Oregon 'O' in Eugene splattered in red paint ahead of Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State

Just over 24 hours before Oregon and Ohio State face off in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, Buckeyes fans launched a surprise attack. On Tuesday morning, The Register Guard‘s Chris Pietsch posted a video revealing somebody had thrown red paint on the Big “O” at Skinner Butte in Eugene, Oregon.

The Big “O” is a historic symbol for Oregon and has been around since 1958. The sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2010. It is tradition for Oregon fans to hike up Skinner Butte to give the “O” a fresh coat of paint each year.

Evidently, an Ohio State fan took the liberty of giving the revered symbol a makeover before the New Year. A paint tray and other paraphernalia were also left at the site. The Register-Guard reportedly reached out to the Eugene Police Department about the vandalism but had not received a response, as of their initial report.

The vandalism will only add fuel to the fiery rivalry growing between Oregon and Ohio State. Before this season, the two programs had only met three times in the 21st century.

The showdown on Wednesday will be the teams’ second meeting this season alone. Oregon won the first meeting in narrow 32-31 fashion on Oct. 12. Despite the outside antics and hype, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning isn’t changing his mindset for this game.

A live update from Eugene, Oregon this morning where I can confirm that the O on Skinner Butte has been splattered with red paint. @registerguard @rosebowlgame pic.twitter.com/UE0JIaMngh

— Chris Pietsch (@ChrisPietsch) December 31, 2024

“You treat it like it’s another game,” Lanning said on Monday. “Certainly there’s a lot of external factors that I think people are aware of and certainly pay attention to. But for us, ultimately, our process isn’t broken. Our process has been really good all season. And we have to remember what got us here, what got us to this moment.”

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day wasn’t so quick to dismiss the idea that the Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon earlier in the season isn’t affecting the mindset of his team entering the game.

“Every great competitor does that,” Day said. “You remember the ones that didn’t go well and the ones that are good, you kind of move on from. That’s what’s expected of you. So I think anytime you come away from a game like that, you learn from it and you grow from it.

“And great competitors, it kind of hangs in the back of their mind because they want to make sure they grow from it… That’s certainly helped in the preparation and the focus this week knowing we have an opportunity to go play Oregon again.”

Oregon and Ohio State will square off at 5 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day. The game will air live on ESPN.