Ohio State’s weekend brings two very different tests into focus: a Big Ten showdown with Oregon on Saturday afternoon, and an early read on what Buckeyes basketball might be after a season-opening loss in Utah.
On the football side, Ohio State gets Oregon at 3:30 p.m. as a 7.5-point favorite, but both teams will be missing their starting quarterbacks. Oregon also won’t have top running back Jordon Davison, while the Buckeyes are expected to get Jay Timmons and Khary Wilder back. That gives Ohio State a few important pieces back at a time when it needs to steady itself after the USC loss.
Oregon comes in at 5-3 with defeats to Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Illinois, but the Ducks have also picked up wins over USC and Northwestern. Dylan Raiola just turned in his best outing of the season against Northwestern, going 22-of-31 for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and he’ll have two dangerous targets in Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart. The Buckeyes’ task is clear: respond after last week and handle a team that has shown it can beat quality opponents.
The matchup is only part of a loaded Saturday slate. Cole and Joey also run through what they see as one of the strongest weekends of games in the country, with Miami at Notre Dame, BYU at Utah, Georgia at Ole Miss, Alabama at LSU, Kentucky at Tennessee, Texas at Missouri, Oregon at Ohio State, UCLA at Minnesota, Iowa at Northwestern, and Texas A&M at South Carolina all on the board.
Then it’s over to basketball, where Ohio State opened with a 94-83 loss to BYU in Utah. Amare Bynum led the Buckeyes with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, John Mobley Jr. finished with 14 points and seven assists, and Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavic added 13 points and nine rebounds.
The preseason expectations were modest. Ohio State was picked ninth in the Big Ten media poll, while CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports both slotted the Buckeyes eighth. Joe Lunardi has them in the tournament picture, and with nonconference games against BYU, UConn, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and Kansas, the early schedule will tell plenty about what this team can realistically become.
In Other News...
Jeremiah Smith Can Add Another Big Ten Milestone Against Oregon
Jeremiah Smith keeps turning milestone games into routine business, and the next one on the schedule gives him another chance to add to a record book he already owns in just about every meaningful way at Ohio State. The Buckeyes star receiver has become the standard for production in Columbus, and his latest stretch has him positioned to keep climbing the Big Ten lists while the spotlight only gets brighter.
Oregon is the next opponent, and with it comes another opportunity for Smith to keep stacking history against a high-profile defense. The yards record is still within reach, and with every big catch he makes, the conversation around him shifts a little more from what he has done to what he might finish with before this run is over. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces A Familiar Threat In A High-Stakes Rematch
Dylan Raiolas path back into Ohio States orbit has been a winding one, but the matchup ahead brings the Buckeyes face to face with a quarterback they once had in their own recruiting class. Now at Oregon, Raiola arrives with the kind of talent that made him such a coveted name in the first place, and the film shows the same split that has followed him along the way: dangerous when he gets comfortable, far less settled when the pocket starts to tighten.
For Ohio State, the challenge is as much about discipline as it is about disruption. The Buckeyes have to keep Raiola from getting into rhythm and make Oregon earn every clean look, because once he settles in, the Ducks offense can move quickly. It sets up a familiar kind of test for Ohio State, one that asks the defense to turn pressure into control before a familiar threat turns the rematch into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Heads Into Ohio State With Key Offensive Questions
Oregons injury report is already shaping the conversation around its trip to Columbus, with the Ducks confirming that running back Jordon Davison and tight end Andrew Olesh will not be available against Ohio State. The latest updates also leave wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan in line for a possible return after a long injury layoff, giving the Ducks at least a little hope as they sort through the final pieces of their offensive plan.
The rest of the availability picture is still fluid, with other players carrying out or probable designations as Oregon prepares for one of its biggest tests of the season. For Ohio State, that means the focus is not just on who the Ducks will have, but on how much of their offense can be pieced together in time for a game where every healthy option matters. [Read more 🡒]