Ohio State crushed No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl. What took place? “It wasn’t our day.”
Oregon appeared to be the nation’s top team for most of the regular season.
The Ducks were a frightening sight once they figured it out, but it took them a few games. It appeared like they were bound to win their first national championship and establish themselves as a football superpower at last, thanks to an explosive offense that could score goals whenever they wanted.
Both teams’ sentiments were very different even after Ohio State defeated Tennessee to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl against Oregon: Ohio State supporters still hadn’t fully recovered from the team’s defeat to Michigan, while Oregon had dominated the Big Ten in its debut season. Kirk Herbstreit characterized the most fervent Ohio State supporters as the “lunatic fringe,” who were prepared to fire coach Ryan Day before the clock struck zero if the Buckeyes made another mistake.
So, while the scarlet and gray half of the stadium prepared their pitchforks once more, the green side was feeling hopeful about its first postseason appearance in ten years when a stealth bomber sailed over the Pasadena sky with kickoff just seconds away.
However, the Ducks laid an egg on New Year’s Day.
Oregon ended a fantastic season in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals after failing to duplicate any of its magic and losing badly to the Buckeyes.
It was not very logical. Oregon had just defeated a strong Penn State defense by 45 points in a Big Ten championship game. More than two months ago, it had a thrilling victory over an Ohio State squad that it could assault. The Rose Bowl Game ended before halftime instead.
What took place?
It’s not always your day. That was probably today. “Today wasn’t our day,” coach Dan Lanning remarked.
Ohio State hardly needed a quarter to demonstrate its superiority over Oregon. The Ducks started with back-to-back three-and-outs, and the Buckeyes were already ahead 7-0 after the opening minute. Ohio State led 14-0 at the end of the first 15 minutes, and the Buckeyes were taking advantage of every big-play opportunity while Oregon was unable to move the ball.
There was little Oregon could do to rally when the score ballooned to 34-0 by the second quarter.
Lanning remarked, “We really didn’t have the ability to stop them, and we were unable to get something going for us offensively.” “We didn’t play our best; we just ran into a great team.”
The huge plays were what destroyed Oregon. A defense that finished in the top 15 in a number of statistical categories was completely destroyed by Ohio State’s first four touchdowns, all of which were at least 40 yards long. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was tricking the defense to find open players, while receiver Jeremiah Smith was putting up highlight after highlight.
The Ducks’ third-year coach, Lanning, accepted responsibility for the defeat. He claimed that the coaches’ plan was inadequate and that they failed to make the necessary changes quickly enough to keep the team stable when things started to go wrong. The Buckeyes made significant gains by effectively placing their receivers in advantageous one-on-one situations.
Are you worried about the new format for the College Football Playoffs?
The outcome of the first 12-team College Football Playoff is being watched closely by a number of college football stakeholders. It is reasonable to assume that it will undergo some adjustments soon.
The three teams that advanced to the semifinals after three quarterfinal matches were those who had to play in the first round, while the three teams that received an opening-round bye were eliminated.
Did the conference champions who had to play teams with momentum suffer from the lengthy layoff?
“That seems like an excuse,” Lanning remarked. “Our men seemed well-prepared heading in, in my opinion. They clearly had a better plan than we did, but that’s just an excuse.
It became clear almost immediately after the bracket was announced that the Ducks had not received any genuine recognition for their flawless regular season. While other teams, like Penn State, were thought to have an easier route to a championship run, they were set to face a formidable opponent in the quarterfinals.
Lanning, however, is not upset about the circumstances. He claimed that regardless of the round his squad played in, they would have had to contend with formidable opponents.
“We had a chance. We failed to capitalize on the chance. “I will not justify our opportunity,” Lanning declared. We have no complaints because we were given that chance. We didn’t take advantage of it, but Ohio State did.
