You’re Nuts: Finding the bright spots from Ohio State’s loss to Oregon - Land-Grant Holy Land

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The Buckeyes are still the No. 4 team in the country and all of their goals remain attainable... if they can figure things out.

Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

Welp. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon. How about that? Kinda sucked, huh? In yet another big game failure setting, Ryan Day and Co. played almost well enough to win but then, ya know, didn’t.

At this point, it is becoming nearly impossible to defend Day’s record against top-tier teams. But because nothing is going to change between now and the end of the 2024-25 season, I guess I’ll give it one more try. In a half-hearted manner, of course.

To be clear, Day is not free of blame for what transpired in Eugene, Oregon this past Saturday. Far from it. His staff, his players, his program. And presumably his clock management — or lack thereof. Plus, he is very, very (very, very) well-compensated for taking ownership of this and every other loss. That’s the gig. So he ultimately gets to wear the “L”. But...

Day didn’t get stuffed in a locker by Will Stein, Oregon’s offensive coordinator. No, that was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, who must have looked like Chris Farley playing checkers against David Spade in Black Sheep on Saturday night. Just completely overmatched.

Day didn’t get manhandled and rag-dolled all night by the Ducks’ offensive line. Day didn’t look like a newborn baby deer on ice while attempting to cover and keep up with Oregon’s wide receivers. And Day didn’t put the ball on the ground, slide down on the game’s last play, or order a hit on Josh Simmons’ knee. Sometimes you just step in a giant pile of shit while wearing new shoes. On Saturday night, OSU collectively stepped in a lot of shit. Repeatedly.

But rather than piss and moan about it – more than we already have – Gene and I decided to focus on the fact that the Buckeyes are No. 4 in the country and still have all their goals in front of them. Said goals are very real and very attainable... If Ohio State addresses weaknesses and continues to lean on the strengths of the team.

The Buckeyes’ biggest strength, in my humble opinion, is their highly efficient and highly productive passing game. Which makes Will Howard and his play at quarterback my brightest of bright spots.

Now admittedly, Howard’s game-ending slide was not a good look, especially for a veteran QB. However, I don’t believe that it was the result of panic or minimal football intelligence. No, I think Howard just got greedy. He wanted to get OSU in prime field goal position and took about one and a half strides too many. But I feel fairly confident that he will learn from the mistake and move on. Because that is what we’ve seen from Howard for a month and a half now.

When Howard makes a mistake, he doesn’t beat himself up. He shakes it off and focuses on the next play or series, and usually bounces back rather nicely. And that’s what you want from “your” QB. Chin up, eyes on the prize, go make a play. And boy, has Howard made plenty of those.

Ohio State’s signal caller is completing 73% of his passes, good for fourth in FBS. He has thrown 14 touchdowns against only three interceptions, while adding another five touchdowns on the ground. And he always appears to be both under control and in command of Chip Kelly’s offense, which is completely new to him, by the way.

But more than anything, Howard looks like a leader out on the field. Something that I think OSU was missing at/from the QB position last season, no offense. Other Buckeyes seem to rally around their new QB, and I think that will pay dividends as the team looks to bounce back from a tough loss.

With Howard in the fold, I don’t see Ohio State letting Oregon beat them twice, in a metaphorical sense. Said differently, I don’t think the hangover from Saturday night’s loss will carry over. For too long, at least.

If Howard is/has not been a bright spot, well then I don’t know who or what is. Sure, there have been some plays that he’d like to have back, but the team and the coaches seem to have the utmost respect for and confidence in him. And that goes a long, long way. As do the 19 total TDs.

As Josh chose to do as well, I think the only real bright spots you can find in this game are on the offensive side of the ball.

There is really no redeeming this defensive performance. All three levels of the units failed miserably, led by a defensive line that failed to produce any significant pressure on Dillon Gabriel the entire night. The secondary was gashed time and time again, whether it was being beaten over the top or taking a bad angle to a tackle to allow extra yards. The linebackers were maybe the only somewhat redeemable group on defense, but even they were nowhere near perfect.

On the other side, I do agree that Will Howard’s performance was a bright spot for Ohio State — the final slide notwithstanding. Howard played more than well enough for the Buckeyes to win this game, scoring three total touchdowns without turning the ball over once. Not all of his throws are perfect, but he makes good decisions with his passes more often than not, and is definitely an upgrade at quarterback for Ohio State.

Since Josh has already laid claim to Howard, I will turn my attention to a somewhat obvious bright spot, but one that counts all the same: the Ohio State wide receivers. Specifically, their top duo of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith.

The Buckeyes’ top two wideouts are probably the best pairing in the country. Both physically gifted played, Egbuka and Smith are incredibly dependable options on any given down and seem to catch every ball thrown their way regardless of the coverage. Against Oregon, Egbuka hauled in all 10 of his targets in the game for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Smith snagged nine balls for 100 yards and a score.

The lights were certainly not too bright for the duo, and it has been like that all year. We have come to expect these sorts of things from Egbuka, who despite a career that has been overshadowed by guys like Marvin Harrison Jr., is now just 363 yards away from becoming Ohio State’s all-time program record holder in receiving yards. Smith, meanwhile, came to Columbus lauded as the best wide receiver prospect since Julio Jones. Having caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his first six collegiate games, he has lived up to the billing thus far.

On the year, Smith is up to 553 yards on 32 catches with seven touchdowns, while Egbuka has 40 receptions for 526 yards and six touchdowns. That’s over 1,000 yards of offense and 13 touchdowns from your top two pass-catchers. It doesn’t matter how good the opponent is, those guys are going to get theirs. The Buckeyes can trust that their offense will continue to put up points as long as No. 2 and No. 4 are out there running routes.

Regardless of the other problems plaguing this Ohio State team, Ryan Day, Chip Kelly and Will Howard all know they can rely on Egbuka and Smith. Now if only they can figure out defensive line play...