Are The Buckeyes Haunted By The 2021 Game (With Oregon)?

The delicious rematch between two teams, now members of the same conference, and the lingering motivation of their meeting three years ago and the impact that a 35-28 loss ultimately had on Ohio State football.

Columbus, OH – Without too much question, Saturday’s rematch between #2 Ohio State and #3 Oregon will be the most consequential game in FBS football this weekend – or at least the most anticipated for the sake of curiosity.

When they met three years ago, in Columbus, Oregon sashayed into Ohio State and roundly matched Ohio State athlete for athlete, and coaching-wise, confused the Buckeye defense to the point of it giving up 275 yards rushing.  That doesn’t happen to Ohio State, not until last year’s Cotton Bowl, anyway.  But in particular it doesn’t happen to Ohio State at home.

And of course since that game on 9/11, 2021, there’s some question as to the impact it had on Ohio State football and its ability to play people their own size under pressure situations…most notably, three consecutive losses to Michigan, the most galling losses of all.

C.J. Stroud was a pup back then, making his debut on the big-time stage, and he didn’t disappoint (484 yards, 3 TDs, int.)…except for the final drive of the game where he and the offense came up empty – intercepted.

Kerry Combs was the defensive coordinator, largely responsible for the defense that gave up 275 rushing yards, and 500 yards altogether…to an Oregon offense that was good, but certainly not feared.

Ryan Day was calling the plays back then, and impressively called what accounted for 610 total yards (484 passing), but the defense was so susceptible that 610 yards couldn’t produce enough points to win.

Coombs was summarily replaced not long after that game, and is now at the University of Cincinnati.  A year later Jim Knowles was hired from Oklahoma State to tear the defense down and rebuild.

And Day has since relinquished the duties of play calling, having hired Chip Kelly as offensive guru, the same Chip Kelly that not long ago made Oregon the most feared offense in the land for a running game so diverse as to be unstoppable.  The same Chip Kelly who then moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles, and most recently, the UCLA Bruins.  Wherever he goes they run, and that’s what Ohio State hired him to do…restore the running game, because lack of it is largely responsible for those haunting losses to Michigan and Missouri (Cotton Bowl).

That game in 2021 was a shock to Ohio State fans who came to the Horseshoe to watch and be fortified, only to be sent home frustrated and doubting.  Not too many teams had done what Oregon did that day – not since the days of John Elway at Stanford (1982), or more recently, Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma in 2017, when Mayfield riddled the Buckeyes’ secondary for 386 yards and three touchdowns.  Indeed, for those who believe in “we must protect this house”…haunting!

Some interesting quotes, attributable to the 2021 loss:

From linebacker Cody Simon:  “Sometimes I lose sleep over that game.  I grew a lot of maturity out of that game.  I was a sophomore then, so I was like, ‘Wow, this is college football.'”

From defensive back Denzel Burke:  “We couldn’t stop the run [in] that game three years ago, and I feel like we’re a lot different team [now] from then.”

And from Ryan Day:  “We just didn’t play very good on defense, and didn’t run the ball and convert on fourth downs.  That’s how you lose games.  So we had to do a better job running the ball at playing defense.”

Well, to borrow from Denzel Burke, from the sidelines you now get the sense that this is a different team from the one in ’21.

Jim Knowles has made a difference…has restored some of the feared ‘Silver Bullet’ legacy through the first five games with impressive wins over Michigan State and Iowa.

And Chip Kelly has certainly put his stamp on a running game that’s led to the two-headed threat of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins.  Between them they’ve accounted for 805 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Overall, the run game is responsible for 1,111 yards and 16 touchdowns, four by quarterback Will Howard.

Will Howard, by the way, will never be confused with C.J. Stroud, nor does he need to be.  If Ohio State is dependent upon him to win games in the manner they were Stroud, they’re in a world of hurt.  All Howard needs to do is push the buttons for an offense that’s the most talented, and diverse, since the days of Troy Smith.

So, haunting?

Well, nothing serves to motivate like the experience of being embarrassed in front of 105,000 people…like gaining 610 yards and getting beat, like happened in the first Oregon game.

And there won’t be any surprises over pace of play, or Oregon’s anonymity.  Unranked back then, the Ducks are now ranked #3 in the country, behind the Buckeyes.

Defensively, rest assured that there’s been conversation and video study between Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles.  And man for man, this is a better collection of talent, tackle to tackle, and in the secondary, than the Buckeyes had back then.  Look for Burke and transfer safety Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, and Burke to have an impact.

Offensively, a leopard doesn’t change its spots, so Kelly is going to try and pound the ball, eat clock, open up the passing game, and keep Oregon and quarterback Dillon Gabriel off the field.

The crowd, and the atmosphere, will be daunting, but shouldn’t be haunting – half the size of that at Ohio Stadium.  And early success by the Buckeyes is imperative for them to operate in their comfort zone – share the running load between Henderson and Judkins, and open up the field for strikes to Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

And yes, they have to stop the run – be better defensively.

So is Denzel Burke right?  Are they a lot different team than they were back then?

Well we’re all eager to know, including that team up north.  And while they say that the destination is secondary to the journey, imagine the journey between now and TTUN if they don’t pull this off.

Imagine if they don’t disprove what even the most committed fans fear – that the biggest games are still haunting by the time Penn State and November 30 rolls around.  ‘Tis the season, for sure, but no one gives a damn about tricks, not anymore.

They wanna’ see some treats.