Oregon beat No. 12 Ohio State 41-28 on Saturday at Ohio Stadium, and fourth down decided it. The Buckeyes went 0 for 4 on fourth-down tries, while the Ducks never turned the ball over.
Ohio State actually gained more yards, and possession time was split almost to the second. The difference was finishing. Oregon converted its only fourth-down attempt and went 8 of 17 on third down, and Ohio State kept coming away empty.
How It Happened
Ohio State started fast. Bo Jackson scored on a 16-yard run at 9:56 of the first quarter and added an 8-yard run with 1:20 left in the period, both with Connor Hawkins kicks. The Buckeyes led after one quarter.
Oregon got on the board with a 33-yard Gage Hurych field goal at 11:26 of the second. Dierre Hill Jr. scored on a 9-yard run with 1:25 left in the half, and Jamari Johnson punched in a 2-yard run as time expired. That sent the Ducks into halftime ahead.
The third quarter belonged to Oregon. Hill broke a 48-yard touchdown run at 13:11, and Dylan Raiola found Dakorien Moore for an 11-yard score at 6:37.
Raiola hit Brandon Smith from 15 yards at 12:02 of the fourth, and Oregon had scored every point from the second quarter until 3:25 remained. Ohio State answered there with Luke Fahey's 13-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith, and Fahey ran in the two-point conversion.
Hurych's 40-yard field goal at 1:08 restored the cushion. Fahey threw a 15-yard touchdown to Nate Roberts with 44 seconds left, but the two-point pass failed, and it was too late to matter.
Key Performers
Dierre Hill Jr., Oregon: Rushing TDs of 9 and 48 YDS
Dylan Raiola, Oregon: TD passes of 11 YDS (Dakorien Moore) and 15 YDS (Brandon Smith)
Gage Hurych, Oregon: Field goals of 33 and 40 YDS, every extra point
Luke Fahey, Ohio State: TD passes of 13 YDS (Jeremiah Smith) and 15 YDS (Nate Roberts), two-point conversion run
Bo Jackson, Ohio State: Rushing TDs of 16 and 8 YDS
Total yards: Oregon 395 – Ohio State 413
Passing: Oregon 26-41, 287 YDS – Ohio State 36-50, 360 YDS
Rushing: Oregon 33 ATT, 108 YDS – Ohio State 21 ATT, 53 YDS
Fourth down: Oregon 1-1 – Ohio State 0-4
Turnovers: Oregon 0 – Ohio State 1
Ohio State leaned on the pass, completing 36 of 50 throws, but its ground game never got going after Jackson's early scores. Oregon doubled the Buckeyes' rushing output, and Hill's long run early in the third is the play that broke the game open.
The Ducks' clean sheet mattered just as much. Ohio State threw an interception, and Oregon gave nothing back in return.
What It Means
This was a ranked-on-ranked meeting, and the lower-ranked team won it on the road. Both teams now sit at 6-3.
For Oregon, a win in Columbus over a higher-ranked opponent is the kind of result that should carry weight. For Ohio State, the lesson is plain: big passing numbers did not cover for a stalled run game and empty fourth-down trips.