On October 12th, 2024, the Oregon Ducks won a game few outside of the state of Oregon expected them to win. They defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 32-31, maintaining their undefeated season. Fast forward nearly three months, and the Ducks are gearing up for the Buckeyes once again — this time for a matchup in the College Football Playoff.
Oregon and Ohio State’s October matchup all came down to the Buckeyes’ final drive, and with how well the Buckeyes were moving the ball, hope seemed lost for the Ducks. What killed Ohio State’s momentum was a critical offensive pass inference call on Jeremiah Smith with 22 seconds left.
From the Oregon 28-yard line, Jeremiah Smith ran a ten-yard comeback route, shoving Ducks DB Nikko Reed at his break. Howard completed his throw to Smith for nine yards, which would’ve put Ohio State deep into field goal range, but instead, Smith was flagged and the Buckeyes backed up.
Days before the Rose Bowl, Smith is still unhappy about the call.
“I think about that call probably every day,” Smith said to media ahead of the Rose Bowl. “It was a crazy call. The DB was holding me; I just cleared his hands. I guess receivers can’t be physical in football anymore, but DBs could hold 10 yards, 15 yards down the field. It’s behind me. I know the move from here on out when the DB is grabbing me. I guess you can’t be physical as a receiver in college football anymore. We’ll just see how things play out in this game.”
The call against Smith was correct, as Smith did far more than clear Reed’s hands, but it did come at a late and crucial juncture of the game. Smith is bound to be upset at a call of that magnitude, especially when it’s a flag that doesn’t get thrown often.
Aside from that crucial play, Smith balled out against the Ducks, catching nine passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. He hasn’t slowed down much since that game, so expect more big things from him in the Rose Bowl.
Now that we’ve reached the final days of 2024, the result of the game in October and the impact of an offensive pass interference flag means much less. Each team is three games away from a national championship, and they will line up against each other on a neutral field. The Ducks are more rested, but sometimes rest turns to rust. The best team will win, and that team has high odds of winning the whole thing.
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