Canzano: Oregon Ducks knock off Ohio State -- and anything now feels possible
COLUMBUS, Ohio — DJ Johnson, a tight end in his other life at the University of Oregon, turned pass rusher in a pinch and took Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud to the turf on Saturday.
The game-ending sack set off a 100,482-person fire drill at Ohio Stadium.
Final score: Oregon 35, Ohio State 28.
Big win for the Ducks. Big win for the Pac-12 Conference. But my eyes found Oregon coach Mario Cristobal amid the celebration — biggest win of all for the guy in charge in Eugene. Yet here Cristobal was, stoic with his players celebrating all around him. The Oregon coach peeled the cord of his coaching headset off his belt. He took a few steps, bookended by a couple of Columbus Police Department officers.
There was no fist pump.
No smile.
But this sure was a five-star victory wasn’t it?
I looked, too, at midfield where Baker Mayfield planted Oklahoma’s flag in the ground in 2017. That was the last time anybody in a football helmet and pads came to The Ohio State University and beat the Buckeyes. Noah Sewell, the heart and hammer of Oregon’s defense stood tall on the “O.” He held both arms down, his palms open, his head back and face mask raised toward the clouds, and he shouted with joy.
Maybe you did the same thing in your living room. Because what the Oregon Ducks did on Saturday in the toughest place to play in college football was a remarkable breakthrough. The Ducks didn’t just beat Ohio State, they out-Buckeye’d the Buckeyes — out-rushing them 269-128 in what is undoubtedly the signature win of Cristobal’s tenure.
Also, a huge win for Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, who breezed by press row at Ohio Stadium in the second half and quipped, “Enjoying the Alliance so far, guys?”
Sure feels different, Mr. Commish.
The Pac-12 needed this one, didn’t it? We’ve been talking about this Week 2 date for more than a year, and unlike the chronic letdowns we’ve received in other years, the conference delivered via Oregon. Not by eking out a win or lucking out. But by the Ducks being the better offensive and defensive team, and by making a statement about their superior physicality.
Big win for the Ducks, right? Maybe you loved Oregon’s victory over Florida State in the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl on the first day of 2015. Maybe you enjoyed the Ducks throttling Michigan 39-7 in Ann Arbor in 2007. Maybe you think “big football win” and go to the 1917 Rose Bowl win over the Penn Quakers under then-Oregon coach Hugo Bezdek. But this victory over Ohio State wasn’t a swaggy bowl victory at the end of a season, it felt more like a beginning.
That brings us back to Cristobal, of course.
He’s the big guy with the big-game dreams.
A week ago, after an unimpressive season-opening victory over Fresno State, fans murmured about the Ducks’ coach. They nitpicked quarterback Anthony Brown Jr. They criticized the UO pass defense, and wondered how in the world Oregon would run the ball on mighty Ohio State if it couldn’t even do it against a Mountain West opponent.
CJ Verdell went for 161 yards on 20 carries on Saturday. Oregon averaged 7.1 yards per rush. The postgame news conference on the Ohio State side came with a line of pointed questions.
“How surprised were you that they were able to run the ball like that?” one reporter asked.
There were no real answers for the Buckeyes.
Cristobal got a thrilling victory. More importantly, Oregon’s win serves as evidence that he’s not only recruited four- and five-star talent, but also, that Cristobal and his staff have an idea what to do with it once they have it. That’s been the lingering unknown for the Ducks. Saturday’s win was Exhibit A.
Joe Moorhead’s offensive game plan was marvelous. His pass patterns were so beautiful they looked like layer cake. His edge-rush game in the red zone was sweeter than frosting. The Ducks dictated tempo and played to win, and in the end, the way it unfolded made Ohio State look suspect.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said afterward: “It was a game we never really felt like we were in control of.”
Oregon’s defense was without stars Kayvon Thibodeaux and Justin Flowe. Defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter ran schemes that made up for it and called upon Johnson — who played both ways on Saturday — as a situational pass rusher.
It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.
Cristobal will talk all week about the other work that needs to be done, of course. He’s got a matter-of-fact mentality. He rises insanely early, offers no excuses, and quotes from books written by Navy SEALs. He will celebrate, but not for more than a few minutes. He’ll focus instead on what went wrong on Saturday because that’s what good football coaches do.
Ohio State gained 612 yards on offense. Stroud, who passed for 484 yards and three touchdowns, nearly stole the game from the Ducks late. But those are thoughts for another day because what Oregon accomplished on Saturday was nothing short of remarkable.
The victory makes you wonder ... could the Ducks win another Pac-12 North Division title?
Another Pac-12 title?
Make the College Football Playoff?
What else is out there?
This is a program that can’t stumble in Pac-12 Conference play. It must know that it’s not dominant enough to show up and win in most weeks. The Ducks have to focus, execute and the game plan has to be solid. The victory didn’t announce that No. 12-ranked Oregon has arrived nationally as much as it indicated that anything is possible for it this season.
Wrap your head around that.
Early in Cristobal’s tenure he messaged me in ALL CAPS, “
I PROMISE YOU THAT WE WILL REBUILD THIS THE RIGHT WAY.”
https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/j...io-state-and-anything-now-feels-possible.html
