Ohio State Football: A historical look at Ohio State and Oregon

The University of Oregon is one of the Big Ten Conference’s newest members, and none of its current members have played the Ducks more in football throughout history than the Ohio State football program. The Buckeyes are an impressive 9-1 against the Ducks, with their only loss coming in a 35-28 defeat in Ohio Stadium back in 2021. That was the second part of a two-game home-and-home series that didn’t take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before that 2021 regular season non-conference game, the last time the Ducks and Bucks squared off was for a National Championship in January of 2015. Ohio State was riding a wave of momentum having won a Big 10 Championship and defeating mighty Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal game. The Ohio State football team dominated the National Championship game that was played in Arlington, Texas by a score of 42-20.

Five seasons before that National Championship night in Texas, Jim Tressel and the 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Ducks on January 1, 2010, in the Rose Bowl 26-17. The only other time Oregon and Ohio State clashed in a Bowl Game was the very first time the two schools played one another in 1958.

Woody Hayes brought his one-loss Ohio State football team into Pasadena, California as a heavy favorite and defeated Oregon in a close 10-7 contest with the Buckeyes kicking the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. Hayes ended his career with a perfect 5-0 record against the Ducks.

After that first contest, Ohio State and Oregon played six times during the regular season over the course of 26 seasons. Five of those games were played in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, the only time the Bucks traveled to Eugene, Oregon for a football game was in October of 1967, which ended up being a 30-0 win for the scarlet and gray. That 30-point victory in Eugene happens to be the largest margin of victory in the 10-game series between the two schools.

There is a lot of goodwill between both schools. Ohio State’s social media accounts were posting pictures of Brutus and the Oregon Duck mascot together in different settings. Some believe this was Ohio State hinting at the fact that Oregon was about to be accepted as the Big Ten’s newest member. Whether that is true or not, I find it curious that Ohio State was releasing pictures like that instead of pictures of Brutus and the Washington Husky mascot.

There has been no word yet as to how the Big 10 will handle the reworking of the conference schedules now that Oregon and Washington are joining along with USC and UCLA beginning next season. I fully expect, however, for the Big Ten to give Oregon a solid and have Ohio State return to Eugene for an official conference game since the Buckeyes missed out on their trip back in 2020.