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The Buckeyes might not be able to overcome this loss.
No. 23 Oregon routed No. 12 Ohio State 41-28 at Ohio Stadium on Saturday in yet another shakeup to the Big Ten race and the College Football Playoff race. The Ducks (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) are creeping back in. The Buckeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) are now in unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory.
Ohio State is now a long-shot to make the College Football Playoff under coach Ryan Day– and that’s being generous. The Ducks ripped off 38 answered points starting in the second quarter at The Shoe.
The Buckeyes are now 0-2 with freshman quarterback Luke Fahey as the starter. Fahey took over for injured starter Julian Sayin, who is out indefinitely with an arm injury. Ohio State has one of the best strength-of-schedules in the FBS – and there is one roadway left to the CFP.
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Ohio State's second-quarter meltdown
Ohio State jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on a pair of first-quarter TD runs by Bo Jackson, which was an encouraging start after a 30-18 loss to No. 20 USC in Week 9.
The Buckeyes then had a brutal second-quarter meltdown. Oregon scored 17 second-quarter points and out-gained Ohio State 178-17. Buckeyes quarterback Luke Fahey, who hit 8 of 11 passes for 142 yards in the first quarter, had just one passing yard and threw a costly interception to Devin Jackson with 1:06 left in the first half.
Oregon turned that into a TD on the last play of the first half when Dan Lanning decided to run a play with two seconds left. Tight end Jamari Johnson motioned under center and scored on a 2-yard TD run. That gave the Ducks a 17-14 lead.
It got worse from there for the Buckeyes. Dierre Hill Jr. 49-yard TD run with 13:11 left in the third quarter to put the Ducks up 24-14.
Fahey threw a pass behind Devin McCuin on a fourth-and-2 from the Ohio State 42-yard line, and the Ducks pulled away from there. Dylan Raiola, who finished 25 of 40 for 257 yards, threw a pair of TD passes to Dakorien Moore and Brandon Smith. Oregon validated its spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.
What about Ohio State?
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Is Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff?
The Buckeyes will not make the College Football Playoff as an at-large team. The committee telegraphed that by putting the Buckeyes at No. 12 in the first set of CFP rankings – and Ohio State does not look the part since Sayin’s injury.
The offense isn't the same with Fahey at quarterback. Jeremiah Smith finished with seven catches for 133 yards and a late fourth-quarter TD reception, but many of those yards came after the game was decided. Ohio State's defense was shredded for the second straight week. The Buckeyes were 50-3 at home with Day as coach before Saturday's blowout loss. This loss at The Shoe is every bit as bad as the home losses to Michigan in 2022 and 2024.
Ohio State has not lost three regular-season games since 2011, so there is no question this is a low point in the Day era.
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So, where does that leave Ohio State this year? The Buckeyes will need the Big Ten to become a two-loss mess. No. 8 UCLA (9-0, 6-0) is inching closer to the conference championship game, and No. 4 Indiana (8-1, 5-1) is now a game ahead of the Buckeyes, and that’s crucial knowing Ohio State beat Indiana 19-15 on Oct. 17.
The Buckeyes also have a win against No. 19 Iowa, but road losses to No. 7 Texas, USC and now Oregon have piled up. The Buckeyes' only way back in is to get a berth in the Big ten championship game, which seems like a reach at best since it loses head-to-head tiebreakers with two-loss USC and two-loss Oregon.
It looks like too much to overcome.
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