HERE. WE. GO. At roughly 4:30 PM this Saturday, two titans of college football will go to war in Eugene, Oregon, and the emerging victor may just be the best team in the country. For both these programs, the last six weeks have merely been preamble, a leadup to the biggest matchup of each of their seasons so far. Ohio State is the number two ranked team in the nation, with only Texas standing in their way. Oregon rose to number three this past week after Alabama and Tennessee suffered devastating upset losses over the weekend. In the expanded playoff picture, one loss won’t knock you out of contention for a berth, but both team’s schedules get much harder starting with this matchup, so maintaining a perfect record is all the more important.
Oregon took care of business easily against Michigan State last Saturday, holding the Spartans scoreless until the fourth quarter and winning 31-10. Dillon Gabriel looked slightly shaky from a passing perspective, throwing for two interceptions against a weak MSU defense, but contributed in other ways by adding a rushing touchdown. Jordan James was the real breakout star, rushing for a season-high 166 yards and a touchdown and further establishing himself as a key piece of their offense. Ohio State came out of the gates slowly against Iowa last weekend but scored 21 points in the third quarter and cruised to a comfortable win by the game’s end. Against an Iowa defense that has looked far less formidable than they did in 2023, Emeka Egbuka caught three touchdowns, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for 139 rushing yards, and Jeremiah Smith added 89 yards and a receiving touchdown himself.
From an offensive perspective, Ohio State has a clear advantage when looking at the numbers. In terms of total offense, Ohio State ranks 9th in the nation, while Oregon comes in at 25th, with OSU scoring ten more offensive touchdowns than UO this year. OSU’s rushing offense has not been quite as explosive as everyone expected when they combined Judkins and Henderson in their backfield, yet it still ranks at 30th in the country, while UO’s clocks in at 67th and has been quite reliant on James alone. When comparing their passing games, things get much closer, with Oregon throwing for the 19th most passing yards this season and Ohio State just behind them at 23rd. That said, Dillon Gabriel is a better and more versatile quarterback than Will Howard and should be able to raise Oregon’s offensive ceiling to a higher degree if all things go right. He’ll have quite the challenge in front of him, though, as OSU’s total defense ranks as #1 in the nation and has only allowed four touchdowns up to this point, although UO’s isn’t too shabby either, appearing tied for 11th on the list. (all stats from NCAA)
On the injury front, don’t expect Oregon to add any significant talent back into the mix this Saturday, although multiple key players continue to work their way back. Gary Bryant Jr was seen returning to practice on Tuesday, his first appearance in over a month, and should be back soon to bolster the wide receiver room. Similarly, cornerback Jahlil Florence, who should make an impact later in the season, is still in the process of getting into game shape but has been present at multiple weeks of practice, which is an encouraging sign (info via The Register-Guard). For Ohio State, reinforcements in the form of wide receiver Carnell Tate should be coming, with coach Ryan Day stating, “He had a good day of practice today” on Wednesday night (via The Columbus Dispatch). Tate missed last week’s matchup with Iowa with an unspecified injury, and Howard and the rest of the OSU offense will be happy to have him back to complement Egbuka and Smith.
This matchup appears to be a true tossup, with absurdly talented units on both sides of the ball for each team and two massive and rabid fan bases ready to crown the winner the frontrunner for the college football championship. ESPN has Oregon slightly favored at home by -3.5 points with an over-under of 55.5. With all eyes on this game and the inevitable dramatic fallout, everyone wants a back-and-forth, high-scoring shootout that goes down to the wire. The big question: will it deliver? Either way, expect any college football conversation for the next week (or season) to include this game and these two incredible teams.
Prediction: Oregon W, 28-24
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