At Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon the No.2 Ohio State Buckeyes took on the No.3 Oregon Ducks in their first ever Big 10 matchup.
It did not disappoint and it became an instant classic and went down to the final play of the game.
Oregon did leave points off the board with a missed 44-yard field goal and Dillon Gabriel looking off too soon from a wide open Tez Johnson, though it was a much more difficult throw for a left-handed quarterback. The result was a turnover on downs.
Also, failed to score a touchdown from third and goal from the one and got forced to settle for a 19-yard field goal instead, which gave the Ducks the lead at 32-31.
For Ohio State quarterback Will Howard he would definitely like to have the final drive of the game back. He took his eyes off the football resulting in a nine yard loss. He then found Carnell Tate for 13 yards and Emeka Egbuka for eight yards.
The defense of Oregon was not getting much pressure on Howard and it seemed like Ohio State was going to get in field goal range for Jayden Fielding.
Yet another mistake by Howard let way too much time off the clock with only one timeout remaining.
Seemingly after freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith got called for offensive pass interference, Howard was unaware that the clock continues to run if the result of the play was in-bounds.
After an incomplete pass, the Ducks took a timeout with six seconds left. There was a bit of reprieve for the Buckeyes as there was a penalty for too many men on the field, which meant five yards closes to field goal range.
Instead of throwing the football, Howard took off with it for a 12 yard gain, he got Ohio State in field goal range. Unfortunately for him the run took off the remaining six seconds on the clock and the game was over.
For Howard, he was efficient and did impress for the most part. He completed 28 of 35 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson carried the ball 10 times for 87 yards, Smith caught 9 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown and Egbuka caught 10 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Gabriel arguably had the play of the game. He got defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau to abandon playing the edge and play the run, which led to him taking off with the football for a 27-yard touchdown run.
Overall he completed 23 of 34 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan James became the first running back to eclipse the 100 yard mark against the defense of Ohio State with 115 yards on 23 carries. Wide receiver Evan Stewart became the to go over 100 yards as well, with 149 yards on seven catches and a touchdown. Johnson also caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Simply put, what a game this was!