The #2 Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Eugene to take on #3 Oregon Saturday in perhaps the top national game of the regular season. The contest lived up to its billing with seven lead changes before the Ducks hit a field goal with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter and held on for a 32-31 home win.

The Buckeyes got the ball first and promptly took it downfield for a touchdown. Quarterback Will Howard hit six of seven passes on the drive, then ran it in from a yard out. The biggest play of the sequence was a 33-yard catch by tight end Will Kacmarek. It wasn’t clear that Kacmarek had possession and was down before the ball was taken away by the defense. The Bucks quickly ran the next play, so the catch was not reviewed.

The next time the Buckeyes had the ball, the Oregon defense did take it away from OSU when Derrick Harmon stripped running back Quinshon Judkins at the Buckeyes’ 28-yard line. Two runnings plays by Jordan James got the Ducks into the end zone. The hold on the extra point was botched so the score at the end of the first quarter was 7-6 Ohio State.

In the second quarter, three penalties on OSU’s next drive and a punt set Oregon up with good field possession at their 41-yard line. The Ducks drove down to the Buckeyes’ 26-yard line, but the Ohio State defense stiffened. Oregon’s Atticus Sappington missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right.

The Buckeyes scored on their next possession. TreVeyon Henderson put together two runs for 70 yards to take the ball to the Oregon 4-yard line as the first quarter ended. Will Howard opened the second quarter with a three-yard run, followed by Judkins going the final one yard on the ground for the touchdown. With the extra point, the Bucks stretched the lead to 14-6.

On the second play of the ensuing drive by the Ducks, quarterback Dillon Gabriel hit Evan Stewart on a 69-yard bomb to the Ohio State 8-yard line. Two plays later, Gabriel hit Stewart for the touchdown. On the two-point conversation, the Ducks came up short, making the score 14-12 in favor of OSU.

A personal foul penalty had been called on Ohio State on the Ducks’ touchdown play and it was enforced on the kickoff. Oregon elected to kick a line drive, which rebounded off one of the Ohio State front return line and Oregon recovered. The Ducks got one first down, but stalled and Sappington hit a 27-yard field goal to put his squad up 15-14.

On the next Buckeye possession, Will Howard directed a 12-play drive, finishing it off with a touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka from 15 yards out. The Ducks came right back when Gabriel hit wide out Tez Johnson on a 48-yard pass for the score. At half, Oregon led 22-21.

On the Buckeyes’ first possession of the second half, two big throws from Howard to Jeremiah Smith, including a six-yard connection for a touchdown, put Ohio State ahead 28-22. As the fourth quarter started, Gabriel capped off a 60-yard Oregon drive with an impressive 27-yard scamper to put the Ducks up 29-28.

The Buckeyes took the kickoff and put together a sustained drive down to the Oregon 22-yard line but had to attempt a 40-yard field goal, which Jayden Fielding nailed for a 31-29 Ohio State lead with six minutes exactly remaining.

The Ducks started their next possession on their 25-yard line and drove it all the way down to the Buckeyes’ one-yard line and made the decision to kick an 18-yard field goal, which Sappington coverted for a 32-31 lead. Oregon kicked off to the Buckeyes, who had one timeout remaining in the game.

Ohio State drove the ball to the Oregon 28-yard line without using its timeout. On the second down play at the 28, Howard hit Smith close to the first-down marker but Smith was called for offensive interference moving the ball back to the 43-yard line. In addition, because had been tackled in-bounds, the clock began to run after it was placed, confusing the Buckeyes, who did not call their final timeout.

Two incomplete passes moved the clock to six seconds remaining. Finding no receivers open on the next play, Howard ran up the middle, sliding to kill the clock. But time had run out and the Ducks held on for the 32-31 victory.