Impact on the Polls After Oregon's 32-31 Win Over Ohio State

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EUGENE – The Sea of Green at Autzen Stadium was ready to give the number two Ohio State Buckeyes a rude awakening. The number three ranked team Oregon Ducks had the style of offense that the Ohio State defense wasn’t ready for.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was sensational. There was plenty of talk pregame that Gabriel would give Ohio State plenty of matchup problems. The speed of receiver Tez Johnson, receiver Evan Stewart, and Tight End Terrance Ferguson were a frustrating combo that Ohio State just couldn’t keep up with. Oregon running back Jordan James ran for 115 yards and one touchdown. Stewart hauled in seven catches for 149 yards and one touchdown. Johnson caught seven passes for 75 yards and one touchdown. Gabriel completed 23 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.

The Buckeyes faced competition that was not nearly on the same level offensively. Defeating Akron, Central Michigan, Marshal, Michigan State, and Iowa was easy work. Oregon’s offense played at a completely different level.

Up 32-31 late in the fourth quarter, Ohio State almost went down the field for a game-winning field goal. However, a pass interference call pushed the Buckeyes out of field goal range. After that, Ohio State Quarterback Will Howard appeared to lose track of the time remaining because he ran them slid down with no time remaining. Had Howard slid with one second left, the Buckeyes could’ve attempted a medium-range field goal with the opportunity for a comeback win.

Howard passed for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Buckeyes receiver Jeremiah Smith caught nine passes for 100 yards and one touchdown. Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson ran for 87 yards.

Ohio State could’ve moved down to ranks 7-10 but the Buckeyes moved down to number four in the associated press poll and number five in the coaches poll. Oregon could’ve moved ahead of Texas could’ve been the new number one team. Instead, Oregon is the number two team in both the associated press poll and the coaches poll. After Texas’ win over Oklahoma, Texas secured the number one rank in both of the polls. That was not expected to change.

Oregon looks like a lock for the number one or two team for the remainder of the year. Although a rematch against Ohio State appears to be a certainty given both teams are strong enough to win their remaining games, several possible outcomes could play out. It’ll be interesting to see if Oregon receiver Traeshon Holden will return to the game against Purdue. Holden was ejected from the game against the Buckeyes after he spat on a player.

Both teams are expected to make the expanded 12-team playoffs and could face each other again in the Big Ten Championship.

Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning immediately joked with the media during the post-game press conference “Anyone have a heart rate monitor?” “What an unbelievable atmosphere tonight.” “We have to outrush our opponent and out-physical our opponent.”

Oregon faces Purdue on Friday, October 18. Ohio State faces Nebraska on Saturday, October 26.