No. 23 Oregon heads to Columbus on Saturday with plenty on the line, and the matchup with No.
12 Ohio State feels built around two offenses that have changed shape over the course of the season. The Ducks are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play, while the Buckeyes sit at 6-2 and 4-1 in the conference.
A fourth loss would almost certainly knock Oregon out of College Football Playoff contention, and another Ohio State setback would send the Buckeyes tumbling further in the rankings.
The Ducks should get a boost with wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan expected back from injury for the 12:30 pm PT kickoff. His return comes after a frustrating stretch that began when he broke his foot during warmups against Portland State in Week 3.
Before that injury, the junior had already put up seven catches for 170 yards, a 24.3 yards-per-catch average, and a touchdown in the first two weeks. He looked ready to sail past last season’s 557 yards and three touchdown receptions.
But this is not the same Oregon offense McClellan left behind. Quarterback Dante Moore is unlikely to return this season because of a concussion, and assistant quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson has taken over play-calling duties after the dismissal of offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.
Still, Dylan Raiola appears to be settling in under Johnson, and after throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns against Northwestern last week, he should keep that momentum going. McClellan, meanwhile, is a strong bet to make his return count with his second touchdown catch of the season.
Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith brings a different kind of problem. He has ripped through defenses for 1,067 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, numbers that rank second nationally behind Oregon State’s Jesse Legree, who has 1,110 yards and 14 scores.
Smith is averaging 133.4 yards per game, though he has not topped 100 yards since his huge outings against Illinois and Iowa, when he went for 217 and 206 yards. That drought has lasted three games.
Oregon’s defense has shown it can tighten up on third down, ranking No. 20 in the FBS by allowing conversions on 31.4 percent of attempts. Even so, the Ducks have given up their share of explosive plays lately, including a 64-yard touchdown from Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles to Griffin Wilde and a 75-yard untouched scoring run by Illinois back Aidan Laughery. Smith may still find the end zone, but Oregon should be able to keep his yardage under 75, which would be his lowest total since he finished with 68 yards against Indiana two weeks ago.
The other big question is whether Oregon can avoid another slow start. The Ducks have trailed at halftime in five of their eight games, though they have managed to rally for wins against No.
25 Boise State, Nebraska and Northwestern. If Portland State is taken out of the equation, Oregon has scored 109 second-half points against FBS opponents compared with 73 before halftime, a 49.3 percent increase.
The first quarter has been especially sluggish, with just 26 points scored there all season versus 65 in the fourth.
That sets up a difficult test against an Ohio State team that has done the opposite. The Buckeyes have led at halftime in seven of eight games and have outscored opponents 178-59 in the first half.
Only Indiana managed to reach the break within one score, and even then the margin was just three points. In the other six games, Ohio State’s average halftime lead has been around 21.2 points.
So the script Saturday may look familiar: Oregon digging out of an early hole and trying to flip the game in the second half. Whether that comeback actually turns into a win will come down to Raiola and the defense.
In Other News...
Ohio State Faces A Familiar Threat In A High-Stakes Rematch
Dylan Raiola has become a familiar name around Ohio State for reasons that go beyond recruiting lore. The quarterback once committed to the Buckeyes before his path took him through multiple programs, and now he is set to line up for Oregon in a matchup that carries plenty of extra weight for both sides. His history has been uneven, but the profile remains clear: when he is comfortable, he can make an offense look dangerous in a hurry.
For Ohio State, the challenge is less about the backstory than the stress points Raiola can create if the Buckeyes let him settle in. The defense will need to account for Oregons offense while also finding ways to speed Raiola up, because his play tends to change when pressure starts closing in. It is the kind of rematch that forces a staff to revisit old evaluations and a defense to prove it can turn familiarity into an advantage. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has Every Right To Be Furious With These CFP Rankings
The first College Football Playoff rankings brought plenty of debate, and Ohio State had reason to feel singled out by the opening order. Greg McElroy took aim at the committees placement of Indiana eight spots ahead of the Buckeyes, especially with Ohio State owning the head-to-head win between the two teams and carrying a schedule that has already tested it more than most.
McElroy also pointed to Ohio States narrow loss to Texas as the kind of result that should have kept the Buckeyes higher in the mix, while noting that quarterback injuries may have played into the committees thinking. Even so, he suggested the rankings are far from final and could shift as the next round of games gives the committee more to weigh. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Enters A Weekend That Could Change Everything For Ohio State
Jeremiah Smith heads into a weekend that could shape more than just Ohio States place in the playoff picture. The matchup comes with Heisman implications, and for a player whose profile already carries major buzz, every snap is being watched through two lenses: what it means for the Buckeyes and what it could do to his standing in a crowded national race.
Smith is part of a broader slate of high-profile college football games featuring names like Kenny Minchey, Sam Leavitt, Keelon Russell, Trinidad Chambliss, Gunner Stockton, Devon Dampier and Bear Bachmeier, with each performance carrying weight for both postseason positioning and the sports card market. For Ohio State, the focus is obvious, because a big weekend could push Smith even further into the conversation, while a stumble would leave the picture much murkier. [Read more 🡒]