The Stage Is Set For Oregon Ducks ‘Gameday’ Showdown vs. Ohio State In Eugene
By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN
Contributor, 750 The Game
Most people looked at Oregon and Ohio State’s schedules coming into this and saw them destined to clash as 5-0 teams.
Prophecy fulfilled.
Oregon handled Michigan State 31-10 while Ohio State cruised past Iowa at home, and both teams are not just inside the top 5 heading into this Saturday. Autzen Stadium will feature a top 3 matchup in the AP Poll, with Ohio State #2 and the Ducks back to where they started during the season at #3.
Neither team has been perfect so far this season, but at this point in the calendar they’ve solidified themselves as legitimate national title contenders–the types of teams they were billed as before the season began. The chaos in college football is showing just how open this opportunity is for both teams to claim College Football’s highest crown. If Alabama can lose to Vanderbilt, what ISN’T possible at this point?
More on that later this week.
Oregon has played much better football since their opening week dud of a victory against Idaho. That was on full display Friday night in front of a packed Autzen crowd that saw them physically overwhelm Michigan State in the trenches. Jordan Burch led a defensive line unit that looks every bit as deep and talented as I thought they would be coming into the season. They completely negated the Spartans’ running game while pressuring QB Aidan Chiles all night. He ended the game just 10-17 passing for 154 yards as Oregon continued its ability to torment opposing quarterbacks this year. Through 5 games, Dan Lanning’s defense has yet to allow a quarterback to pass for 200 yards.
Will Howard is up next, and he might face the loudest crowd Oregon has played behind this season. It’s going to be an all-time environment in Eugene.
Oregon’s offensive line was a legitimate point of concern through the first 2 games this season. Those concerns have been negated in the last few weeks. They’ll face their toughest test by far against the Buckeyes, but they were great against Michigan State.
Jordan James went for over 150 yards in the first half, ending with a career-best 166 yards rushing and a touchdown. He is difficult to tackle when coming downhill and fits perfectly into the brand of Big 10 football. He created explosive running plays thanks to gaping running lanes generated by the offensive line.
Dillon Gabriel wasn’t sacked for the third straight game. A’lique Terry’s unit has really gotten going and it’s unlocked this Oregon offense that has averaged 38 points per game in the Ducks’ last 3 wins. I think they could have scored more against MSU or UCLA if they had wanted to–but once you prove you’re the better team, there’s no need.
Oregon has done plenty to prove they’re ready to compete in the Big 10 and knock off Ohio State with College GameDay in attendance this Saturday for the first time since UCLA in 2022. Oregon won that game 45-30 against Chip Kelly’s Bruins. He’s now the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator and has never won at Autzen since leaving Oregon in 2012.
A final note on Dillon Gabriel–he played his worst game as a Duck against Michigan State. A pair of red zone interceptions that kept points off the scoreboard cost the Ducks at least 6 points, and as many as 14. That didn’t matter against MSU but it certainly will matter against Ohio State.
No way to sugarcoat it–he can’t do that. He’s a 6th-year QB that has to make better decisions in the scoring area. It’s concerning now that he’s thrown a pick to keep points off the board in 2 straight games–and 3 total such plays.
If he cleans that up, I like Oregon’s chances.
Spencer McLaughlin is an Oregon Ducks football contributor to 750 The Game. He also hosts the “Locked On Oregon Ducks” and “Locked On College Football” podcasts and has work featured throughout the season here.