Many fans of the Oregon Ducks may remember the last time Oregon played the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl: 2010. The Ducks, still in the PAC 12 Conference, lost to the Buckeyes 17-26. Funny enough, a future Duck was witnessing this match-up in the stands.

“2010 was against Ohio State right? I was at that game, which is kind of crazy. It’s the only Rose Bowl game I’ve ever been to. My parents took me. I was little so I don’t remember a whole lot of it. I remember tailgating a little bit before and then sitting in our seats and it felt like we were a mile away. To come back now and be playing in it, it’s certainly special. We’re planning on ending this one a little bit different,” Bryce Boettcher said.

Star linebacker Boettcher was there to witness it all unfold. He would have been around seven years old at the time, and though he admittedly doesn’t remember much, his childhood of Oregon fandom has led him to being one of the biggest playmakers on both the Oregon football and baseball team.

So far this season, Boettcher boasts 87 total tackles (45 solo), two sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception against the UCLA Bruins.

Regarding this rematch, the Burlsworth Trophy award winner admits he’s excited for take two against the Buckeyes. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier in October at Autzen Stadium.

“Yea it’s huge man. You dream of this game. It’s, like I said, what you dream of. I’m pumped to get to do it with this team in this circumstance, especially to get to play Ohio State again. I was hoping we were going to get them again,” Boettcher said.

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However, football purists may beg to differ. When it comes to playing a team twice, there’s a superstition around the ability to capture a second win. Boettcher argues against that theory.

“I think people have this misconception that when you play a team twice, it’s harder to beat them twice. Maybe if we were playing baseball that might be the case, but I think football is a little different. When you beat a team, there’s definitely a psychological aspect knowing that they’ve obviously already lost and we’ve already won. And we obviously covered that a little in the team meeting. I’m excited for this game, but nothing changes. We’re just going to go out and do what we do,” Boettcher said.

For this matchup, Boettcher an company have a clear idea for what they’re up against, and who won’t be returning to the field for the Buckeyes. Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons and center Seth McLaughlin are both out for the season, making the trenches a little more vulnerable for Oregon’s defense to penetrate.

A key piece returning for the Buckeyes is running back duo of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. The Ducks were able to limit Henderson to 87 yards and Judkins to 23 yards in their last meeting, but these two backs are forces to be reckoned with on the Ohio State offense, with over 800 yards a piece on the season so far.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons,” Boettcher said about Ohio State. “They’ve got two really good backs, good wideouts, good quarterback – I mean all around they’re a solid team. You’ve just got to game plan and do your best to eliminate those players. But at the end of the day, we play sound football on defense. We communicate and we’re the tougher team and we’re going to come out victorious.”

For Oregon’s defense, their latest performance against Penn State in the Big Ten Championship had more cracks than usual. Oregon allowed Penn State to total more yards, with 518 yards to round out the game. 292 of those yards were from Penn State’s rushing attack. Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both put up over 100 yards rushing each against the Ducks. When facing Ohio State, the Ducks’ defense has to improve in defending from the ground game.

“I’d say just communication and physicality, those are the two biggest things on defense,” Boettcher said. “Making sure you’re aligned right and adjusted right to what the offense is doing and once the ball snaps, just being the most physical team and we preached in practice and it shows up in practice, so I’m excited for this upcoming game.”

According to Boettcher, the steps to prepare for the team hasn’t changed. The Ducks are entering this New Years quarterfinal game with the same mentality they’ve had this entire season, or “FEBU” as it’s been called by players and coaches. Though this team stresses each game is nothing but another opportunity, for an Oregon kid with a personal tie like Boettcher, there’s got to be a little bit more emotion riding on the roses.

“Same preparation as we had in the Big Ten as we’re going to have for this game. We believe in ourselves. You know, you’d like to stop every single team to five rushing yards every single game but that’s not going to happen. Like I said, same preparation we’ve always had. Nothing changes. Just being the most physical team in practice.”

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