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Vol. 1, No. 9
Ohio State and Oregon are set to play for the 13th time Saturday.
For a series that started less than 75 years ago and has only been played a dozen times, it includes a lot of memorable moments — almost all positive for the Buckeyes.
Here are some fun facts and figures from the series, including six of the biggest wins for Ohio State.
Ohio State-Oregon history
Ohio State leads the all-time series 10-2, including a mark of 5-1 at Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes won the most recent meeting 41-21 in the Rose Bowl two years ago en route to the national championship. That was a rematch of a regular season game the Ducks won 32-31.
Oregon also won the last meeting in Columbus 35-28 in 2021.
Prior to that game, Ohio State was 9-0 against the Ducks.
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Ohio State-Oregon games of note:
1957: No. 2 Ohio State 10, Oregon 7
The first meeting between the programs came Jan. 1, 1958, in the Rose Bowl following the 1957 season. Ohio State had already been voted national champions by the UPI (coaches poll), but this game put a bow on the season for Woody Hayes’ seventh team. OSU QB Frank Kremblas started the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but Oregon tied it in the second quarter. Early in the fourth, OSU’s Don Sutherin connected on a 24-yard field goal to break the tie, and that ultimately was the winning margin. Kremblas completed 2 of 6 passes for 59 yards and ran for 43 yards on 13 carries. Bob White led the Buckeyes with 93 yards rushing.
1961: No. 3 Ohio State 22, Oregon 12
Undefeated Ohio State played host to the Ducks in the penultimate game of the season and came out with a 10-point win. Joe Sparma completed one pass for six yards, but that was plenty as Ohio State rolled up 374 yards on the ground. John Mummey led the way with 116 yards while Robert Klein added 103 yards on just six carries and fullback Bob Ferguson ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Klein got the scoring started with a 72-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game. Ferguson ran for a two-point conversion then later scored a touchdown on a one-yard run early in the second quarter. Ferguson scored his second touchdown from three yards out early in the third quarter to make it 22-6.
1968: No. 6 Ohio State 21, Oregon 6
In the second game of what would be an undefeated season, the eventual national champions scored first when Michael Polaski returned a blocked punt nine yards for a touchdown on the fourth play of the game. The Buckeyes led 7-6 at the half then extended their lead to 14-6 on a 35-yard touchdown run by Jim Otis. In the fourth quarter, Ohio State closed out the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Ron Maciejowski to Bruce Jankowski.
2009: No. 8 Ohio State 26, No. 7 Oregon 17
The Buckeyes ended a 25-year Rose Bowl drought when Jim Tressel’s squad upset Chip Kelly’s Ducks on Jan. 1, 2010.
Many expected Tressel to play it close to the vest, so to speak, but the Terrelle Pryor completed five of eight passes on the opening drive, including a 13-yarder to Brandon Saine for a touchdown. The Buckeyes drove to the Oregon 2 later in the first quarter but had to settle for a Devin Barclay field goal when Pryor was stopped short of the goal line on second and third down. Oregon tied the game at 10 on a LeGarrette Blount touchdown, but the Buckeyes went back in front with a 19-play, 67-yard, 8-minute drive that resulted in another short field goal by Barclay with 1:05 remaining in the first half.
They added three more points at the buzzer when Aaron Pettrey connected on a 45-yard field goal set up by a Ross Homan interception, but Oregon took the lead on a Jeremiah Masoli 1-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Ohio State went back in front on a 38-yard field goal by Barclay then extended the lead to 26-17 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Pryor to DeVier Posey. That drive was highlighted by a 24-yard reception by Jake Ballard to convert a key third down. Pryor finished with 72 yards rushing and 266 yards passing, one of his best games as a Buckeye, while Posey had 101 yards on eight catches and Dane Sanzenbacher caught nine passes for 64 yards and Homan was credited with 12 tackles.
2014: No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Oregon 20
After upsetting Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes had one more game to go to finish a Cinderella run through the first College Football Playoff. All that stood in their way was the No. 1 team in the country and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Ducks got the ball first and went through the Ohio State defense like butter — 75 yards in 11 plays that took only 2:39 off the clock and resulted in Mariota’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Keanon Lowe.
Ohio State scored the next 21 points as Ezekiel Elliott broke off a 33-yard touchdown run and Cardale Jones threw for a score and ran for another. Oregon drew within a point in the third quarter before Elliott finished the game with three more touchdown runs to put an exclamation point on Ohio State’s eighth national title. He finished with 246 yards on 36 carries while Jones threw for 242 yards and ran for 38.
2024: No. 6 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21
After losing 32-31 at Oregon in October, the Buckeyes took on the top-ranked, undefeated Ducks at the Rose Bowl looking for payback. They got it and then some, jumping out to a 34-0 lead in the second quarter and cruising to a CFP Quarterfinal victory.
Jeremiah Smith started the onslaught with a 45-yard touchdown catch from Will Howard, who then hit Emeka Egbuka for a 42-yard score. Howard later found Smith for a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter before TreVeyon Henderson dealt the knockout blow with a 66-yard touchdown on the first play the next Ohio State possession.
Howard finished with 319 yards passing and three touchdowns while Smith had seven catches for 187 yards and two scores. Cody Simon led the defense with 11 tackles, including three for loss and two sacks. J.T. Tuimoloau also had three tackles for loss and two sacks while Jack Sawyer had two sacks and three pass breakups.
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Notes and observations
Beating the Ducks in Pasadena two years ago prevented Ohio State from losing to the same team twice in the same year since Wittenberg turned that trick in 1894, first at the state fairgrounds and then in Springfield. The Tigers still have more wins against the Buckeyes (three) than do the Ducks, though Wittenberg trails the series with Ohio State 12-3. They last played in 1929.
Elliott’s 246 yards in the CFP National Championship Game are tied for sixth-most in a single game at Ohio State.
1961 is one of the five times Ohio State has had three 100-yard rushers in the same game.
C.J. Stroud threw for 484 yards in the 2021 loss. That was No. 2 in Ohio State history at the time and still ranks No. 3. The 2021 game is the only time Ohio State has had three 100-yard receivers in the same game: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.
BONUS CONTENT!
If you like history, I’m also running a weekly series looking back at Jim Tressel’s first season as head coach of the Buckeyes.
Aside from Cus Words Sports, I’m also sharing my thoughts on the premium messages board BuckeyeInsiders.com and BuckeyeSports.com.
Beyond that, I’m writing for multiple sites, including primarily PressProsMagazine.com, The Associated Press and MensJournal.com.
Monday night I covered the Ohio State women’s basketball opener for Press Pros and Buckeye Insiders.
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