The same play beat Ohio State three different times.
The strategy is simple: hand the ball off or pitch the ball to the left, fooling the Ohio State defensive line and allowing the Ducks to seal the edge and simply walk into the end zone. The first: a 14-yard run by CJ Verdell capping off a 10-play, 99-yard scoring drive at the start of the second quarter. The second: a 14-yard pitch from Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown to Verdell at the end of the second quarter. Scoring again on a 77-yard run by Verdell up the middle, Brown handed the ball off to Travis Dye to the left for a 5-yard touchdown.Do you sense a pattern? Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead's play call was not rocket science. It just remained consistent. And it was consistently something that Ohio State could not solve. Ohio State’s defense left the field Saturday allowing 505 yards — 269 on the ground and 236 through the air — allowing 6.9 yards per play compared to one tackle for loss and no sacks. Each drive was the same: Brown rolling out without pressure and finding a wide open receiver in the zone between the safeties and the linebackers, moving down the field averaging 13.9 yards per completion. It was the play that beat Ohio State with 10:10 to go in the game: Brown finding tight end Moliki Matavao on a play-action bootleg for a 14-yard score. Simply put, Ohio State could not stop Oregon. No matter how many times the Buckeyes rotated personnel, no matter how often redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Stroud tried to bring the deficit closer, there was a wide-open receiver in the zone or a clear path for an Oregon running back to score on. If Ohio State has any hope of making a run at a national title, this isn't the defense that's going to take it there.
CJ Stroud was good? What happened?
In his first ever college start, Stroud was not consistent: completing 13-of-22 pass attempts for 298 yards and four touchdowns. That completion percentage is to be expected from a college quarterback who came in without ever throwing a pass in a game. Heading into the second game of his college career, Stroud did show dramatic improvement: completing 35-of-54 passes for 483 yards: second most in Ohio State history. It helps to have a wide receiver room like Stroud has access to. Ohio State had three receivers — Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — record more than 100 yards through the air, with Smith-Njigba taking in two scores after recording two receptions for 12 yards against Minnesota. But the weird thing was, it didn't really translate onto the scoreboard. The redshirt freshman threw one touchdown pass in the second, third and fourth quarters, but never put the Buckeyes in a position to catch up to an Oregon offense that converted chance after chance. The key number: fourth-down conversions. Ohio State kept its offense on the field five times, converting a first down only twice. When it counted, whether it was on fourth down, or late in the game, Stroud could not lead that game-winning drive, throwing an interception with 2:50 to go in the game to secure the loss. That takes a level of experience that not many quarterbacks have after two games.
Where did the Ohio State running game go?
Ohio State’s offensive game plan seemed to be more of a balanced approach early on, recording 11 runs and 10 passes in the first 15 minutes. But something just wasn’t clicking in the running game, even without Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux roaming the edge and freshman linebacker Justin Flowe in the middle of the field. Instead, the Buckeye offense abandoned the run, recording 128 yards on 31 carries compared to 54 pass attempts. Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson separated themselves as 1A and 1B for the Buckeyes running game, taking 90% of the total carries, including a two-yard run by Henderson in the fourth quarter. But for consistent success, especially with the struggles Ohio State had on converting fourth downs, Williams and Henderson need to be more involved. A one-dimensional Ohio State offense could work during Big Ten play, but variety will be key if the Buckeyes want to make a run.
There's much more to come. Stay tuned for postgame reactions.
The strategy is simple: hand the ball off or pitch the ball to the left, fooling the Ohio State defensive line and allowing the Ducks to seal the edge and simply walk into the end zone. The first: a 14-yard run by CJ Verdell capping off a 10-play, 99-yard scoring drive at the start of the second quarter. The second: a 14-yard pitch from Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown to Verdell at the end of the second quarter. Scoring again on a 77-yard run by Verdell up the middle, Brown handed the ball off to Travis Dye to the left for a 5-yard touchdown.Do you sense a pattern? Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead's play call was not rocket science. It just remained consistent. And it was consistently something that Ohio State could not solve. Ohio State’s defense left the field Saturday allowing 505 yards — 269 on the ground and 236 through the air — allowing 6.9 yards per play compared to one tackle for loss and no sacks. Each drive was the same: Brown rolling out without pressure and finding a wide open receiver in the zone between the safeties and the linebackers, moving down the field averaging 13.9 yards per completion. It was the play that beat Ohio State with 10:10 to go in the game: Brown finding tight end Moliki Matavao on a play-action bootleg for a 14-yard score. Simply put, Ohio State could not stop Oregon. No matter how many times the Buckeyes rotated personnel, no matter how often redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Stroud tried to bring the deficit closer, there was a wide-open receiver in the zone or a clear path for an Oregon running back to score on. If Ohio State has any hope of making a run at a national title, this isn't the defense that's going to take it there.
CJ Stroud was good? What happened?
In his first ever college start, Stroud was not consistent: completing 13-of-22 pass attempts for 298 yards and four touchdowns. That completion percentage is to be expected from a college quarterback who came in without ever throwing a pass in a game. Heading into the second game of his college career, Stroud did show dramatic improvement: completing 35-of-54 passes for 483 yards: second most in Ohio State history. It helps to have a wide receiver room like Stroud has access to. Ohio State had three receivers — Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — record more than 100 yards through the air, with Smith-Njigba taking in two scores after recording two receptions for 12 yards against Minnesota. But the weird thing was, it didn't really translate onto the scoreboard. The redshirt freshman threw one touchdown pass in the second, third and fourth quarters, but never put the Buckeyes in a position to catch up to an Oregon offense that converted chance after chance. The key number: fourth-down conversions. Ohio State kept its offense on the field five times, converting a first down only twice. When it counted, whether it was on fourth down, or late in the game, Stroud could not lead that game-winning drive, throwing an interception with 2:50 to go in the game to secure the loss. That takes a level of experience that not many quarterbacks have after two games.
Where did the Ohio State running game go?
Ohio State’s offensive game plan seemed to be more of a balanced approach early on, recording 11 runs and 10 passes in the first 15 minutes. But something just wasn’t clicking in the running game, even without Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux roaming the edge and freshman linebacker Justin Flowe in the middle of the field. Instead, the Buckeye offense abandoned the run, recording 128 yards on 31 carries compared to 54 pass attempts. Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson separated themselves as 1A and 1B for the Buckeyes running game, taking 90% of the total carries, including a two-yard run by Henderson in the fourth quarter. But for consistent success, especially with the struggles Ohio State had on converting fourth downs, Williams and Henderson need to be more involved. A one-dimensional Ohio State offense could work during Big Ten play, but variety will be key if the Buckeyes want to make a run.
There's much more to come. Stay tuned for postgame reactions.
