Saturday has been circled on every Oregon football fan’s calendar since the offseason. The Buckeyes were going to be a top national title contender and if Oregon wanted to be the same, the Ducks would need to prove it against Ohio State.
Traveling to Columbus on Saturday afternoon, everyone is expecting an Ohio State victory, especially if Kayvon Thibodeaux isn’t able to go.
Oregon heads into the game as a massive underdog and that’s a position the Ducks haven’t been used to assuming for the past few years. But if Oregon wants to earn some national respect, it needs to pull off an “upset” in Columbus.
Here’s why I believe the Ducks could beat the Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon.
3. All the pressure is on Ohio State
This may not seem like a huge reason, but when a team faces the bulk of the pressure, there’s a chance that it can fold. Ohio State is one of the most talented teams in the country and a lot of people are expecting the Buckeyes to run away with a win on Saturday afternoon.
The line on WynnBET favors Ohio State by 16.5 points and that just goes to show that no one is expecting the Ducks to do much of anything but show up in Columbus. That’s just not fair.
Ohio State has all the pressure because they’re expected to win and run the table this season along with Alabama so that could get to the young guys starting, especially CJ Stroud (who we’ll get to here in a minute).
Oregon is going to come into this one prepared and stress-free while the Buckeyes will be expected to just roll right through the Ducks. Not going to happen.