Ohio State-Oregon headlines an incredible college football matchup on October 12. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes we’ll see another head-to-head matchup in the first week of December.
McElroy predicts that Ohio State and Oregon will meet again in the Big Ten Championship, this time at Lucas Oil Stadium with the league title on the line.
“I think both teams will be 11-1 and 8-1 in the conference, respectively, and ultimately they will play on neutral ground in a dome,” McElroy said on his show Wednesday.
“I’m betting that the Ohio State Buckeyes will beat the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten title game and book themselves a place in the playoffs. That means Oregon and Penn State still have a good chance of making the playoffs, but they’ll have to wait on Selection Day this Sunday after the conference title games.”
McElroy ultimately managed to include both Oregon and Penn State in his 12-team field for the College Football Playoff. Here is his final prediction:
No. 1 Georgia (SEC Champion)
No. 2 Ohio State (Big Ten champions)
No. 3 Miami (ACC champions)
No. 4 Utah (Big 12 Champion)
No. 5 Oregon (Big Ten runner-up)
No. 6 Texas (SEC runner-up)
No. 7 Alabama (SEC, third place)
No. 8 Penn State (Big Ten, third place)
No. 9 Notre Dame
No. 10 Ole Miss (SEC, fourth place)
No. 11 LSU (SEC, fifth place)
No. 12 Memphis (AAC champions)
Ohio State and Oregon are currently ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the preseason AP Top 25. The Buckeyes travel to Eugene in Week 7 to play the Ducks at Autzen Stadium.
The programs last faced each other in Week 2 of the 2021 season. Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown, Jr. and run back CJ Verdell teamed up to expose Ohio State’s subpar defense at Ohio Stadium, giving Columbus a 35-28 victory. That was the only time the Ducks beat the Buckeyes in the 10-game series.
Particularly notable is Ohio State’s victory over Oregon in the national title game at the end of the 2014 season. The Buckeyes capped the inaugural CFP with a 42-20 victory, thanks in large part to the heroics of their quarterback. Cardale Jones and run back Ezekiel Elliott.
One of the things that makes this year’s matchup between Ohio State and Oregon so exciting is that both programs are led by quarterbacks who come from the University of Oklahoma. The former star player of UCF and Oklahoma Dillon Gabriel is the Ducks pilot and former Kansas State star Will Howard holds the key to the Buckeyes’ offense.
October 12th is circled on the calendar, but according to McElroy it should also be December 7th.
