OPB Audio
Oregon faces Ohio State in Rose Bowl rematch, vying for spot in CFP semifinals
This is OPB, I'm Donald Orr. The University of Oregon's football team has had a storybook season, so far. The Oregon Ducks have gone undefeated in their big 10 conference debut. Now, the Ducks kick off the new year by taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl tomorrow. It's the quarterfinals of the College Football Championship playoff. Here for a preview is Tyson Alger. He runs the I-5 corridor, an online newsletter about Oregon sports. Tyson, welcome back, and thanks so much for joining us. Hey, thanks so much for having me. Happy, happy almost new year. So, the last meet-up between the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State football was a nailbiter in Austin Stadium this October. The Ducks won in one of the most explosive games during the regular season. What's changed for these two teams since then? You know, if you ask everyone on the Ohio State side, they'll tell you everything. You know, Ohio State was a team that came into the season with just as high of the expectations as Oregon did. They played that game in Eugene in October and it was a one-point game and it was incredibly tight. And it was probably one of the better games that I've covered in my 12 years of being on this beat. From hearing from the Ohio State players and coaches, this week down here at the Rose Bowl, they've really been trying to kind of make up for the one kind of real blemish on their record. They did have a loss to Michigan during the regular season, too. I think this is kind of the rematch that everybody's been kind of like hoping and waiting for. And it's going to be a pretty epic Rose Bowl matchup because it's kind of the old school of what used to be the Pac-12 versus the Big Ten. It's got those two traditional schools. By my money, it's the two best teams in the country right now. Having to face Ohio State tomorrow isn't the easiest thing in the world, but hey, they did it once and they'll try to do it twice. What do you think the keys to victory are for Oregon to get this win? A couple things. One, it's going to be being able to create explosive plays against Ohio State's defense. I think a lot of people probably assume that the Buckeyes are this big offensive juggernaut, but they are a very disciplined defensive team that doesn't let teams really beat them over the top, if you will. They just don't allow big plays all that often, and that was the one area that Oregon did succeed in in that October win. Quarterback Dylan Gabriel had one of his best and most efficient games of the season. It was probably the most efficient game by a quarterback against Ohio State all season. From the Big Ten championship game to now, Oregon's gotten a fair amount healthier. They have some pretty important players coming back, especially on defense. It's kind of a little bit of that you want to be healthy or you want to have momentum. Right now, Ohio State has a bit of momentum, but Oregon's got health and they also have an undefeated season on their side as well. All right, fingers crossed. For longtime Ducks fans, this matchup is pretty familiar, right? The Ducks face the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl in 2010 during the Chip Kelly era. Now, here we are 15 years later in the Ducks face Chip Kelly as Ohio State's offensive coordinator. How has Oregon football changed since Kelly's time at UO? Oh, man, it's changed substantially. And that's kind of the fun and nugget to this game is Chip Kelly is one of the several people staying in and in the way of the Ducks and another run towards the national title. If you want to go back to the Chip Kelly era, that was when Oregon was known for its kind of its flash and its speed and how quickly the offense played. You really feel the advantage of the spread offense and being able to get plays off quickly and being able to just kind of take advantage of the rules that they give you. Whereas this 2024 version of the Oregon Ducks is kind of built in a more traditional mold clear team that's built up through the recruiting the transfer portal era of college football. We're in now and they're they're not a whole lot different when you look at them compared to like the Georgia's and Ohio State's and the Michigan's kind of those traditional blue bloods in the college football world. So this is really kind of a strength on strength matchup. And I think that's why this is probably the most anticipated game of the college football playoff so far. Two juggernauts I can't wait for the game. Win or lose what do you think this landmark year has meant for the Ducks and for Dan Lanning's 10 year as head coach. Yeah, it's it's pretty crazy because I remember sitting down in Lanning's office about three weeks before the season began. He just got back from a family vacation in Idaho. The Lanning's big golf season goal was to try to explore the West Coast. They're from Missouri. They're still kind of getting a taste for things out here and it it was just like this random quiet downtime that Lanning had before all of this started. And now that all of this has started where the Ducks have yet to lose where Lanning has been one of the most talked about coaches in America for not only being kind of a new coach and being able to do this so early in his career but taking a program like Oregon and establishing them where they're at. Lanning and the Ducks have really become the center of the college football universe here in 2024. In my mind, I have quite this just the position of the week before it all started where Lanning was still just kind of this up and comer to where they're at now where today it was landing and Ryan Day Ohio State's coach doing the final Rose Bowl news conference where it's just like wait these are these are the kind of the two stars of the sport right now. Well, I can't wait for the game to see who comes out on top and hopefully it's the Ducks. Tyson, thanks so much for joining me and Happy New Year. Hey, you too. Thanks so much Donald. Tyson Alger runs the Oregon Sports newsletter, the I-5 corridor. Kickoff for the Rose Bowl is at 2 p.m. tomorrow, New Year's Day. This is OPP.
The Oregon Ducks kick off the New Year by taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.