by Image via Michael Reaves/Getty Images.
Following a relatively breezy first five weeks, the No. 2 Ohio State football team is set to travel to the West Coast to face No. 3 Oregon. Other than Michigan, the game between the new conference heavyweights is the one fans have had circled on their calendars for months, as the two undefeated sides will face off with heavy playoff implications.
The Buckeyes and Ducks have faced off ten times in their program’s histories, with Ohio State winning the first nine. Recently, in the 2010 Rose Bowl, quarterback Terrelle Pryor and wide receiver DeVier Posey heroically led Ohio State to a thrilling victory. Next, the two sides clashed in the 2015 National Championship game, where the Buckeyes once again came out victorious from the heroics of backup quarterback Cardale Jones and running back Ezekiel Elliott. However, in their most recent matchup, a 2021 regular season game in Columbus, the Ducks shocked the Buckeyes and beat them in C.J. Stroud’s second game of his first year as a starter.
Since then, Dan Lanning was hired as the head coach in 2022 and Oregon has enjoyed a 10-win and a 12-win season as well as a 5-0 start this year. After Bo Nix finished in the top-three in Heisman voting and was picked in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft, Dillon Gabriel transferred in and has been the Ducks’ starting quarterback. Gabriel, a historic college player, ranks third all-time in the entirety of college football passing touchdowns and fourth in passing yards. He began his career at UCF, where he was the starter for three seasons and threw for 70 touchdowns. Then, he transferred to Oklahoma after the hire of Brent Venables and found similar success in Norman for two seasons. Now, he is at Oregon and his experience has him both on the brink of college football immortality and his first national championship.
Elsewhere, junior running back Jordan James has enjoyed a strong first season as the Ducks’ featured back, going for 552 yards and five touchdowns so far. He’s coming off his best performance of the year where he ran for 166 yards and a touchdown against Michigan State. Fifth-year slot receiver Tez Johnson has been by far the team’s best receiver so far this year, with 43 catches for 395 yards and five touchdowns. Wideout Traeshon Holden and tight end Terrance Ferguson have been key cogs in the Oregon offense as well with over 250 yards each. Before the season, many thought Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart would be the featured receiver, but things haven’t really panned out for him so far. Still, both he and Johnson are very dangerous and both of their names are in the first round conversation for the 2025 NFL Draft. Veteran offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. leads a strong offensive line and the defense, while inconsistent at times, is more than capable of wreaking havoc.
For Ohio State, a major key will be starting the game on the right foot. Multiple times this year and especially last week against Iowa, the Buckeyes have looked sluggish on the offensive side of the ball and against a team the caliber of Oregon, a start like that could easily lose them the game. Quarterback Will Howard has had flashes of brilliance, but has been inconsistent overall. If there’s any game to silence the doubters, it’s this one.
The receiver pairing of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith has looked stronger and stronger with each week, but against subpar opponents, it’s hard to really know what you’ve got. Egbuka, whose performance has improved every game so far, has proved to be one of the most consistent receivers in the history of the program but Smith’s career is still in its infancy. If he can have another big day against the Ducks, he truly might be able to be considered the best receiver in all of college football as a true freshman. Hopefully having fellow wideout Carnell Tate back from injury could help ease the load as well.
To disrupt Gabriel and the rest of the Oregon offense, the defensive line will hope to have a performance similar to what they did last week. Between edge rushers Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau and defensive tackles Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton, this unit is perhaps the best in the entire country and was utterly destructive in last week’s win.
The linebacker group has been much more inconsistent this year and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has had to tweak formations and strategies, but they’re starting to look a bit more organized. Cody Simon, who was thought to be the one for one replacement for the departed Tommy Eichenberg, is now seeing himself moved around the field more than in earlier weeks. He now only spends some time as the middle linebacker and signal caller and will occasionally rotate over to the weak side backer. Sonny Styles, who transitioned from safety to linebacker over the summer, is looking more and more comfortable in his new role each week and now spends some decent time in the middle. In three linebacker sets, Arvell Reese has cemented himself as the next guy over C.J. Hicks.
The secondary can be thought of similarly: inconsistent but quickly improving. They’ll have their hands full with a strong Oregon passing attack. Davison Igbinosun has been looking more and more like a guy that’ll be playing on Sundays, while Denzel Burke has been a projected first-rounder for months. Caleb Downs is among the best underclassmen in the nation and Lathan Ransom, an experienced veteran, has been solid. Two guys that have spent time as the nickelback, Jordan Hancock and Jermaine Mathews Jr. have looked sharp in their more limited time, and the Ducks should have a tough time exploiting even Ohio State’s ‘weaker’ players.
The game will have a 7:30 PM E.T. kickoff, and for the first time in a long time, Buckeye fans will and should be a bit nervous. Oregon is a very good football team and to go in a tough road environment all the way across the country and win is a tough task. However, Ohio State has probably the most talented roster in all of the country and if there’s any team that can pull it out, it’s them.
