WATCH: Oregon retakes the lead on 4th down toss
The Oregon Ducks retake a 14-7 lead over Ohio State midway through the second quarter after converting on fourth down. Despite playing without two of their top defensive players, No. 12 Oregon continues to battle No. 3 Ohio State on the road.
After Oregon took the lead early on a run to the left corner of the endzone, Ohio State put up a touchdown of its own. The Ducks went back to left side for their second score of the game, running a pitch play to the left on fourth-and-one. Running back C.J. Verdell took a forward pitch from quarterback Anthony Brown and found the edge and accelerated to the left corner once again, allowing Oregon to retake the lead from Ohio State.
Brown, who won the starting job after transferring from Boston College, is now over 100 yards in the first half.
Missing a pair of defensive stars
Oregon is without star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and linebacker Justin Flowe on Saturday, which makes the Ducks’ defensive performance so far much more impressive.
Thibodeaux is considered one of the top prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft class and has earned hype as a potential No. 1 overall pick. He was dominant in the season opener, forcing a strip sack in the first quarter before leaving with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-5, 258-pound edge rusher later returned to the sideline in a walking boot.
He is a 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end who has developed into one of the top edge rushers in his class. Therefore, Thibodeaux is considered a top-10 NFL Draft pick next season by many analysts. He also won the 2020 Morris Trophy, given to the best lineman in the PAC-12 each season.
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In 2020, Thibodeaux finished with 38 tackles and three sacks, in addition to three pass break-ups and two quarterback hits in seven games.
Flowe is the anchor of the defense at middle linebacker. He finished Week One’s win over Fresno State with 14 tackles. Flowe is dealing with a right foot injury suffered during the week.
Last season, Flowe appeared in Oregon’s opener against Stanford and recorded a tackle before suffering an injury in the game. He was sidelined for the remainder of the season but was reportedly back to 100% prior to Saturday.
Flowe shares the freshman linebacker spotlight with linebacker Noah Sewell. The other former five-star recruit is brother of 2021 first-round NFL Draft selection and former Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell.