Emboldened No. 23 Oregon dominates No. 12 Ohio State, which could already be out of College Football Playoff race

With a bit more than three minutes remaining in the first half Saturday at the Horseshoe, No. 12 Ohio State was up 14-3, and its freshman quarterback, Luke Fahey , was effectively spreading the ball around in his second career start.

But just as No. 23 Oregon hadn't thrown in the towel on what was once billed as a national championship campaign, the three-loss Ducks didn't back down in Columbus.

On fourth-and-9 from their own 31-yard line, they ran a fake punt that resulted in a 30-yard gain, reviving what turned into a 70-yard touchdown drive. A toe-tapping interception soon after set the stage for another Oregon TD, that one the product of a goal-line chess match. The Ducks won that mid-game duel of the minds, thanks to a funky-looking tush push that quieted the Buckeyes faithful.

Dan Lanning's Oregon (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) turned the game upside down with the kind of nothing-to-lose aggression that punched Ryan Day's Ohio State in the mouth.

The Buckeyes (6-3, 4-2) never recovered, suffering a sobering 41-28 defeat that seriously jeopardizes their College Football Playoff chances.

It also guarantees their first three-plus-loss season since 2011, when they went 6-7 under then-interim head coach Luke Fickell in the wake of the "Tattoogate" scandal that led to Jim Tressel's resignation.

Ohio State, which tumbled from the No. 2 spot in the AP Top 25 after falling to a then-unranked USC team on the road last week , has lost back-to-back games. That also hadn't happened in a Buckeyes regular season since that tumultuous 2011 campaign.

Dating back to the end of the 2025 season, the Buckeyes are a jaw-dropping 4-5 in their last nine games against power conference opponents. And, on Saturday, their 12-game home win streak — previously the longest active streak in the Big Ten — came to an end.

Ohio State has cratered in the absence of 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin, who suffered a serious injury to his throwing arm in a top-five showdown at Indiana on Oct. 17 .

Fahey, Sayin's backup throughout the fall, got the QB1 nod over sophomore Tavien St. Clair, a former five-star recruit who was the Rivals industry ranking's No. 3 QB prospect in the 2025 class . Fahey played valiantly in a 30-18 setback at USC.

The Buckeyes decided to stick with him this week against Oregon , needing the rest of their team to step up around the first-year signal-caller. Initially, that vision came to fruition versus the Ducks.

Ohio State scored touchdowns on two of its first three series. Running back Bo Jackson skirted around the edge and found pay dirt from 16 yards out. His second touchdown was made possible by 32-yard and 41-yard completions: the first on a deep strike to Jeremiah Smith and the next on a short pass fellow wideout Devin McCuin turned into a big gainer.

Lanning decided to take the points early in the second quarter after his offense finally found somewhat of a groove. Facing a fourth-and-2 from the Ohio State 15-yard line, he sent out kicker Gage Hurych for a 33-yard field goal.

Later on in the quarter, after Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola was nearly picked off by Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain, Lanning made the first of his bold decisions.

Rather than punting the ball back to the Buckeyes, and risking the home team adding to its 11-point advantage before intermission, Lanning opted for a fake.

The ball was snapped to Teitum Tuioti. He ran forward prior to lobbing a jump pass to fellow outside linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Uiagalelei rumbled down the sideline, putting a bow on the chains-moving, 30-yard pickup with a hurdle.

That drive culminated in the first of running back Dierre Hill Jr.'s two rushing scores. Plus, it was the beginning of the Ducks scoring 38 straight points. Ohio State, according to the CBS Sports broadcast, hadn't given up that many unanswered since a 1999 loss at Wisconsin.

Next, first-year Oregon defensive back Devin Jackson made a highlight-reel interception near the sideline, snagging an errant Fahey pass and getting his right cleat down before his left one landed out of bounds.

Quickly, Raiola guided the Ducks downfield, minding the ticking clock in the process. Instead of potentially settling for a field goal on the final play of the first half, Lanning rolled the dice again.

Oregon lined up with only three offensive linemen, spreading out the Buckeyes to the left and right. Tight end Jamari Johnson scurried to take over under center, received the snap and plowed forward, with Raiola helping push him in from behind.

That end-of-half sequence dug the Ducks out of a multi-score hole and vaulted them into a three-point lead, 17-14.

What's more, they got the ball to start the third quarter. They made the most of that opportunity, too. Hill evaded a slew of defenders on a 48-yard touchdown scamper that raised major questions about the Buckeyes' tackling.

That play was a backbreaker for Ohio State. The Buckeyes didn't accomplish much on offense the rest of the way — that was, until garbage time when Fahey fired a pair of touchdown passes.

One of those went to Smith, and the second was hauled in by tight end Nate Roberts. But those points were simply cosmetic. They made things look slightly closer than they actually were.

When it mattered most, Fahey looked like the freshman he is. The Buckeyes turned the ball over on downs four consecutive second-half drives, the first of which saw the former three-star recruit throw behind McCuin on a fourth-and-2.

Meanwhile, Raiola, still starting in place of the injured Dante Moore , finished 25 of 40 with 257 yards and two touchdowns through the air. A one-handed scoring grab from wideout Dakorien Moore wowed. And a screen pass sprung running back Brandon Smith for the Ducks' final TD.

Oregon and Ohio State are trending in opposite directions. Both were preseason national title contenders. Both have lost their starting quarterbacks to severe injuries.

The Ducks' demeanor of late, however, has belied their midseason misfortune.