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College football fans have been looking forward to this week for a long time. The slate for this week features numerous huge matchups, and none are bigger than the third ranked Oregon football team hosting #2 Ohio State. This is the biggest Big Ten conference game of the season as these are the two best teams, and whoever wins will be in a great spot going forward. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning knows that his team will have their hands full on Saturday night.
Both of these teams have looked good so far this season, but Ohio State has definitely looked like the best team in the Big Ten. Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning knows that this is going to be a challenge, and a big reason why is the play of the Buckeyes' linebackers.
“Yeah, just really sound,” Lanning said in regard to the Ohio State linebacker room, according to an article from 247 Sports. “You know, there's a reason these guys don't give up explosive plays. They tackle really well in space. They do a good job communicating. They, you know, they don't have technique errors or scheme errors.”
That's not the only part of the game that Ohio State excels at. The Buckeyes also have great edge rushers in JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, and the Oregon offensive line has to be ready for that duo.
“I mean, they're great speed to power guys,” Lanning said. “They change their technique a lot on the edge. There's times that they're upfield, there's times they close, but they play with great violence and they run to the ball.”
Oregon-Ohio State is the game of the year in the Big Ten
The Big Ten looks a lot different this year compared to recent years. Typically, the conference comes down to Michigan and Ohio State, and that has been the case each of the past three years. Now, the Wolverines are struggling, and Ohio State should be able to make easy work out of them this season.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, it's not going to be that easy this year. The Big Ten has new blood, and the Oregon football team is the best new addition to the conference this year. The Michigan game is always the biggest for Ryan Day and Ohio State, but their most difficult test this year is this one against Oregon.
“I try to prepare for each game the same, you know, and certainly everyone knows this game and what its implications are,” Dan Lanning said. “But it is a game, right? It's a game. It's the next game. That's why it's the most important one.”
You'll always hear the coaches say that they prepare for every game the same and every contest has the most importance, but there's no question about it: this game has a different feel to it.
ESPN's College GameDay will be in Eugene this week for this huge game, and it's going to be must-watch tv. Oregon and Ohio State will kick off at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT on Saturday night from Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The game will be airing on NBC, and the Buckeyes are currently favored by three points.
