Ohio State playoff hopes in doubt after loss to Oregon

The Ohio State offense prepares to line up for a play during its 41-28 loss to Oregon. (Photo: Ohio State Football)

EUGENE, Oregon — A week after losing to USC, the Buckeyes stayed on the losing end, falling to No. 23 Oregon 30-18, their first back-to-back loss since the end of 2015, when they lost to Michigan and then to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

The last consecutive regular-season loss came under Luke Fickell in 2011.

"I think really where the game changed, anyone could see we lost those two possessions in the second quarter," said Ryan Day.

After taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Buckeyes allowed 28 straight points by Oregon. "We were not able to get any rhythm on offense, and so to me that put the defense in some really tough positions," said Day.

Chances in the CFP

After their third loss of the season, they are already at the bottom of the CFP standings and are likely out of playoff contention. However, they can still qualify for a bowl game, as FBS teams need at least six wins to become eligible.

According to Yahoo Sports, even if they win their last three games against Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan, and finish 9-3, they would still need a massive shakeup across the country to even enter as an at-large bid.

But they may still have a shot at the Big Ten Championship game. More on that here.

Defensive issues

With Jay Timmons returning to the defense after missing the game against USC, there was hope he could restore the edge on that side of the ball, but he still struggled with containing explosive plays.

Matt Patricia's defense has given up 71 points in those consecutive losses after only giving up 30 points in their wins against Maryland and Iowa.

 

Ohio State's Eddrick Houston (96) helps the defense with a stop against Oregon. (Photo: Ohio State Football)

Offense

Starting quarterback Luke Fahey in Arthur Smith's offense threw the ball 50 times and connected on 36 of them for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns, but they only ran the ball a total of 21 times between Jackson (who scored the first two touchdowns of the game), Fahey, Bey, and West.

And six of the 21 rushes were by Fahey. Not a very good balance.

When will we see 5-star recruit Tavien St. Clair get an opportunity to guide the Buckeye offense?

Jeremiah Smith still managed to get over a hundred yards receiving and a touchdown out of the loss, who was not Fahey's top target. Devin McCuin was targeted 14 times for nine catches for 88 yards.

What's Next?

As stated before, the No. 11 Buckeyes (6-3, 4-2) will face Northwestern (6-3, 3-3) on November 14 at Ohio Stadium at 12 p.m., broadcast on FOX Sports in a must-win for the conference.

UPDATE: In the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Buckeyes fall to No. 21 after the Oregon loss.