OSU - Oregon preview
COVER PHOTO: OSU receiver Emeka Egbuka reels in a catch against Oregon during their game in Ohio Stadium on Sept. 11, 2021. It was the 10th time the two schools had played and Oregon took home their first victory, 35-28. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
On Saturday, the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) will go toe-to-toe with the third-rated Oregon Ducks (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) in Eugene, Ore. for a conference game that could rightly be bragging rights for getting into the Big Ten championship game. It very well could also be bragging rights for a postseason appearance in the first-ever 12-team college football playoff and at the very least, a precursor for a rematch in the B1G champ game.
Saturday will mark the 11th time the schools have met with the Scarlet and Gray holding a decisive 9-1 edge. The last contest, though, Oregon notched their first win - which was three years ago in Ohio Stadium, 35-28.
This will be only the second time ever the Buckeyes have traveled to Eugene. The first was on Oct. 7, 1967, when the Ducks hosted the Buckeyes in the newly constructed Autzen Stadium as their second opponent that season. Ohio State won, 30-0.
TALE OF THE TAPE
OSU offensive tackle Josh Fryar and his fellow hogmollies up front will face their stiffest test yet, going against the Ducks’ defensive front.
Oregon ranks 25th nationally against the run at 101 yards per game and 11th in the country at 3.2 sacks per game.
Led by defensive end Jordan Burch, the 6-foot-6, 290-pounder has been wreaking havoc on quarterbacks and running backs this year with 19 tackles (second on the team) and a team-high seven tackles-for-loss. Those TFL’s include five sacks, which is tied for first in the Big Ten.
“He’s a really good player. Powerful, super strong,” Fryar said. “When he’s 6-6, 290 and he moves like that, it’s kind of scary.”
Burch isn’t the only scary D-lineman that will be frothing at the mouth to chew up and spit out some Buckeyes: Michigan State transfer Derrick Harmon has held his own this year, tying Burch’s 19 tackles and is second on the team with 4.5 tackles-for-loss including three sacks.
The question is, can they stop the nation’s ninth-best offense that is also sixth in the country at 7.6 yards per play? The Buckeyes’ two-headed monster in the backfield in junior Quinshon Judkins and senior TreVeyon Henderson have led a bruising rushing attack at 6.2 yards per run, which ranks fifth in the nation. Meanwhile, fifth-year senior quarterback Will Howard has quietly put himself as the eighth-most proficient passer in the country with a 178 rating.
Of course, Howard has greatly benefitted from having a pool of receivers to throw to including Scott, tight end Will Kacmarek, and receivers Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate.
And oh yeah, some true freshman that’s proven he’s been worth every single cent of the hype that surrounded him since the moment he stepped foot on campus in January: Jeremiah “J.J.” Smith.
Smith has (not so quietly) made a household name for himself by outracing defenders on simple curl routes for 70 yards into the end zone to mind-boggling, one-handed catches while fighting off defensive backs for six.
Not to be outdone, Egbuka hasn’t exactly been slouchy this year and has (fairly quietly) been right there with Smith - even if folks in both the regular media and social media haven’t necessarily been paying him as much attention. The senior leads the team with 21 catches to Smith’s 19 and sits a mere two yards behind Smith’s team leading 364 receiving yards.
The one difference between the two are Smith’s rushing yards, where he’s run twice for 25 yards including a 19-yard score - which came against Michigan State. Egbuka has yet to run the ball this year but it’s definitely something he’s familiar with, toting the rock 16 times in his OSU career for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Howard and the receivers have their work cut out for them, though, as they face an Oregon D that ranks seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense (98 rating) and are second in the conference in yards allowed at 279 yards per game. They also lead the B1G with 31 passes defended.
Not to be outdone by OSU’s pis the Ducks’ offense, led by QB Dillon Gabriel. The 23-year-old, three-time transfer (Central Florida and Oklahoma) has strung together a sixth year worthy of some decent Heisman hype. Ranking 14th in the country in passer rating (168.9), he’s third in the B1G with 1,449 passing yards, sits one TD behind Howard with 11 on the year and has completed 77.8 percent of his passes, which leads the nation.
Junior receiver and Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart was seen as being his go-to guy this year, but Gabriel has found other guys to sling the rock, most notably senior Tez Johnson who has reeled in a whopping, team-leading 43 catches for 395 yards and five TD’s. The 43 catches is currently second-best in the conference.
The Ducks also have their own monster in the backfield in Jordan James. The junior has 552 yards on the year with five TD’s and is third in the B1G with 110 yards per game.
All Gabriel, James and the Ducks’ passing attack will have to do is overcome a swarming Buckeyes defense that ranks No. 3 nationally against the run (72 yds/gm), fourth in passing yards allowed (129/gm) and tops the FBS at only 6.8 points per game.
Looks like we might have a defensive donnybrook on our hands
Final score: OSU - 21, Oregon - 17.
The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST and airs on NBC.