One week after a disappointing loss in Los Angeles, Ohio State surrenders 38 unanswered points in a shocking 41-28 loss at home to Oregon.

Ohio State came out swinging against the Ducks. They marched down the field to open the game and punched the ball in with a 16-yard run from Bo Jackson who was able to jog in with the amount of room he had. The Buckeye defense had Dylan Raiola uncomfortable early and forced a handful of errand throws. One of those throws was nearly the easiest pick six of Jay Timmons’ career, but his eyes were on the end one and the ball slipped through his hands.

Ohio State was able to keep Dylan Raiola under duress and eventually took a 14-0 lead after Jeremiah Smith and Devin McCuin started a drive with 31- and 42-yard receptions, setting up an 8-yard touchdown for Bo Jackson for his second of the game. From this point on, however, the game took a massive turn for the worst for OSU.

The Buckeyes would proceed to surrender 17 unanswered points and go into the half trailing, 17-14. Fueled by an untimely interception thrown into heavy coverage, a fake punt that went for 30 yards and a roll of the dice from Dan Lanning as time expired in the half, the script had been completely flipped on Ryan Day’s team. It’s also worth noting that Jeremiah Smith would not be targeted a single time in the second quarter.

Oregon started the second half with the ball and on the fifth play of the drive, Dierre Hill Jr ripped through the middle of OSU’s defense for a 48-yard touchdown run to put the Ducks up 24-14 and from there, the rout was on. Luke Fahey and the offense continued on a downward spiral, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry and still failing to target Jeremiah Smith for nearly two full quarters who was visibly upset on and off the field. With 12:02 remaining in the contest, a Dylan Raiola touchdown pass put Oregon up 38-14 as the Buckeyes surrendered their grade total of 38 unanswered points. OSU had been out gained 190 to 33 to this point in the second half. Complete and utter domination by Oregon coming out of half time.

Ohio State didn’t convert a single fourth down on four attempts. The defense recorded zero sacks or turnovers. The run game amassed a total of 76 yards. By the end of the game, the final tally was 41-28 and OSU had been outscored 41-14 in quarters two though four. Following a loss to USC that was thought to be a wake up call and learning experience, a loss like this is as puzzling as any in recent memory for this program.

Ryan Day and his staff will be under fire for the teams performance in the past two weeks, along with a handful of in-game decisions along the way. The ripple effect of this loss will be a pivotal point for the direction of the program as a whole as Ohio State loses its third regular season game for just the third time in 22 years.

Ohio State will host a 6-2 Northwestern team next Saturday at noon on FOX.