Football: Heartbreaking finish as No. 2 Ohio State falls to No. 3 ...

Ohio State graduate quarterback Will Howard looks on in disbelief as the clock hits zero in the No. 2 Buckeyes 32-31 loss to the No. 3 Oregon Ducks Saturday at Autzen Stadium. Credit: Samuel Cipriani | Asst. Sports Editor

The Buckeyes had long circled their matchup with No. 3 Oregon, knowing it would be their biggest test of the season to date.

It was, however, a test they ultimately failed.

After a pseudo onside kick, an Oregon player ejected for spitting on Davison Igbinosun and eight lead changes, Ohio State lost a heartbreaker 32-31 after quarterback Will Howard seemed to mismanage the clock as time ran out. 

With the Buckeyes down by a point with 1:46 remaining, Howard led Ohio State down the field to the Oregon 43-yard line with six seconds remaining and one timeout. The quarterback evaded pressure, scrambled up the middle and slid down as time expired.

“It sucks,” Howard said. “You don’t want to lose a game like that. I don’t know what we could’ve done better, I could’ve gotten down earlier, gave us a chance; it would’ve been a longer kick.”

Howard finished the game 28-of-35 for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Cody Simon led the defense with 10 total tackles.

“This is a team loss,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said. “The offense had a chance to go in and finish it off at the end but it didn’t happen. It felt like we were in field goal range there, and we wanted to keep adding to the field goal because every time you add five yards it increases [your chances].

In his career, Day is 1-7 against top-five teams.

“You take a brutal penalty like that that pushes you back — it’s heartbreaking, but that’s football,” Day said.

The first half brought four lead changes, numerous scoring opportunities and more bizarre plays than the Buckeyes have seen through their first five games, all of which could’ve helped Ohio State come out on top.

Howard rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 7-0 five minutes into the game.

Four minutes later, Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon stripped the ball from Buckeyes running back Quinshon Judkins, and two plays later, Ducks running back Jordan James was in the endzone.

Instead of tying the game at seven apiece, Oregon punter Luke Dunne botched the hold on the extra point, leaving the Buckeyes with a 7-6 lead.

The half only got weirder from there.

Ohio State quickly punted the ball back to the Ducks after committing three pre-snap penalties to push them behind the sticks, but again, the Buckeyes were bailed out by a Ducks special team mistake.

Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington pushed a 44-yard field goal right of the uprights, and Henderson followed with a 53-yard rush. Judkins plowed into the end zone, pushing the Buckeyes to a 14-6 lead.

Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel found wide receiver Evan Stewart, who got behind cornerback Denzel Burke for a 69-yard grab down the sideline, followed by a miraculous catch by Stewart in the corner of the endzone. 

The Ducks failed at a two-point conversion to tie the game, keeping the score 14-12 Buckeyes. But cornerback Jordan Hancock committed a 15-yard personal foul after the play, allowing the Ducks to kick off from midfield.

And Oregon capitalized on the kickoff when kicker Andrew Boyle booted the ball directly at Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, and the Ducks recovered off the ricochet.

“We worked hard this week returning the ball after a penalty on the 50-yard line,” Day said. “We knew they were going to do something like that. That was well-designed by them, but that one hurt.”

The home team looked to be on its way to a score inside the Buckeyes’ 10-yard line, but Ducks wide receiver Traeshon Holden inexplicably spat on Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun, resulting in a 15-yard penalty and Holden’s ejection. Oregon settled for a Sappington 27-yard field goal, which gave the Ducks a 15-14 lead.

Ohio State pulled ahead 21-15 with 3:53 left in the half when Howard found wide receiver Emeka Egbuka wide-open for a 15-yard touchdown, but its lead didn’t last long.

Three minutes later, Burke got beat again — this time by Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson — and Gabriel uncorked a 48-yard bomb for a touchdown, giving Oregon a 22-21 lead at the half.

Oregon punted on its first drive out of the half, and the Buckeye offense used a six-play, 79-yard drive with a touchdown catch by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith to regain a 28-22 lead.

The Ducks drove down the field and went for it on fourth-and-goal 2 yards out but watched helplessly as the ball bounced off Buckeye Cody Simon’s back and fell to the turf.

Following a Buckeyes punt, Gabriel faked out nearly the entire Ohio State defense en route to a 27-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Ducks a 29-28 lead with 13:20 left, but Ohio State grabbed the lead back with a 40-yard field and six minutes remaining.

Down to the 1-yard line and fourth-and-goal, Sappington put through a 19-yard chip shot to put Oregon up 32-31 with 1:47 left.

Ohio State looked to be on its way to a come-from-behind victory, driving with just over 90 seconds remaining, but its drive was stalled by an offensive pass interference call on Smith, followed by two incomplete passes and Howard’s game-ending slide.

“This one’s gonna hurt, does hurt, should’ve won the game,” Day said. “Give Oregon credit. They played well but [there were] too many things we could’ve done better in this game that we didn’t. Got a lot of football ahead of us, and we gotta get those things fixed.”

After taking a bye week, the Buckeyes will host the Nebraska Cornhuskers Oct. 26, with an official time still to be announced.