On Monday morning, Oregon Ducks senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher sat in a hotel ballroom in downtown Los Angeles and revealed that the team’s theme of the week leading up to the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes was “Up in Smoke.”
With two days of hindsight, it seems fitting. In 199 minutes of action on the afternoon of January 1st, 2025, that’s exactly what came to be of the Ducks season.
The final number read 41-21 across the weathered Rose Bowl scoreboard as red and silver confetti fell to the ground. Dan Lanning walked towards the Oregon locker room with a frustrated, but somewhat familiar look on his face, having just lost the biggest game of his career. Buckeyes celebrated, players hugged, and a large crowd of patrons dressed in green and yellow pushed towards the exits while slowly coming to the realization that their next few hours would be spent stewing on a painful loss in traffic trying to get out of Pasadena.
It was a long day that felt worthy of chronicling. It started with hopefulness for many, and hangovers for some. In the end, it was that unfortunately familiar feeling of hopelessness that clouded the minds of Oregon fans.
Many entered the day sporting scar tissue that had hardened over years of letdown — decades of getting close, but not close enough.
Despite the past trauma, fans were ready to get hurt again. And they did. Here’s my recounting of a day that will live on in the minds of Oregon fans for decades to come.
8:15 a.m. — Alarm
Advil and coffee, please.
10:00 a.m. — Shuttle to Rose Bowl
Here we go.
11:00 a.m. — Still on Shuttle
That LA traffic is something else, huh?
11:25 a.m. — Arrive at Press Box
Alright, HERE we go.
2:12 p.m. — Kickoff
The flyover was spectacular. The buzz in the Rose Bowl was as electric as I’ve ever seen it, with the two best teams in the nation set to square off in a win-or-go-home matchup with the eyes of the world on Pasadena. Oregon fans outnumbered Ohio State fans about 65-to-35, in my estimation.
2:14 p.m. — Jeremiah Smith 45-yard TD from Will Howard (7-0)
The air was let out of that balloon pretty quickly. Pre-game jitters and anxiety quickly turned into full-blown fear for Oregon fans as it became quickly apparent that the Ducks were going to struggle to defend Ohio State’s best player.
2:18 p.m. — Oregon 3-and-out, Punt
Jitters from 25 days off? Let’s hope.
2:31 p.m. — Oregon’s Second 3-and-Out, Punt
Oh boy. This could be a long day if the Ducks are unable to move the ball at all on offense. Can you rely on Oregon’s defense to shoulder the load?
2:35 p.m. — Emeka Egbuka 42-yard TD from Will Howard (14-0)
Okay, this is officially a problem. Oregon’s secondary is outmatched, and showing an inability to account for both Egbuka and Smith. The offense has to show some life or else this thing might get out of hand.
2:40 p.m. — Oregon First Down!
The Ducks moved the ball 10 yards down the field. Life. Let’s build some momentum.
2:42 p.m. — Oregon Punts for 3rd Time in 1st Quarter
So much for that.
2:51 p.m. — End of 1st Quarter
Vibes are low. Ohio State out-gained Oregon 233 to 37 in the first 15 minutes of the game, and they have the ball once again with a solid drive going. It’s getting out of hand.
2:55 p.m. — Ohio State Field Goal (17-0)
Held them to a field goal, alright. Progress, right?
3:04 p.m. — Oregon Fails to Convert on 4th and 3 at Midfield
An opportunity was there to make this a game with a sustained drive and some points. Instead, the Ducks gave Ohio State the ball back in prime position, offering up a kill shot opportunity.
3:06 p.m. — Jeremiah Smith 43-yard TD from Will Howard (24-0)
And there was the kill shot. The first of many. At this point in the game, I started to realize that I would not need my anxiety meds anytime in the next few hours. I did start to contemplate asking my therapist about depression medications during my session later this week.
3:12 p.m. — Oregon’s 4th Punt of the Game
The offense was aware that they played a game today, right?
3:17 p.m. — TreVeyon Henderson 66-yard TD run (31-0)
If the trauma and depression hadn’t set in already, at this point in the game it was pretty clear that Oregon wasn’t going to win, and this would be arguably one of the most disappointing losses in program history. That’s when it set in for me, at least.
3:42 p.m. — Traeshon Holden 5-yard TD from Dillon Gabriel (2pt Good)(34-8)
Points. Great. Too little too late? The Ducks scored as time expired in the first half, and they were set to get the ball in the second half. It was at this point in the game where I was almost annoyed that Oregon was trying to instill hope for a comeback into the fanbase. Haven’t they been hurt enough?
4:10 p.m. — Second Half Begins
Here we go again.
4:12 p.m. — ESPN Injury Reports
ESPN reported that out of the half, RB Jordan James was out for the game with a head injury, and WR Evan Stewart was out for the game after getting injured in pregame warmups. Classic.
4:21 p.m. — Noah Whittington 2-yard TD run (34-15)
Let the comeback hopes start to mount. This is a special team that we’ve watched all year. Who is to say that they can’t fight back and get into this thing?
4:27 p.m. — Ohio State 3-and-Out, Punt
LET THE COMEBACK HOPES MOUNT! Oregon can make this a two-possession game with a touchdown here.
4:32 p.m. — Dillon Gabriel Sacked Twice, Oregon to Punt
Nevermind. Back to hopelessness.
4:40 p.m. — TreVeyon Henderson 8-yard TD rush (41-15)
And despair.
4:47 p.m. — End of 3rd Quarter
Hey, that sunset looks pretty.
5:04 p.m. — Traeshon Holden 27-yard TD from Dillon Gabriel (41-21)
Well, Traeshon Holden secured the Ducks Wire Player of the Game award with this play. So there’s that.
5:24 p.m. — 2 Minute Timeout
O-H-I-O chants ring out in the stadium.
5:31 p.m. — Game Over
Confetti falls.
Back in October, I wrote about Oregon trauma after the Ducks’ 32-31 win over the Buckeyes. It was a game in which nearly everything went wrong for the Ducks, from injuries to penalties to mistakes and missed calls. Despite all of that, Oregon won.
It gave me and thousands of other Duck fans a sense of hope that this team might be different. That despite decades of evidence that this team couldn’t get over the last hurdle and win in the end, Lanning might have changed that.
Earlier this week, I brought that article back to the surface and reminded Oregon fans that the trauma of their past may not have to impact their happiness in the future.
I was forced to eat those words on Wednesday night.
The Ducks once again got to the mountaintop — while the Rose Bowl was just a quarterfinal game, the thought remains that these were the two best teams in the nation, and the winner would likely go on to win the championship — and fell short.
This time, it wasn’t because of missed calls, unfortunate bounces, or untimely injuries. They simply got beat. Stomped. Embarrassed.
Is that easier to deal with, or harder?
I’m not sure I have that answer at this time. I do know that with this result comes a lot of frustration and disappointment. And more trauma. Trauma that will be stacked on top of the pile that has been building for decades.
It started as a day that held promise, with many fans believing that this new year could bring rejoice, and relief. Once again, the Ducks had climbed to the mountain top, and had an opportunity to reach heights not seen in Eugene before. Fans were ready to get hurt again, with dreams of trophies and green confetti.
In the end, it took just 199 minutes for that all to go up in smoke.
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