three Ohio State receivers finished with more than 100 receiving yards. Garrett Wilson (117 and one touchdown), Olave (126) and Smith-Njigba (145 and two touchdowns) carried Ohio State's vaunted offensive attack. That's never happened before in school history.

Unfortunately, those aren't going to be the lasting memories on a day where the Buckeyes lost at home for the first time in more than four calendar years (Oklahoma; 2017).

The first sack allowed all season came at a costly moment, with just 3:30 left in the game and the buckeyes trying to piece together a game-tying comeback. The offensive line largely did a fantastic job again this afternoon, but that one really hurt.

The next play, C.J. Stroud rolled to his right and threw a poor pass that Oregon intercepted to essentially seal Ohio State's fate.

We'll have plenty more reaction coming as the day progresses.

-----

Be sure to check out our brand new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

Oregon Carves Up Buckeye Defense In Horseshoe Shootout to Upset No. 3 Ohio State

Game Observations: Ohio State Defense Struggles vs. Oregon

Oregon Stars Kayvon Thibodeaux, Justin Flowe Out vs. Buckeyes

Ohio State Looking Forward To Welcoming Recruits Back To Campus

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!