Three years later, Cody Simon still hasn’t gotten over what happened the last time Ohio State played Oregon.
In his first season seeing substantial playing time for the Buckeyes, the then-sophomore linebacker was part of a defense that allowed Oregon to put up 505 yards of offense – including 269 rushing yards – in a 35-28 win over Ohio State in Columbus. He recalls receiving hateful messages on social media after that game because of the defense’s poor play.
But instead of trying to forget about that game, Simon went back and watched the film from it to remind himself of what happened.
“I've gone through some of those clips just because sometimes I lose some sleep over that game,” Simon said Wednesday. “That's where I grew a lot of maturity out of that game because of stuff that gets said after that stuff. And, you know, I was a sophomore so, I was like, ‘Wow, this is college football.’”
Simon still views that game and its aftermath as a learning experience that’s helped him get to where he is now as a fifth-year senior captain and OSU’s starting middle linebacker – and he certainly doesn’t want the Buckeyes to suffer the same result when they play Oregon again this Saturday.
“It's a different team now, a different everything, so we have a different mindset and we're ready to just attack and play our game,” Simon said.
Looking back on that game, Simon believes Ohio State’s defense was physically and mentally unprepared. But the Buckeyes’ defense has come a long way since then.
That game was the final for Kerry Coombs as Ohio State’s defensive play caller, as the then-defensive coordinator was replaced in that capacity by Matt Barnes, Ohio State’s secondary coach at the time, for the remainder of the season. The Buckeyes' defense continued to struggle after that change, most notably when it allowed Michigan to run for 297 yards in a 42-27 win over the Buckeyes, prompting the hiring of Jim Knowles for the 2022 season.
Under Knowles’ leadership, Ohio State’s defense has grown into one of the best in the country, currently leading the FBS in points allowed per game (6.8), yards allowed per game (202.4) and yards allowed per play (3.61) through five games this season.
“I grew a lot of maturity out of that game because of stuff that gets said after that stuff. And, you know, I was a sophomore so, I was like, ‘Wow, this is college football.’”– Cody Simon on what he learned from Ohio State's loss to Oregon in 2021
Just as Ohio State’s defense has changed since 2021, so has Oregon’s offense. Oregon’s head coach and offensive coordinator at that time, Mario Cristobal and Joe Moorhead, left the Ducks after that season as Cristobal became the head coach at Miami and Moorhead became the head coach at Akron. Dan Lanning is now in his third year as Oregon’s head coach while Will Stein is in his second year as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator.
What hasn’t changed is that Oregon’s offense is capable of giving the Buckeyes’ defense problems. Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel currently leads the FBS with a 77.8 completion percentage while he has plenty of playmakers around him including running back Jordan James (88 carries, 552 yards, five touchdowns), wide receivers Tez Johnson (43 catches, 395 yards, five touchdowns), Traeshon Holden (19 catches, 274 yards, three touchdowns) and Evan Stewart (16 catches, 182 yards, two touchdowns) and tight end Terrance Ferguson (16 catches, 259 yards).
Ohio State is confident it’s ready for the challenges Oregon presents this time around, though.
“I mean, we couldn't stop the run that game three years ago, and I feel like we're a lot different team from then,” said senior cornerback Denzel Burke, who started against Oregon as a freshman in 2021. “They play fast. They play at a really good tempo. So it's just really just making sure we're getting our calls, lining up and playing with our best effort.”
It’s not only the defense that will be key for Ohio State to achieve a better result against Oregon than it did three years ago. While Ryan Day said he could tell the Buckeyes had a special quarterback in C.J. Stroud after he threw for 484 yards and three touchdowns in that game, the Buckeyes only scored four touchdowns on more than 600 yards of offense as they turned the ball over on downs three times and were inconsistent running the ball.
Ohio State will have a better chance of beating Oregon this year if it can build upon its early-season success on the ground (the Buckeyes rank 5th in the FBS with 6.2 yards per rushing attempt) and converting on crucial downs (the Buckeyes rank 10th in the FBS with a 51.67% third-down conversion rate and are 7-of-10 on fourth-down attempts).
“We just didn't play very good on defense and didn't run the ball and convert on fourth downs,” Day said of the 2021 loss to Oregon. “That's how you lose games. So we had to do a better job running the ball and playing defense.”
In part due to the extra year of eligibility that all players received in 2020 – when Ohio State was scheduled to play a road game at Oregon but didn’t due to the COVID-19 pandemic – the Buckeyes still have two dozen players on their roster who were on the team in 2021. Ten of those players saw action against the Ducks: running back TreVeyon Henderson, offensive linemen Josh Fryar and Donovan Jackson, defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, defensive tackles Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams, Simon, Burke and safety Lathan Ransom.
All of those players chose to stay at Ohio State for the 2024 campaign because of their desire to achieve the goals the Buckeyes haven’t met as a team over the past three years. Saturday gives them their first opportunity this season to avenge defeat against a team they’ve only lost to previously, and every one of them who was asked about that loss on Wednesday said they are excited to have a shot at revenge against the Ducks.
“That was probably one of my favorite games my freshman year. Really great environment. It was actually one of the schools I was going to go if I didn't come here,” Burke said. “So I'm kind of sad we didn't get that dub back then, so we're looking forward to one this Saturday.”
More than that, though, Ohio State wants to beat the third-ranked Ducks to show what it is as a team this year and continue its march toward achieving its championship goals this season.
“I think a lot of our motivation and our focus is right now,” said fifth-year senior tight end Gee Scott Jr., who was on the team but did not play against Oregon in 2021. “I don't think we've emphasized what happened a few years ago. I think our focus is on who we've been this entire year, all of the work that we've put in to get to where we are right now, and just ready to go out and showcase it.”
