COLUMBUS, Ohio — Despite Saturday’s loss, the Big Ten honored Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud with Freshman of the Week recognition for the second straight week.
The Buckeyes lost 35-28 to Oregon, which caused the Buckeyes to drop six spots to No. 9 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. The loss handed coach Ryan Day his first in a regular season contest. It was also Ohio State’s first nonconference regular season defeat since Sept. 9, 2017 against Baker Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners.
Stroud came close to setting a Buckeye record for passing yards on Saturday, throwing for 484 yards. His effort was second behind Dwayne Haskins’ 499-yard passing performance in the 2018 Big Ten Championship. Stroud threw for three touchdowns, but had an interception late in the fourth quarter, which cost the Buckeyes a chance to tie the game.
Stroud ranks fourth nationally in passing with 778 yards.
Day said that the lack of balance between the Buckeyes’ rushing game and passing game was a key factor in OSU’s loss, calling it “out of whack.”
“We want balance, and we don’t have balance,” Day said. “We had 484 yards passing and 128 yards rushing, but that’s not balanced.”
Stroud took responsibility for the loss.
“It’s on me as the starting quarterback to make sure the team bounces back from this loss. The team, including myself, needs to be better in practice,” he said.
Ohio State, which has a 1-1 record through two games, remains at Ohio Stadium on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Tulsa. Tulsa had a 14-7 lead going into the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State on Saturday before falling to the Cowboys 28-23.
