Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview

Tonight the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes will square off tonight with the winner being declared the National Champions. Oregon enters the contest going 13-1 in the Pac-12 this season thanks to Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, while the Ohio State is being led by third string quarterback Cardale Jones.

Why Oregon will win:

Oregon is coming off an impressive victory on New Year’s Day over last year’s BCS Champion Florida State, and even though the Seminoles struggled throughout the Ducks were able to capitalize on those mistakes and pummel the former champs 59-20. Along with Mariota, the Ducks feature some of the best players on the offensive side of the ball which lead them to lead the 8-1 record in the Pac-12 conference. Darren Carrington and Charles Nelson both had an impact in the Rose Bowl against Florida State combining for 12 catches for over 200 yards, while Thomas Tyler carried the football 13 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. Simply put the Ducks offense is rolling right now, and beating the former champs has to be a huge boost for that locker room. You can bet that Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich will have his team ready against a potent Ohio State team, coached by one of the best college coaches of all-time Urban Meyer.

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Why Ohio State will win:

I just mentioned Urban Meyer so we can start with him, his track record alone should scare the Ducks simply because he knows what it takes to win a National Championship. He captured the 2006 and 2008 National Championship with the Florida Gators, he defeated the Buckeyes in 2006, and the Oklahoma Sooners in 2008 and he did so by holding both teams to 14 points. So Meyer’s track record and experience does hold some significance come Monday night, but along with Meyers experience his team is also playing exceptional football at just the right time. The Buckeyes faced the powerhouse of the SEC, the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl and were able to defeat them in a high scoring affair 42-35. In only his second career start at quarterback the Buckeyes Cardale Jones threw for over 200 yards and throwing one touchdown, but it was running back Ezekiel Elliot performance that caught most fans attention. Elliot rushed for over 200 yards, rumbling past the Crimson Tide defense and scoring twice including a 85 yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal for the Buckeyes. Simply put the Buckeyes have the experience on the coaching staff, and they have their players performing at a high level at just the right time.

No seriously, this is why Oregon is going to win:

As good as Oregon’s offense is, their defense is equally as impressive and if you saw the Rose Bowl you’d understand that. Granted the Seminoles had a terrible day on both sides of the ball, the fact is that the Ducks were able to pressure Winston and the rest of the Seminoles offense to make those costly turnovers. Anytime you can force five turnovers in a game, just like the Ducks did against the Seminoles, you can almost guarantee that you’ll pull out a victory. The defense of the Buckeyes on the other hand is not so stable, they still managed to let Alabama score 35 points against them and they needed a career game from Elliot just to get by the Crimson Tide. Even though the Buckeyes have Urban Meyer coaching them, I’m going with the Ducks beating the Buckeyes in a high scorning affair.

Oregon defeats Ohio State: 42-31