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The Oregon Ducks had held the No. 1 ranking in the nation since the initial College Football Playoff rankings were revealed—and with an undefeated record, who could argue? However, after their Rose Bowl loss, the Ducks are no longer unblemished and out of the playoff hunt.
The Ducks hoped Wednesday night’s showdown with Ohio State would mirror their first meeting back in October. In the comforts of Autzen Stadium, Oregon edged out the Buckeyes 32-31, cementing their status as the top team in the country.
Unfortunately for Oregon, nothing about their Rose Bowl rematch resembled that magical October night in Eugene. The picturesque Pasadena setting turned somber as the roses meant for celebration became better fitting for a memorial. The Ducks suffered a punishing 41-21 defeat, bringing one of the best seasons in program history to an abrupt and humbling end.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning took full responsibility for the lopsided loss.
“They clicked tonight, we didn’t,” Lanning said, per SI. “I didn’t get our team prepared, and that’s a great team. When you play a great team like Ohio State, you can’t not be clicking on all cylinders. And they were—they were clicking on all cylinders. We didn’t really have the ability to stop them or to get anything going for us on offense. And we haven’t faced a lot of moments like that this year.”
Coach speak or not, it’s customary for a coach to take the blame after a defeat like this—it’s their job to prepare the team to compete. But with a game that spiraled out of control so quickly, there’s plenty of blame to go around, and it doesn’t rest solely on Lanning’s shoulders.
Oregon's defense had no answers for Jeremiah Smith… or anybody else for that matter
Before anyone at the Rose Bowl could fully grasp what was happening, it was 34-0 in favor of the Buckeyes. If not for a 75-yard, 10-play drive capped by a touchdown and two-point conversion just before halftime, Oregon would have been completely shut out in the first half. Those eight points, however, did little to change the narrative of the game.
Ohio State added just one more score in the second half—an eight-yard touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson—but their first-half dominance had already sealed the outcome.
The Buckeyes scored on six of their seven first-half possessions, punting only once. Much of the damage came from wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who Lanning called “NFL ready” in the postgame press conference. Smith hauled in seven receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns, showcasing his big-play ability.
Receiver Emeka Egbuka also contributed with a first-quarter touchdown, while the Buckeyes’ ground game proved equally devastating. Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for 181 rushing yards and two touchdowns, with Henderson breaking free for a 66-yard score in the second quarter. Altogether, Ohio State amassed nearly 500 yards of total offense—the second-highest total allowed by Oregon this season—and handed the Ducks their worst defensive performance in terms of points allowed.
To make matters worse, this marked the second consecutive game where Oregon’s defense posted season-worst totals. Dating back to the Big Ten Championship against Penn State, the Ducks have allowed season highs in yards (518, 500), points (37, 41), and yards per play (7.0, 8.8) in back-to-back games, exposing significant vulnerabilities in what had been a formidable unit earlier in the season.
Dillon Gabriel and Ducks offense were stifled this time by Ohio State
In their first meeting, Dillon Gabriel led the Oregon offense to one of its best performances of the season. The Ducks racked up nearly 500 yards of offense (496) at 7.6 yards per play, scoring four touchdowns in the process. The Rose Bowl, however, was a completely different story.
Despite Gabriel, a Heisman Trophy finalist, breaking the FBS career record for touchdown passes, he and the Ducks offense were shut down for most of the night.
As mentioned, Oregon didn’t find the end zone until their final drive of the first half, and their possessions before that were a disaster—either punting or turning the ball over on downs. Four of those drives were three-and-outs.
Ohio State’s defense had complete control, and nowhere was that more evident than in their relentless pressure on Gabriel. In October, the Buckeyes’ defensive front couldn’t lay a finger on him. On Wednesday, they sacked him an eye-popping eight times—a staggering stat for an offensive line that had allowed just 13 sacks all season.
Gabriel managed to pad his stats late, finishing with 299 passing yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a completely non-existent ground game. Lead back Jordan James left with an injury after managing just 14 yards on seven carries. The Ducks as a whole rushed 28 times for a jaw-dropping -23 yards, with Gabriel accounting for -43 yards himself.
This helped Oregon achieve their worst total yardage and yards per play performance of the season at just 3.9 yards for a total of 276 yards.
Can anyone stop Ohio State?
The way Ohio State is playing right now, it’s hard to fault any team that falls to them. Since their late season loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes have outscored Tennessee and Oregon by a combined 83-38, largely fueled by their first-half dominance.
Of course, no opponent is blameless, but when a team is clicking like this Ohio State squad, the narrative shifts. It’s not just about their success—it’s about their ability to impose their will and make even strong opponents look overmatched. At this point, stopping the Buckeyes feels like a near-impossible task.
