1,2,3,4….The number game is on! In what is a wild Big 10 matchup between two of the top-seeded teams, No. 2 Ohio State had to take the fall as No. 3 Oregon beat them in a close 32-31 record. That one-point victory was enough to bump Oregon up to the No. 2 spot, while Ohio State dropped to No. 4. Just two days ago, ESPN’s Greg McElroy had been vouching for Ryan Day’s program saying, “I think Ohio State has a vastly superior roster and will pound the football.” Alas! The Buckeyes have fallen out of favor with their sole defeat of the season. 

Greg McElroy appeared in a YouTube short by espncfb on October 14 to deliver his takeaways from the Week 7 game between Oregon and Ohio State. After lauding Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks for the impressive win, he voiced his concerns for the Buckeyes. He roasted Ohio State’s defense saying, “Is there a defensive line, as good as they should be? Probably not… What about the backend, the secondary? Supposed to be a remarkable strength of this team, and they got torched.”

The Buckeyes’ defense was sloppy in their last conference clash as they allowed 496 yards. Interestingly, they haven’t given up that many yards since 2022 when they lost to Georgia in the CFP semifinal. The tanks weren’t able to pressure Oregon’s QB Dillon Gabriel who finished with 341 yards and two touchdowns. 

As McElroy also pointed out, the “strength” of the Buckeyes, the secondary, underplayed their hype with Oregon averaging 14.8 yards per completion. Another interesting thing to note is that Oregon sustained seven sacks in their first five games but Ohio State let them go without a single sack. In their first six wins, they enjoyed the status of being the only FBS team that had not allowed a pass of 30+ yards, but that was broken by Gabriel in the first half. But the defense isn’t the only area of concern for Ohio State. 

Ohio State stumbled offensively 

In their conference loss to Dan Lanning’s Oregon in Week 7, Ohio State’s offense also saw a drop in performance. As McElroy further stated, “Offensive line. I didn’t think Ohio State’s offensive line played very well either. And I’m not feeling this confident today about the Buckeyes as I was a couple of days ago.” In practical observation, the Buckeyes did put up a good fight offensively as they scored 31 points with 467 yards against a No. 2 team. But the run game and deep passes weren’t up to the mark. 

The Buckeyes racked up 141 rushing yards, with the last 19 yards coming in the second half on 12 carries, highlighting their trouble with consistently running the football. But they played part of the game without their key players – LT Josh Simmons and RG Tegra Tshabola. RB TreVeyon Henderson finished with 87 rushing yards, while Quinshon Judkins secured 23 yards on 11 carries. WR Emeka Egbuka caught 10 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Smith recorded nine catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. QB Will Howard finished the game with 326 yards and two touchdowns.

Ohio State still has three more ranked opponents on their schedule but they’re already facing trouble. Can Ryan Day flip their situation with more positivity in the coming games?