Ohio State-Oregon is the hottest recruiting rivalry in the Big Ten

In college football, rivalries between top programs often extend beyond the field and into recruiting. These intense battles for top prospects directly influence the direction of programs and shape future conference standings. This week Rivals is exploring the hottest recruiting rivalries in major college football. Today we look at the Big Ten.

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Oregon Ducks

Notable head-to-heads: Dillon Thieneman (2025 transfer), Faheem Delane (2025), Nate Roberts (2025), Na’eem Offord (2025), Trey McNutt (2025), Dorian Brew (2025), Chris Henry (2026), Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (2026), Jamier Brown (2027)

Who is winning right now: Oregon

The new world of college football has given us some really interesting recruiting clashes. When the Big Ten added Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington to become a coast-to-coast league we should have seen it coming that the Ducks would go after the big dog on the block in recruiting.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning is known to be a relentless recruiter. He and his staff have a strong reputation with recruits and high school coaches for being personable and hard-working in every recruiting battle. The program is seen as being flashy with the uniforms and embracing the new world of NIL.

So the matchup with blueblood Ohio State makes for a fascinating matchup.

Ohio State represents the old-school Big Ten in a lot of ways but it is the clear cream of the crop in the league. The Buckeyes have a strong recruiting and development reputation in two areas in particular. Wide receivers and defensive backs. They’ve produced many recent NFL Draft picks at both spots.

That’s why Oregon going toe-to-toe with Ohio State mainly at those two positions is both smart and a risk.

Oregon did win a huge transfer portal battle worth mentioning by signing Dillon Thineman when he elected to leave Purdue. He’s an immediate plug-and-play guy that will help the Ducks from the jump. But the real sting came in the 2025 recruiting class as defensive back.

The Ducks were able to pull versatile safety Trey McNutt out of Ohio to Eugene. That was a blow and you rarely see a prospect of McNutt’s caliber leave the state if the Buckeyes want him. Ohio State also wanted cornerback Dorian Brew out of Conroe (Texas) and hosted him for an official visit. He signed with the Ducks.

But the biggest win for the Ducks over the Buckeyes came with safety Na’eem Offord. The Birmingham (Ala.) Parker product was committed to the Buckeyes for almost a year before flipping to Oregon on National Signing Day.

Oregon won some huge battles last cycle. But the future favors the Buckeyes for now.

Most everyone had four-star 2026 wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt going to Oregon after his official visits. It was a surprise that he announced his verbal pledge to the Buckeyes back in May. Five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. is a longtime Ohio State commitment but that has not stopped Oregon from trying to chip away at his commitment and keep him out West. Henry has said that his recruitment is shut down but we’ve seen crazier things in recruiting.

Then in the 2027 class we are seeing yet another heavyweight fight between Ohio State and Oregon for a receiver. Five-star Wayne (Ohio) wide receiver Jamier Brown is one of the best in the country in his class. He’s given an early pledge to Ohio State that will be hard to move him off of. But the Ducks (along with Tennessee) are trying very hard to flip him.

This battle between Ohio State and Oregon has gone back and forth over the last few cycles. We are going to see the pair lock horns more and more as Oregon get its footing in the new Big Ten.

Honorable Mention

Oregon vs USC: If a player is good on the West Coast there is a strong chance he holds an offer from both the Ducks and Trojans. Brandon Lockhart, Talanoa Ili and Deshonne Redeaux are just a few that fit the bill. But the Big Ten foes also went head-to-head for Ohio cornerback Elbert HIll and the Trojans won. USC also flipped quarterback Jonas Williams away from the Ducks this cycle.

Ohio State vs Michigan: The bitter Big Ten rivals go head-to-head for recruits much less than you’d think. But when they do battle its typically in the trenches. The exception recently is wide receiver Quincy Porter who signed with Ohio State in the 2025 recruiting class. But the big one is 2026 five-star EDGE Carter Meadows. He took official visits to both schools and Michigan holds his commitment.

Ohio State vs Penn State: Much like how this rivalry has gone recently on the field it overwhelmingly favors Ohio State. The Nittany Lions did snag EDGE Chaz Coleman in the 2025 cycle out of Ohio. But Bo Jackson, Brody Lennon, De’Zie Jones, Cincere Johnson and Damari Simeon all pledged for the Buckeyes. It’s notable that Ohio State has recruited so well in New Jersey recently which is typically a Penn State foothold.