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The biggest game of arguably the best Saturday slate of the year pits Oregon football against Ohio State in a top five matchup in Eugene. College GameDay will be in town for the showdown between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the nation, so everything is setting up for a classic at Autzen Stadium.
Despite having to go the road, Ohio State is currently listed as a three-point favorite over Oregon on Saturday night. Former UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel disagrees and says that he's taking the Ducks in front of their home fans.
“They haven't been to Autzen,” Neuheisel said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “Dan Lanning has got a nice looking crew, and this Autzen Stadium has been waiting for this moment… This scene at Autzen with the Buckeyes in tow is gonna be one for the ages. When you have that — like we saw in Neyland when Alabama got there a couple of years ago, much like we saw Bryant-Denny when Georgia came to town — is gonna come to life. When that energy fills the arena and stadium, it carries people to new heights which is what I'm expecting.”
The winner will have the upper hand in the race for the Big Ten Championship and will have earned a significant margin for error in the race to the College Football Playoff, so the stakes on Saturday night are very high.
Biggest key for Oregon football against Ohio State
Oregon will have their hands full when Ohio State comes to town on Saturday, and it will take a total team effort for them to pull off a victory. Many of the headlines around the Buckeyes go towards their offense due to the explosiveness of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson at running back and freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver. However, the Ohio State defense is the strength of their team.
Ohio State has elite talent at all three levels of the defense, but their pass rush and their secondary are as good as it gets. Defensive end Jack Sawyer is capable of wrecking a game, and they have future NFL players such as Denzel Burke and Caleb Downs littered throughout the defensive back room.
In order to counteract this, Oregon has to establish an effective running game early and often. Between running backs Jordan James and Noah Whittington, the Ducks must be able to run the ball on early downs to have success.
Offensive coordinator Will Stein can also dig into his bag of screens and RPO's to get the ball out of Dillon Gabriel's hands as an extension of the run game. Oregon has plenty of stars on the outside who can make plays in space, and that is an area they should be looking to take advantage. Gabriel is a good drop back passer, but this Buckeyes defense is so difficult to throw the ball on effectively. Oregon should be looking to stay ahed of the sticks and avoid as many obvious passing situations as possible.
