Oregon rocked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. What happened to ducks?

PASADENA, Calif. – Oregon appeared to be the best team in the country for most of the regular season.

It took them a few games to figure it out, but when the Ducks got it, they were a scary sight. With an explosive offense that could score at will, they looked like they were destined to win their first national championship and eventually establish themselves as a football powerhouse.

Even after Ohio State beat Tennessee for the right to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl, the feeling on both sides was far from the same: Oregon had clawed its way through the Big Ten in its first season in the conference ; For the most part, Ohio State fans hadn’t gotten over the loss to Michigan. If the Buckeyes slipped again, the “crazy fringe” — as Kirk Herbstreit described Ohio State’s most rabid fans — would be ready to fire coach Ryan Day before the clock hit zero.

As a stealth bomber flew across the Pasadena sky just before kickoff, the green side of the stadium was optimistic about their first playoff appearance in a decade, while the scarlet and gray side once again had their pitchforks at the ready.

But on New Year’s Day, it was the ducks who laid an egg.

Oregon couldn’t repeat any of its magic and was soundly beaten by the Buckeyes, ending a dream season in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

It didn’t really make sense. Oregon was coming off a Big Ten championship game in which it scored 45 points against a good Penn State defense. It faced an Ohio State team that beat it to 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,” coach Dan Lanning said.

A quarter was the entire state of Ohio Really had to prove it was better than Oregon. The Buckeyes were up 7-0 after the first minute and the Ducks had back-to-back three-and-outs early on. At the end of the first 15 minutes, Ohio State’s lead was 14-0 and the Buckeyes took advantage of every opportunity to make a big play while Oregon couldn’t move the ball.

By the time the score reached 34-0 in the second quarter, there was nothing 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 anything going for us on offense,” Lanning said. “We just met a great team and didn’t play our best.”

What killed Oregon were the big plays. Ohio State’s first four touchdowns all came at least 40 yards, completely blighting the spirit of a defense that ranked in the top 15 in several statistical categories. Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith delivered one highlight reel after another and quarterback Will Howard deceived the defense to find open players.

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 went wrong, adjustments weren’t made quickly enough to stabilize the team. The Buckeyes did a good job of getting their receivers into favorable one-on-one matchups, which led to big gains.

“They did a good job making shots early,” senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa said. “They were just firing on all cylinders. Honor goes to them.”

Concerned about the new College Football Playoff format?

Several college football stakeholders are keeping an eye on the progress of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. It’s safe to say that there will likely be some changes in the near future.

After three quarterfinal games, the three teams that had to play a first round game advanced to the semifinals, while the three teams that received a bye in the opening round are one and done.

Did the long break hurt the conference champions, who had to compete against teams with momentum?

“I think that’s an excuse,” Lanning said. “I thought our guys prepared well. Obviously they had a better plan than us, but that’s an excuse.”

Almost immediately after the bracket was announced, it was clear that the Ducks weren’t really being rewarded for a perfect regular season. They would face a tough opponent in the quarterfinals, while other teams like Penn State were expected to have an easier path to the title.

It has led to a debate over whether the conference champions should get a guaranteed top-four seed and a first-round bye or whether the lowest remaining seed should get the No. 1 team — which would have prevented Oregon from playing against Ohio State to compete.

But Lanning isn’t mad about the situation. He said his team would have had to compete against great teams regardless of which round they made it to.

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Oregon rocked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. What happened to ducks?

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