Cured of Nightmares, Buckeyes Leave Ducks for Dead
By Ken Woody
The 111th Rose Bowl will be described as “gruesome” by Oregon fans who saw their undefeated, number-one ranked Ducks flummoxed and thoroughly dominated by an Ohio State Buckeye team that was consumed with revenge for their mid-season 32-31 loss in Eugene. The final score was 41-21 and it wasn’t that close. This defeat mirrored coach Dan Lanning’s first game as Oregon’s head man, a 49-3 thrashing at the hands of the physically superior, national champion Georgia squad in a “neutral” setting. The Ducks have had some convincing victories over more physical opponents in the past decades, but usually in Eugene, in a fanatical Autzen Stadium that has been a psychological obstacle for visitors. Past defeats to LSU, Auburn, Ohio State, and other heavy weights have been on the road. A next step for the Ducks is to be able to out-physical stud teams in neutral locations which is what you must do to win a national championship.
No one was more consumed with revenge than Buckeye quarterback Will Howard who, in October, though he threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, was late giving himself up on a last-second scramble to deny the Bucks a chance for a game-winning field goal at the gun. He spoke often of the “nightmare” of that moment and the loss of a game that at that stage of the season could have eliminated them from a shot at the Big Ten championship and the college football playoffs.
In Pasadena, Howard was on his game in a big way, racking up 212 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone against a Duck secondary that had glowing reviews before the game, but from the first quarter on, were noticeably prosaic. Howard threw for three scores in the first half that helped Ohio State run up a comfortable 34-8 lead. Two of the scores (46,43 yards) were to a super-human 6-3, 225-pound speedster by the name of Jeremiah Smith and unfortunately for Oregon, they had no defensive back who could come close to defending him. Howard had nine completions over 15+ yards, averaging 24 yards per catch, with Smith hauling in five of them.
You could see the secondary was having problems reacting to the shifts and motion of Buckeye receivers and there were many situations where the Ohio receiver was running all alone with defenders out of position. Coach Lanning will mull over whether his “back-end defenders” were poorly prepared, trying to do too much, or didn’t have the speed necessary to compete for the “Natty.” It appeared there was a definite talent and speed gap between the Ohio State receivers and running backs and those Ducks stuck trying to cover and tackle them.
Throughout the game the defense could not cover receivers or pressure Howard. After they had a school record 10 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss against Washington, they would get zero sacks and only one tackle for a loss against a really good offense that stunk up the joint in their loss to Michigan at the end of the season. Oregon’s defensive line was outmatched physically and it was obvious there is still much work to be done recruiting big studs who can control the line of scrimmage like Ohio State did to the Ducks.
While the defensive line was ineffective most of the game, the offensive line was worse. The Buckeyes have the best and most experienced defensive front in the country (look for their rival, another one called “best” that goes by the name of “Texas” next round of the playoffs), and they made the Duck offensive line, once mentioned as candidates for the Ray Moore Best Offensive Line in the nation award, look like a community college team. The upfront lads were guilty of high pad levels, insufficient leg drive and allowed their quarterback to be sacked eight times, which has to be an embarrassment.
There was a lot of standing around after the ball was snapped and initial contact, if you could call it that, forced Dillon Gabriel to spend considerable time running for his life and the running backs getting pounded on running plays. After taking great pride in Oregon being a dominating physical, running team, Lanning will grimace at the Thursday morning stats and see his offensive line was dominated like never before. The Ducks had -23 yards (that’s negative twenty-three yards) rushing for the game, an average of a negative one yard gain every time Oregon attempted a running play.
The television experts observed that teams having a bye going into the playoff brackets: Arizona State, Boise State, and Oregon all had extra rest than their opponent, but each had a miserable start to their next game. Were they stale? The Ducks had three-and-a-half weeks off from the Big Ten championship game before the Rose Bowl, while Ohio State had one-and-a-half. Lanning had his players practicing, and they also had finals in school (college football players are “student athletes” you know); but based on their totally flat first-half performance, it appears the rest and practice did not prepare them properly for this game.
