Ohio State Defense: 41 Points Concede Ends Home Dominance
The Buckeyes allowed 41 points to Oregon, snapping a 140-game streak of holding leads and marking their second straight double-digit loss.
By Justin Barnes ·
Ohio State allowed 41 points to No. 13 Oregon in a Saturday loss that ended a 14-year streak of seasons with two or fewer losses. The 41-28 defeat marks the second consecutive regular season game in which the Buckeyes lost by a double-digit margin.
This loss follows a 30-18 road defeat to No. 20 USC the previous week. It is the first time since November 2011 that Ohio State has dropped two straight regular season games. The team had not suffered back-to-back regular season losses in 5,467 days, a span that covered 169 games.
Before the 2012 season, the program lost its final three games of the 2011 campaign before a bowl game defeat. Urban Meyer took over as head coach that following season. Ryan Day succeeded Meyer in December 2018. Day entered Saturday with a 5-3 record after any prior defeat, with all three losses occurring in bowl games.
The defeat against Oregon ended a streak of 14 straight seasons with two or fewer losses. That streak was tied with Florida State and Notre Dame for the longest in the AP poll era, which began in 1936. During the 169-game span without back-to-back regular season losses, Ohio State went 171-24. That is the second-most wins of any college football program since the start of the 2012 season.
The Buckeyes posted an 87.7 percent win percentage during that period, the best of any program. They won two national titles and four bowl games in that timeframe. The team had won 140 consecutive home games when leading by at least 14 points before Saturday. The last time they lost a home game with that lead was against Wisconsin in 2001.
They also held a streak of 137 consecutive home wins when leading by double digits, previously the longest by any team since 2004. The loss to Oregon snapped that run. The Buckeyes gave up 41 points at home, which is the second-most points surrendered by a Day-coached team at home. It is the third most allowed overall by the program.
It is the second home game since 2000 in which Ohio State has allowed 40 points. This follows a 30-point performance by USC in the previous week. It is the first time the Buckeyes have allowed 30 points in back-to-back games after a streak of 31 games in which they held opponents under that total.
Oregon scored 38 unanswered points in the loss. That is the fifth-most consecutive points allowed at Ohio Stadium since the facility opened in 1922. A key turning point came late in the second quarter when Oregon pulled off a fake punt. Facing a fourth-and-9 at its own 31-yard line, the Ducks brought out the punt team but did not kick it away.
Linebacker Teitum Tuioti caught the snap and completed a jump pass to Matayo Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei ran 30 yards for the first down. After that play, Oregon outgained Ohio State 288 to 47 until 12:51 remained in the fourth quarter. At that time, the Ducks led 38-14. Ohio State hosts Northwestern next week.
