Game of the week: 5 things to know about Ohio State-Oregon

On3 imageby:Mike Huguenin09/10/21

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The best game this week? It’s No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Oregon in Columbus.

The game kicks off at noon ET on Fox; Gus Johnson will handle the play-by-play and Joel Klatt is the analyst.

Here are five things to know about the Ohio State-Oregon game, plus the predicted final score from the On3 national staff.

1. Oregon is playing for more than itself

The Pac-12 got a much-needed marquee non-conference win last week when UCLA beat LSU (not only did the Bruins beat the Tigers, they physically beat them up). On the other hand, Washington fell to FCS Montana, Cal lost to Mountain West foe Nevada, Washington State lost to Mountain West opponent Utah State, Stanford got run over by Kansas State, Arizona lost to BYU and Oregon State fell at Purdue. Heck, Oregon needed a late TD to beat Fresno State. All of that is a long-winded way of saying, man, the Pac-12 really needs a pick-me-up. Heck, at this point, Oregon keeping it close could be seen as a good thing for the Pac-12.

2. The Oregon quarterback

Oregon’s starting lineup can hang with almost anybody’s, even Ohio State’s. But the Ducks’ depth isn’t as good as that of the truly elite, like Ohio State, which means Oregon absolutely must get a big game from quarterback Anthony Brown. Tyler Shough started every game for Oregon in a truncated season in 2020, then transferred to Texas Tech. Highly touted freshman Ty Thompson looks to be the quarterback of the future for the Ducks. But for right now, it’s Brown, who was a three-year starter at Boston College before heading west. Brown (6 feet 3, 226 pounds) is a tough, physical runner. But his passing ability remains suspect. He never completed 60 percent of his passes in a season at BC in a run-heavy offense. Oregon prefers to run the ball as well, but if that aspect of the offense is stymied, Brown has to show he can win a game with his arm. The problem for Oregon? It’s doubtful he can do so against a team as talented as Ohio State.

3. The offenses as a whole

Oregon wide receivers Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd have combined for 29 career TD catches, the second-most of any active Power 5 duo. The most? It’s the 40 by the Ohio State duo of Chris Olave (28 TD receptions by himself) and Garrett Wilson (12). And Oregon’s C.J. Verdell and Travis Dye have the most combined career rushing yards of any active FBS running back duo with 4,501. That’s about 2,700 more than the 1,806 of the Ohio State quartet of Master Teague III, Miyan Williams, Marcus Crowley and TreVeyon Henderson. But as productive as Oregon’s receivers and backs have been, Ohio State still has a decided offensive advantage. Ohio State’s receivers are the best position group in the nation. Its offensive line is one of the top five or six nationally. QB C.J. Stroud, who will be making his second career start, is a rising star and a vastly superior passer to Brown. And while Oregon may (may, mind you) have the advantage at running back, Ohio State’s decided advantage at the other offensive positions is notable.

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Ohio State WR Chris Olave has 28 career TD catches, and has caught 2 TD passes in 4 of his past 7 games. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

4. Oregon’s defensive depth

Each team has four former five-star defenders. Oregon has LBs Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell, CB Dontae Manning and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux; Ohio State has Es Zach Harrison, J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and T Taron Vincent (Tuimoloau and Sawyer are true freshmen). But Thibodeaux — who would be the most talented player on the field — is banged up and may not play. Even with Thibodeaux, Oregon would be up against it because presumptive starting LB Dru Mathis is out, as well. The weak link for Oregon defensively is the line, and if Ohio State is able to run when it wants to, this could get ugly. Oregon NT Popo Aumavae, a 305-pounder in his fifth year in the program, made his first career start last week and played well. Aumavae needs a repeat performance (against a better line) to make sure the Oregon middle isn’t caved in. One possible mitigating factor: Oregon is a 3-4 team, but the Ducks figure to use a ton of nickel (and dime) packages, so there figure to be five or six DBs on the field much more often than there figure to be four linebackers.

5. Recent history

This is the 10th meeting in the series and the Buckeyes are 9-0 against the Ducks. The past two meetings were in the postseason: The Buckeyes beat the Ducks in the CFP final following the 2014 season (Cardale Jones outdueled Marcus Mariota) and OSU beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl after the 2009 season. This is the first regular-season meeting since 1987. The coaches that day: Earle Bruce for Ohio State (he was fired at the end of the season) and Rich Brooks for Oregon.

On3 predictions

Mike Huguenin: Ohio State 41-27

Ivan Maisel: Ohio State 38-24

Charles Power: Ohio State 42-24

Matt Zenitz: Ohio State 38-24