PASADENA, Calif. — For the majority of the regular season, Oregon looked like the best team in the country.
They took a few games to figure it out, but once the Ducks clicked, they were a scary sight. With an explosive offense capable of scoring at will, it looked like they were destined to win their first national championship and finally solidify themselves as a football powerhouse.
Even after Ohio State routed Tennessee for the right to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl, the feeling on both sides was far from similar: Oregon had bulldozed its way through the Big Ten in its first season in the conference; Ohio State fans largely hadn’t gotten over the loss to Michigan. If the Buckeyes were to slip up again, the “lunatic fringe” – as Kirk Herbstreit described the most fanatic Ohio State fans – was ready to axe coach Ryan Day before the clock hit zero.
So as a stealth bomber flew across the Pasadena sky with kickoff moments away, the green side of the stadium was feeling optimistic about its first playoff appearance in a decade, while the scarlet and gray side readied its pitchforks once again.
But on New Year’s Day, it was the Ducks that laid an egg.
Oregon couldn’t replicate any of its magic and was soundly beaten by the Buckeyes, ending a dream season in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
It didn’t really make sense. Oregon was coming off a Big Ten championship game where it put up 45 points against a good Penn State defense. It was facing an Ohio State team it was able to attack in a thrilling win more than two months ago. Instead, the Rose Bowl Game was over before halftime.
What happened?
“Sometimes it’s not your day. I think that was today. It wasn’t our day today,” said coach Dan Lanning.
One quarter was all Ohio State really needed to prove it was better than Oregon. The Buckeyes were already up 7-0 after the first minute and the Ducks had back-to-back three-and-outs to start. By the end of the first 15 minutes, it was a 14-0 Ohio State lead and the Buckeyes were finding every big-play opportunity while Oregon couldn’t move the ball.
When it reached 34-0 by the second quarter, there wasn’t going to be anything Oregon could do to come back.
“We really didn’t have the ability to stop them, and we didn’t have the ability to get something going for us on offense,” Lanning said. “We just ran into a great team and we didn’t play our best.”
What killed Oregon were the big plays. Ohio State’s first four touchdowns were all at least 40-yard scores, absolutely crushing the spirit of a defense that ranked in the top 15 in several statistical categories. Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith was producing highlight after highlight and quarterback Will Howard was deceiving the defense to find guys open.
Lanning, the third-year Ducks coach, took the blame for the loss. He said the coaches didn’t have a good enough plan, and when things started to go south, adjustments weren’t made fast enough to stabilize the team. The Buckeyes did a good job getting their receivers in favorable one-on-one matchups, leading to big gains.
“They did a good job taking shots early on,” said senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa. “They were just firing on all cylinders. Credit to them.”
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Through three quarterfinal games, it’s the three teams that had to play a first-round game that moved on to the semifinals, while the three teams that got an opening-round bye are one and done.
Did the long layoff hurt the conference champions who had to face teams with momentum?
“I think that’s an excuse,’ Lanning said. ‘I thought our guys prepared well going in. Obviously they had a better plan than us, but that’s an excuse.’
Almost immediately after the bracket was revealed, it was obvious the Ducks were not really rewarded for having a perfect regular season. They were going to get a tough opponent in the quarterfinals, while other teams like Penn State were seen as getting an easier path for a title run.
But Lanning isn’t mad about the situation. He said his team would’ve had to face great teams regardless of the round it did it in.
“We had an opportunity. We didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. I’m not going to make excuses for our opportunity,” Lanning said. “No complaints for us for having that opportunity. (Ohio State) took advantage of it and we didn’t.”