The Nov. 7 meeting between Oregon and Ohio State lost some of the shine it carried before the season, but the kickoff news still gives the Ducks a break. The Big Ten announced Monday that Oregon will not have to deal with a Big Noon Kickoff slot in Columbus, and it also avoids a prime-time night game against the Buckeyes.
That matters for a Ducks team that already had trouble with an early kickoff on the road. Oregon struggled at Oklahoma State in a game that effectively started at 9 a.m.
PT on the team’s body clocks, but this trip will not come with a 12 p.m. PT start.
Ohio State, meanwhile, still does not get the evening spotlight it may have wanted.
The matchup was supposed to carry a lot more weight back when both programs opened the year ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Plenty of fans had it marked as a potential showdown between two of the sport’s best quarterbacks, Julian Sayin for Ohio State and Dante Moore for Oregon.
That’s not the script anymore. Both quarterbacks have dealt with injuries, and Oregon’s season has gone sideways fast.
The Ducks are now unranked at 4-3 after losses to No. 7 UCLA, No.
24 Oklahoma State, and Illinois. Ohio State, by contrast, sits at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Week 9 rankings.
For the Buckeyes, the bigger concern is still Sayin’s absence. The Ohio State quarterback is out indefinitely with a right shoulder injury he suffered in the Buckeyes’ 19-15 win over No.
4 Indiana on Oct. 17.
Before getting hurt, Sayin was second in the Big Ten in passing behind USC’s Jayden Maiava, with 2,007 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Now Ohio State is moving ahead with former three-star quarterback Luke Fahey, a Mission Viejo, California, native. Fahey is set to make his debut on Halloween night against USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Even with Sayin sidelined, Oregon’s defense will still have to deal with Jeremiah Smith, one of the biggest names in the sport right now. Smith is the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy at +120, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and his production has been outrageous. He ranks second in the country in receiving with 52 catches for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Ohio State’s ground game is no small issue either. The Buckeyes have gotten 10 rushing touchdowns combined from Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson.
Oregon’s offense has been part of the problem all season, but there may be some hope for a cleaner finish. The program fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, and the Ducks will need more consistency if they want any chance of flipping the script. Health is part of that, too, with key wide receivers Evan Stewart, Jeremiah McClellan, Jalen Lott and Messiah Hampton all important to what Oregon wants to do.
There’s also a chance the Ducks lean more heavily on younger receivers down the stretch, including Gatlin Bair and Hudson Lewis.
After the rough loss to UCLA, quarterback Dylan Raiola showed better play against Nebraska and Illinois. On Saturday, he threw for 246 yards on 27 of 41 passing. With new play-calling in place, Oregon is left to wonder whether it can actually make things interesting against Ohio State.
The Ducks’ season may already be headed nowhere at 4-3, but back-to-back ranked wins over No. 20 Northwestern and No. 3 Ohio State would be one way to salvage some pride from a disappointing year.
In Other News...
Ohio State Could Revisit A Familiar Ole Miss Transfer Path
The transfer pipeline from Oxford to Columbus has already worked once for Ohio State, and it could be a path worth watching again if Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy decides his future is elsewhere. Quinshon Judkins made the jump from Ole Miss to Ohio State in 2023 and quickly became part of the Buckeyes productive backfield rotation, giving the program a clear example of how a proven SEC runner can fit into its system.
Lacys shoulder injury has only added more uncertainty around his next move, with speculation swirling about whether he could eventually enter the transfer portal or even look toward the NFL Draft. For Ohio State, the interest is obvious if he becomes available, but for now it remains just that, a possibility rather than a pursuit, with the Buckeyes and everyone else waiting to see how his situation unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Got A New Warning About USC Trip
USCs offense hit an unusual wall against Wisconsin, and that should at least sharpen Ohio States attention ahead of its trip west. In a loss that doubled as the lowest-scoring outing of the Lincoln Riley era, the Trojans were held to seven points and 241 total yards, with Wisconsin making a clear point of attacking the run game first and then getting after quarterback Jayden Maiava.
For Ohio State, the lesson is less about copying Wisconsin and more about seeing a workable blueprint. USC still has the pieces to stress a defense in a hurry, but when the running game gets bogged down and Maiava feels pressure, the whole operation can stall. That gives the Buckeyes a useful warning before they walk into the matchup, because stopping the early rhythm may matter just as much as dealing with the explosive plays everyone expects. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Heads To USC With Two Defensive Questions Lingering
Ohio States trip to USC is arriving with a familiar kind of October tension: a big road test, a short turnaround and a growing injury list after the Buckeyes win over Indiana. The latest concern on offense is Julian Sayin, whose injury appears likely to end his season, but the defensive side is carrying its own uncertainty as Ryan Day tries to sort out who will be available in Los Angeles.
Jay Timmons and Kenyatta Jackson are the names that now hang over the matchup, with Day offering only an update that leaves their status up in the air. For a Buckeyes team that is still trying to keep its focus on the next opponent, the timing matters because USC is the kind of game where every available body on defense matters, and Ohio State may not know its full plan until later in the week. [Read more 🡒]