Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson, left, runs the ball downfield against Ohio State safety Sonny Styles (6) during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
Lydia Ely / AP
The University of Oregon’s football team has enjoyed a storybook season so far. The No. 1-ranked Ducks have gone undefeated in their Big 10 conference debut. On Wednesday, they kick off the new year by taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl - and the quarterfinals of the College Football Championship playoffs.
Tyson Alger runs the Oregon sports newsletter, The I-5 Corridor.
“I think this is the rematch that everybody’s been hoping and waiting for. It’s going to be a pretty epic Rose Bowl matchup because it’s kind of the old school, of what used to be the Pac-12 versus the Big 10,” Alger said. “It’s got those two traditional schools — and by my money, it’s the two best teams in the country right now.”
The Ducks notched one of the only wins against Ohio State during the regular season, winning by just one point — and are looking to knock out the Buckeyes for a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
OPB “All Things Considered” producer Donald Orr spoke with Alger to preview the highly anticipated game in Pasadena.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Donald Orr: The last meetup between the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State was a nailbiter in Autzen Stadium this October. The Ducks won in one of the most explosive games during the regular season. What’s changed for these two teams since then?
Tyson Alger: If you ask everyone on the Ohio State side, they’ll tell you: “Everything.” Ohio State was a team that came into the season with just as high of expectations as Oregon did. They played that game in Eugene in October, and it was a one-point game and was incredibly tight. It was probably one of the better games that I’ve covered in my 12 years of being on this beat.
Hearing from the Ohio State players and coaches this week down here at the Rose Bowl, they’ve really been trying to make up for the one real blemish on their record. They did have a loss at Michigan during the regular season, too.
I think this is the rematch that everybody’s been hoping and waiting for. It’s going to be a pretty epic Rose Bowl matchup because it’s kind of the old school, of what used to be the Pac-12 versus the Big 10. It’s got those two traditional schools and by my money, it’s the two best teams in the country right now. Having to face Ohio State isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but hey, they did it once.
Orr: What do you think the keys to victory are for Oregon?
Alger: A couple things. One, it’s being able to create explosive plays against Ohio State’s defense. I think a lot of people probably assume that the Buckeyes are this big offensive juggernaut, but they are a very disciplined defensive team that doesn’t let teams really beat them over the top, if you will. They just don’t allow big plays all that often, and that was the one area that Oregon did succeed in that October win. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel had one of his best and most efficient games of the season. It was probably the most efficient game by a quarterback against Ohio State all season, from the Big 10 Championship game to now.
Oregon’s gotten a fair amount healthier. They have some pretty important players coming back, especially on defense. It’s kind of a little bit of that, ‘Do you want to be healthy, or do you want to have momentum?’ And right now Ohio State has a bit of momentum — but Oregon’s got health, and they also have an undefeated season on their side as well.
Orr: For longtime Ducks fans, this matchup is pretty familiar. The Ducks faced the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl in 2010 during the Chip Kelly era. Now here we are 15 years later, and the Ducks face Chip Kelly as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. How has Oregon football changed since Kelly’s time at UO?
Alger: Oh man, it’s changed substantially. That’s kind of the fun nugget to this game. Chip Kelly is one of the several people standing in the way of the Ducks and another run towards the national title. If you want to go back to the Chip Kelly era, that was when Oregon was known for its flash and its speed and how quickly the offense played. He really took advantage of the spread offense and being able to get plays off quickly, and being able to just take advantage of the rules that they give you.
Whereas this 2024 version of the Oregon Ducks is kind of built in a more traditional mold. They’re a team that’s built up through recruiting, the transfer portal era of college football we’re in now. They’re not a whole lot different when you look at them compared to the Georgias and the Ohio States and the Michigans — those traditional blue bloods of the college football world. So this is really kind of a strength-on-strength matchup, and I think that’s why this is probably the most anticipated game of the college football playoffs so far.
Orr: Win or lose, what do you think this landmark year has meant for the Ducks, and for Dan Lanning’s tenure as head coach?
Alger: It’s pretty crazy, because I remember sitting down in Lanning’s office about three weeks before the season began. He just got back from a family vacation in Idaho, and the Lannings’ big off-season goal was to try to explore the West Coast. They’re from Missouri, they’re still kind of getting a taste for things out here, and it was just like this random quiet downtime that Lanning had before all of this started.
Now that all of this has started where the Ducks have yet to lose, Lanning has been one of the most talked about coaches in America; for not only being a new coach and being able to do this so early in his career, but taking a program like Oregon and establishing them where they’re at. Lanning and the Ducks have really become the center of the college football universe in 2024. In my mind, I have quite this juxtaposition of the week before it all started, where Lanning was still just kind of this up-and-comer, to where they’re at now. [With] Lanning and Ryan Day, Ohio State’s coach doing the final Rose Bowl news conference, it’s just like, boy, these are the two stars of the sport right now.