Why Ohio State’s Football Season Is On Life Support After Oregon Loss
By Google News Sports ·
The Ohio State Buckeyes can still clinch a berth in the Big Ten title game next month, but they dug themselves a deeper hole following Saturday's 41-28 setback against the Oregon Ducks in Columbus, a game that featured two top-20 Big Ten powers.
Nothing went right for the Buckeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) after a fast start, which saw the Ducks (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) take away the home-field advantage altogether by silencing Buckeye Nation with explosive plays to flip the momentum and overcome a 14-0 deficit by scoring 38 unanswered points in an outright upset Saturday.
With back-to-back losses for Ohio State, it has three games remaining in order to salvage its season. Of course, it can only control what is in front of it, but its lofty College Football Playoff and Big Ten title dreams will need a domino effect to make them a reality come Thanksgiving weekend.
Luckily for Ohio State, its remaining schedule is doable. The Buckeyes welcome the Northwestern Wildcats (6-3, 3-3 in the Big Ten) to Columbus next Saturday (noon ET, Fox), as both teams have dropped back-to-back games.
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After breaking through into the top-20, the Wildcats fell victim to the Ducks, 34-26, in Eugene in Week 9, followed by a frustrating home loss to No. 19-ranked Iowa (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) Saturday night in Evanston. The consecutive defeats all but eliminate the Wildcats from College Football Playoff contention, as they now have to play spoiler the rest of the way to improve their bowl positioning.
The following week, Ohio State heads to Lincoln, Neb., to face a desperate Nebraska Cornhuskers team that needs just one win in its final three games to clinch a bowl berth. After starting the season 5-0, the Cornhuskers (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) have been in free-fall mode since.
Friday night in Champaign against the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten), Nebraska suffered its fourth straight defeat, 24-13, leading coach Matt Rhule to dismiss offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen on Saturday.
Thanksgiving weekend, the Michigan Wolverines (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) renew an all-time rivalry when they meet Ohio State in Columbus. Regardless of how the next two games go for Ohio State, it'll be looking for back-to-back wins against a Wolverines team dealing with a myriad of issues under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham.
A switch from Bryce Underwood to Tommy Carr hasn't helped either, as the Wolverines are just 1-2 over their last three games, which included a home upset loss to Pat Fitzgerald's Michigan State Spartans (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten), 15-6.
Given the aforementioned information, Ohio State's golden opportunity to save its season begins next week. Now, it has to execute.
Zain Bando is a Sports Desk writer for BIGPLAY with a focus on covering the Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns. Bando has been with the On SI network since October 2023, contributing across the Illinois Fighting Illini on SI and the Kansas State on SI sites, among others.
Currently, Bando serves as a staff writer and columnist for MMA Knockout on SI, as well as the recently launched WNBA section of On SI, with a focus on the Dallas Wings.
Originally published by Google News Sports