Some fans may have wondered if Oregon’s defense missed the team bus to the game. The Ducks spotted the Buckeyes a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter where they surrendered 233 yards of offense and were able to only gain 37 of their own, and two first downs. From the first six plays, Oregon’s defense, especially the secondary players, looked unorganized taking their positions and aligning to Ohio State’s offensive formations. Given the gifted skill players who looked bigger and faster than any Duck attempting to cover and tackle them, heads were turning back and forth, which is always a bad sign, and pass receivers were let loose to run anywhere they wanted.
In the first half, Howard had an amazing statistical performance, completing 11-of-18 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns, with his average completion being 24.5 yards per attempt. It is without question that the Buckeyes’ receivers are the best outside of the NFL and without another question, the Ducks’ defensive backs did not have the speed, size or nose for the ball to cover Ohio State’s wide outs. Without any pressure on Howard from the defensive front, it was like taking candy from a baby. After getting 10 sacks against Washington, Oregon’s big guys had no sacks, tackles for loss, or hurries on Howard. The secondary had one pass breakup, but it did not stop a scoring drive.
The Second Half Rally began with a fizzle: a rush for no gain, a 12-yard sack of Gabriel, but then the wily field general scrambled left and threw a dart to Justius Lowe who made a fabulous catch to set up fourth-and-one, which Gabriel converted on an option. The rest of the drive was gravy and the Ducks went 75 yards in 11 plays and cut the lead to 34-15.
Rally Part Two was next, as the energized defense held the Bucks to three-and-out for the first time in the game. The Ducks had endured four such offensive setbacks in the first half and the Oregon fans, like their team on the field, were energized and making some noise. All for naught, as Gabriel was sacked twice and Oregon was forced to punt, after which, Ohio State drove easily for another score that seemed to put the dagger in the Duck cadaver. And, thus, the Rally was ended.
After the Ducks knocked off Ohio State in October, the Bucks’ defensive coordinator made a change to his defensive alignment and this is what shut down the Oregon’s high-profile offense: Lanning’s staff did not know what to do to attack it. Playing two safeties 15-20 yards deep on the hash mark with two press corners and a free safety playing 10 yards deep in the middle, able to recognize run plays and support quickly but also in a position to cover crossing routes and deep balls down the middle between the deeper safeties. This alignment enabled the Bucks to have two outside rushers coming hard all the time and yet have other players in good position to react and stop runs up the middle, which accounts for the Ducks getting zero results on inside running plays. For the game, Oregon had only one run over ten yards and that is the death knell for an offense that prides itself on running to win.
In a football game that is going out of control, mistakes cascade into a torrent of chaos. In one short yardage situation, the Ducks had a defensive lineman head up on each guard, but left the center uncovered, leaving a huge gap for the center to lead Will Howard straight through the line for an easy first down. It was a drastic mistake for such an important situation and evidence of the confusion hamstringing the Duck defense.
When the sun went down along with the hopes of Ducks everywhere, it was a sobering feeling. Coach Lanning’s dedicated group of young men had put together one of the greatest seasons ever at the University of Oregon. Playing sound football and improving week by week, they entered the playoffs as Big Ten Conference Champions and were the last undefeated team in the country, no easy feat their first year in a new conference. Lanning has recruited many excellent players and imbued them with a sense of purpose and dedication to each other and their fans. It hurts to lose and especially in the humiliating way that it came about, but Oregon’s players demonstrated character and sportsmanship and, after the inevitable grieving, can take pride in their accomplishments and their refusal to quit when things went bad.
For Lanning and the Ducks, there will be winter nightmares, but now, they all have an idea of how to chase those away in time for the next scrum.
Ken Woody coached college football for 18 years as an assistant at Oregon, Washington, Utah State and Washington State and as a head coach at Whitman College and Washington University-St. Louis. He conducts a coaching clinic, free to all, at the 6th Street Grill WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8TH AT 6:00 P.M. Plays from Oregon games are analyzed, there are scouting reports for opponents, and highlights from referees; all to learn and enjoy football and understand why the Ducks win or lose.
