Oregon is getting a timely boost heading into Saturday’s trip to Columbus, and it comes from a familiar name. Jeremiah McClellan is expected back after missing time with a broken foot, giving the Ducks a much-needed lift as they try to keep their slim College Football Playoff hopes alive against No. 12 Ohio State.
The junior receiver has been sidelined since September, and his return matters for a passing game that has had its share of highs and lows. Oregon’s wideout room could use the help, especially with the Ducks entering what amounts to a must-win road game.
The No. 23 Ducks are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten after last week’s 34-26 home win over Northwestern. What looked like it could have been a top-five quarterback showdown between Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin has turned into a matchup of backups, with Luke Fahey starting for the Buckeyes and Dylan Raiola handling the Ducks’ offense.
Raiola’s last outing was easily his best. Against Northwestern, he went 22 of 31 for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon needs that version again if it wants to walk out of Ohio Stadium with an upset.
The Ducks’ offense, though, is only part of the equation. Their defense will have to do heavy lifting too, and that starts with trying to slow Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Oregon coach Dan Lanning made clear just how difficult that assignment is.
“Jeremiah’s special. He is a special player.
You have to know where he’s at all times. He’s dynamic in every phase,” Lanning said.
“He’s certainly pro-ready. I think anybody that’s played against him already would tell you that.
He probably was two years ago, right? So he certainly is now.”
Lanning also pointed to the challenge Smith creates even when the coverage seems stacked against him.
“I think Coach (Ryan) Day said it earlier in the year - if (Smith’s) one-on-one, he’s open. If there’s two guys covering him, he’s sort of open, right?
If there are three, that means somebody else is open,” Lanning continued. “It’s a collective unit that everybody has to play together to try to limit explosive plays for players like him.”
Smith was a problem for Oregon the last time these teams met, in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025. He finished that game with seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
Ohio State will also be leaning on Fahey again after his first career start in a 30-18 loss to No. 20 USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
He completed 21 of 38 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown, but the Buckeyes were undone by pressure up front. USC’s defensive line got to him for two sacks and kept him uncomfortable for much of the night.
That’s the blueprint Oregon will try to copy. The Ducks have their own talented defensive front, and creating the same kind of disruption could be one of the biggest keys to pulling off the road upset.
Still, Oregon has questions of its own. The bigger one is which offense shows up in Columbus: the group that put up more than 30 points against Northwestern, or the one that went three straight games without reaching 20. That uncertainty has only grown with Jay Johnson now calling the plays.
The Ducks are also trying to build on the confidence from last week, while Ohio State, given Ryan Day’s track record, is expected by many to respond after the USC loss. That sets up a game that could stay tight and low-scoring with both teams missing their starting quarterbacks.
Oregon enters as a 7.5-point underdog, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. It’s the first time this season the Ducks have been an underdog; they were favored in their three losses to Oklahoma State, No. 8 UCLA and Illinois.
Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. PT at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, with CBS carrying the game. It’s also the first time Oregon has played Ohio State in Columbus since 2021, when the Ducks won 35-28.
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Jeremiah Smith Can Add Another Big Ten Milestone Against Oregon
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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.
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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 🡒]