Why Ohio State Will Win
By Liam O’Brien
Yeah, yeah. We all know about Oregon’s sensational offensive firepower, their Heisman winning quarterback, and their breakneck pace of play– they did hang 59 on Florida State on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl.
However, it’s not on the defensive side of the ball that Ohio State will control the tempo of this game.
It’s their offense that will pioneer the Buckeyes to their first national title since 2002.
Piloted by Cardale Jones, the third-string quarterback who has utterly dominated the formidable defenses of Wisconsin and Alabama to the tune of 618 yards and two touchdowns over the past two games, Ohio State possesses the ability to completely control the time of possession and keep Marcus Mariota & Co. off of the field.
Because the Ducks will be without top cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, the door stands wide open for the likes of Devin Smith, a DeSean Jackson-caliber receiver with break-away speed and exceptional hands, and Michael Thomas, who hauled in seven passes for 66 yards and a touchdown against the Crimson Tide to do some damage.
Smith, who broke free for the go-ahead 47-yard TD in the third quarter of last week’s Sugar Bowl, certainly has the speed advantage over senior cornerback Troy Hill, and Thomas could cause some issues for the inexperienced redshirt freshman Chris Seisay as the No. 2 option.
What will set up this dangerous passing attack? The running game, of course, which grinded up an imposing Alabama front seven with 281 total yards.
Sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliot has been on an absolute tear the past few games, recording 230 yards and two touchdowns on just 20 carries against the Crimson Tide, 220 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries against Wisconsin, and 121 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries against Michigan, posing an incredible threat to an Oregon defense which allows an average of 156.1 rushing yards per game.
Jones, a confident scrambler who isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder and absorb contact, rushed for 43 yards himself last week, including one tremendous 27-yarder. This running game will be the X-factor for the Buckeyes.
If they can sustain a successful presence on the ground, the time of possession will be in their favor, and their ability to spread the ball vertically down the field to Smith and Thomas will be heightened, providing the knockout punch to a Duck defense that doesn’t even crack the top 50 in the national rankings.
While Oregon did pile up an astounding 639 total yards in the Rose Bowl, they will be without big play receiver Devon Allen. If the Buckeyes can limit the Ducks red zone efficiency, holding their ground near the goal line and limiting the Duck offense to field goals, the potent Ohio State offense, capable of ravaging the Oregon defense, will take over the game and lead OSU to their first National Championship in 12 years.
The Case For Oregon
By Jonny Elias
Nothing in all my years of watching college football has captivated me quite like watching the Oregon Ducks. Everything about them demands attention. Their lightning speed offense, their annual heisman contenders, and yes of course, their never ending uniform combinations (seriously, they haven’t worn the same uniform in 3 years).
Oregon has had an incredible season. The Ducks have blown teams out of the water, winning by a billion in pretty much every game they have played thus far.
Their next matchup, though, just might be their toughest. The Ohio State Buckeyes, who are coming off a win over the top ranked team in the country, Alabama, come into Arlington riding their third string quarterback, Cardale Jones. The ability to beat down the best team in the nation with a third string quarterback is absurd and commands a crazy amount of respect.
What Oregon has done this season, specifically on offense, is equally, if not more impressive than the Buckeyes improbable win.
Aside from a brutal loss early in the season to conference rival Arizona, the Ducks have put on a clinic throughout the year. Oregon’s 13-1 record has come by way of outscoring opponents by a combined 357 points, which comes out to an average margin of victory of about four touchdowns a game.
Oregon’s offensive attack, which averages nearly 50 points per game, boggles the minds of coaches and leaves opposing defenses dismantled. And there’s absolutely no reason to expect anything different against Ohio State.
Expect two point conversions while up by a few touchdowns. Expect scoring at an average of less than two minutes per score. Expect disoriented and out of breath defenders. Of course expect the flashy uniforms.
The fast paced offense, led by Heisman trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, heads into the National Championship on the heels of their 38 point throttling of Arizona, who was responsible for the Duck’s only loss this season. Oregon followed up their thrashing of Arizona with a 39 point beat down of the defending national champions, and previously undefeated, Florida State Seminoles, in the Rose Bowl.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Oregon’s dominance this year is their proven physicality. The Ducks are thought to play with finesse and flash rather than power. So when the so called “flashy” defense of Oregon held one of the most physical teams in the nation, Florida State, to 20 points, well, all that can really be said is that the Ohio State coaching staff is probably having one hell of a week.
Not sure what’s more depressing, trying to find a way to stop the most prolific offense in college football, or realizing that the one advantage you thought you had is gone.
I’m sure nothing makes a coach sleep better at night than knowing his only hope to win is his third string quarterback outscoring the best offense in the country.
So, to Urban Meyer, I wish you a stress-free week and peaceful sleep at night. But me wishing you good luck probably won’t change the fact that your Ohio State Buckeyes won’t know what hit them come Monday night, when the Oregon Ducks are crowned College Football’s first real national champion.
