Once again, OSU has managed to squander another opportunity. The penalties were astoundingly bad. Mental gaffes that stalled drives and shoddy defense reared its ugly head. Let’s take a look at each unit:

O-line: Was completely out of sync. Terrible false start penalties that put us behind the sticks. Not to mention we did nothing to help in the run game. The was some coaching issues that compounded things but we will get to those later. Losing Simmons is just a killer. Michalski did an ok job filling in but this will affect the offense going forward. Player on the O-line that I would grad a champion was Seth McLaughlin. He played great. 
 

WR: I can’t believe how bad they were tonight. There were flashes but they never got separation to give Howard a chance. Tate was a non factor and Smith, while is just a freshman, made some really bad decisions. If you want to be counted on in these situations, you can’t push off the DB. That decision right there took us out of potential GW FG range. It would have been a tough make but it would have given us a chance. You can’t do that. He also consistently lost track of the first down markers. His field awareness needs improvement. Egbuka did ok but didn’t make the impact that this offense needed. 
 

TE: Gee Scott played a great game and was finally showing some promise. The coaching staff failed him in this game as he didn’t get the touches he rightfully deserved. I grad him as a champion.

QB: Will Howard was solid but he too made some mistakes that cost us dearly. The fumbled snap was just bad. As a senior he should know better than that. Ball security is absolutely crucial in games like this. He stalled a drive where we were moving the football after we had a goaline stand. That was the moment in the game where I personally felt, we weren’t going to win this game. Howard needed to take advantage of that. He failed as did the offense. The last play of the game was aggravating. He has to know the clock here. He didn’t have time to run it. Lapse in time management. I would have rather tried a 55 yard FG than to let time run out. Howard did some really good things but his inability to hit WRs in stride is becoming a huge issue. He under threw Smith on a play that should have been a TD. This cannot happen. Howard must improve on this or we will not win any championships.

RB: Judkins made a huge mistake in getting stripped of the football. That play right there gave Oregon confidence and they rode that momentum. Teams like Oregon feast on those. As a senior leader he needs to be tougher than that. Henderson was a mixed bag but he too failed to make a huge impact. At some point, he needs to be able to become a big game player. This unit lacked toughness. I understand the O-line did block as great today but some times you have to make it happen. That didn’t happen.

D-line: Absolute failure. Zero pass rush. Sawyer was a ghost out there. JTT again failed to contain the QB which led to Dillion Gabriel scoring in a rushing TD. JTT has been very bad at not doing his job and playing selfish defense. The interior line was just as bad. Consistently getting pushed around and not getting low enough to stuff the run. Thoroughly embarrassing tonight. We officially have lost our Rush men package. It died tonight. 
 

LB: Another unit that just kept missing tackles and failed to check the Oregon running game. In obvious rushing situations they too failed to flow to the football. 
 

Secondary: Not sure they even showed up to play. Denzel Burke literally was a liability tonight. Not one WR was he able to guard. He didn’t deserve the right to be out there in the field. Igbinosin was only slightly better he too was constantly getting beat. The safeties Ransom and Downs had flashes but failed to be the backbone of the secondary. This might have been the most horrendous pass defense I have seen in years. 
 

Special Teams: Meh.

Coaching: Ryan Day still hasn’t learned how to coach with a killer instinct. He played far too conservative early. Oregon was well prepared because we did nothing that they didn’t expect. A team like Oregon needs to be buried quickly. The gameplan was predictable on both sides of the ball. Letting the clock run after the penalty was inexcusable. They should have known the rules. In my opinion the coaches should have to walk back to Columbus.

In conclusion, this game was a stain on the Brand. Lack of preparation, execution, and discipline was a lethal combination that will prevent this team from making it anywhere. This next week needs to be a crucible for both players and coaches. Soul searching needs to be top priority. If this team is going to have a shot to win a championship, what happened tonight can never happen again. This is going to be a long two weeks…