Coming into the season, the November matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes was expected to be one of the biggest games of the year. The Buckeyes and Ducks debuted in the initial AP Poll as the No. 1 and 2 teams, respectively, both carrying National Championship hopes. When the game does kick off, fans will be treated to a far different type of game.
The hype was driven by Dante Moore and Julian Sayin, but both teams have lost their potential 1st round pick quarterbacks to long-term injuries. Add in that the Ducks are just 5-3 while Ohio State is 6-2, and it's not quite a big time clash.
Oregon opens as massive underdogs despite Ohio State's struggles
The opening line for the clash in Columbus sets the Ohio State Buckeyes as 10.5 point favorites (-102) and -375 favorites to win the game outright, while Oregon is the 10.5-point underdogs (-120) and +280 underdogs to win the game. The points total is set at 44.5 points (-112 over, -108 under) according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
All odds and lines are subject to change
The Ohio State Buckeyes opening as massive favorites is a bit surprising, even with Oregon's woes, given the way Ryan Day's team looked. The Buckeyes just played their first full game without Julian Sayin, and even with two weeks to prepare, Ohio State was dominated by the USC Trojans. A late touchdown to Jeremiah Smith made the final score of 30-18 look a bit better, but the team never felt like they were in the game.
While Luke Fahey wasn't anything to write home about, finishing 21-30 for 260 yards and a touchdown, he was far from the biggest issue. The Buckeyes receivers dropped passes while the offense wasn't great. Add in that the Trojans scored 30 points behind a solid ground game, and even the Ohio State defense is showing cracks.
On the other side, Oregon picked up an impressive win, beating Northwestern behind a great showing from Dylan Raiola. The Ducks fired Drew Mehringer, and new play-caller Jay Johnson made a massive impact on the offense as the unit surpassed the 20-point mark for the first time since September.
Given what both teams look like at this point, the most likely outcome is going to be a low scoring game defined by both defenses. Both teams have elite weapons and defenses that can shut down any offense, but the quarterback play is questionable at best on both sides of the matchup.
Ohio State is going to potentially be playing for their College Football Playoff lives as a 3rd loss could end up keeping them out of that mix. Oregon already has a 3rd loss, and would love to play spoiler, especially as chaos around the country could help them creep back into the conversation. The game isn't going to be as flashy as it once seemed, but to expect a blowout is crazy, especially given what we've seen out of both projected starting quarterbacks.
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