WATCH: Oregon extends lead over Ohio State in the 4th quarter
Oregon takes a 35-21 lead after a six-play, three-minute drive ended with a touchdown pass from Anthony Brown to Moliki Matavao. The offense continues to carry Oregon in a Top 25 showdown with Ohio State as the Ducks look to pull off an upset on the road.
After leaning on running back C.J. Verdell early in the drive, the Ducks pulled out a run/pass option play inside the redzone. Boston College transfer Anthony Brown pulled the ball and ran to his left, throwing the ball over the top of the Ohio State defense to find Moliki Matavao on his way to the goal line.
Brown’s second passing touchdown of the game came in response to an Ohio State touchdown early in the fourth. The Ducks maintain a 14-point advantage midway through the final quarter.
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.
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.