No. 8 Ohio State faces No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, riding hot off a dominant 42-17 win over Tennessee and eager for some getback after the Ducks dusted them 32-31 in Eugene earlier this year. Ohio State’s only other rematches since the start of the 20th century came in 2017 against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game and in the 1976 Rose Bowl against UCLA, but OSU won both meetings with the Badgers that year and the first meeting against the Bruins before losing to UCLA in Pasadena.

Ohio State’s second meeting with Oregon comes with much greater stakes. Both teams are battling to keep their seasons alive and advance through the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes re-engineered their defense after their defeat in Autzen Stadium and have born great fruits, allowing no more than 17 points in any game since that loss on Oct. 12.

Oregon’s been a juggernaut all year but isn’t without flaws. Its offense and defense have each limped through some victories, though the same arsenal of weapons that gave Ohio State’s secondary fits is still in place.

The Last of the Unbeatens

Those with enough of an interest in Ohio State, Oregon or college football in general to be reading this sentence know that the Ducks were crowned Big Ten champions on Dec. 7. They beat Penn State, a fellow quarterfinalist in the CFP, by a 45-37 margin in the conference title game.

Five of Oregon’s seven wins since beating the Buckeyes have come by 21 points or more. That includes a 38-9 shelling of then-No. 20 Illinois and a 38-17 win at Michigan. The Ducks were No. 1 in every edition of the College Football Playoff rankings and earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the CFP.

It’s odd that their reward for such efforts is a meeting with the team that had arguably the best first-round showing in the CFP, Ohio State. Discussions about flaws in the playoff structure aside, this is a game that could easily produce this year’s national champion with two rounds of CFP action still to go afterward.

Not only is Oregon the only undefeated team remaining in the FBS, only two other teams have even survived with just one loss on their docket to this stage. Those schools are Notre Dame and Boise State, which will also play in the quarterfinals next week. The Broncos’ lone defeat came at the hands of Oregon, a 37-34 battle waged on Sept. 7.

A Couple of Clunkers

Two teams have come close to dethroning the Ducks since their one-point vanquishing of the Buckeyes, those being Penn State and a 5-7 Wisconsin team that closed its season on a five-game losing streak. Oregon’s defense struggled in the former and its offense in the latter.

The Nittany Lions racked up 516 yards of offense in the Big Ten Championship Game, mostly due to the efforts of their rushing attack, which got 100-yard performances from both Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. If not for two interceptions and a 20-of-39 mark passing from quarterback Drew Allar – who has had a good year otherwise – PSU could have thrown about 50 points on the scoreboard and knocked off Dan Lanning’s bunch.

A November night game in Madison froze Oregon’s attack to the point that the Ducks didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter, one that tied the game at 13 before a 24-yard game-winning field goal, the third of the night settled for from the leg of Atticus Sappington. Such red zone trepidations are what kept the game close as Oregon still outgained Wisconsin 354 yards to 226.

Star quarterback Dillon Gabriel also had an off night, going 22-of-31 but for just 218 yards, a mark of seven yards per pass attempt well below his 8.8 for the year. He had no touchdowns and an interception, which came in a goal-to-go situation.

What can be learned from what otherwise appears like a non-replicable stymying of Oregon’s offense in a strange game in a raucous Camp Randall Stadium? Football games can be won and lost in the red zone. Lost amid the other failings of the Buckeyes’ defense against the Ducks in Week 7 is that it came up with a goal-line stand to give its offense a chance to win the game with a field goal had time not expired on Will Howard’s final scramble or Jeremiah Smith not been whistled for a controversial offensive pass interference.

Oregon has been solid in the red zone this season, ranking 34th nationally in red zone scoring rate (88.5%) and 20th in touchdown rate (72.1%), but a stop or two inside the 20-yard line could be enough to swing this playoff game. There are certainly other lessons to learn from the Ducks’ four one-score wins this year, and it’ll be up to Ryan Day and company to discover whatever vulnerabilities they can.

Book of Gabriel

The final chapter of Gabriel’s storied college football career has been his best yet.

Starting for an unprecedented sixth season thanks to a COVID-19 waiver and a medical redshirt, Gabriel is second all-time in the NCAA for passing yards with 18,423 and in touchdowns with 153. He’s 794 yards and two touchdowns from equaling the career records in those categories, both held by former Houston quarterback Case Keenum.

Gabriel is third in the country for completion percentage in 2024 – one spot behind Will Howard – connecting on 73.2% of his throws. He’s racked up 3,558 passing yards, ninth-most in the FBS, with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Those numbers and Oregon’s unblemished record made him a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Heisman Trophy. The first two recognize college football’s best quarterback, the last its best player.

Gabriel’s efficiency meshes with the Ducks’ RPO, short-pass-heavy offense like peanut butter meshes with jelly. But it was downfield strikes that hurt Ohio State the first time the two teams met, with wide receivers Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart burning cornerback Denzel Burke for big plays as Gabriel finished 23-of-34 for 341 yards and two touchdowns, adding 32 yards and a score on the ground.

Given that Tennessee’s best offense, what little it had, came on scrambles from Nico Iamaleava and scrambling quarterbacks have at times been a thorn in the side of Ohio State’s No. 1-ranked defense, Gabriel’s legs will also have to be accounted for. He’s collected seven rushing touchdowns this year with 192 yards on the ground. Those legs also become a factor in extending passing plays, as the Buckeyes failed to corral him for a sack back in October.

Barbershop Quartet

Wide receiver Tez Johnson headlines a vaunted Oregon pass catching corps. (Credit: Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The names of the four passing-game weapons Ohio State’s defense will need to contain haven’t changed, but they’ve further proven their lethality throughout Oregon’s season.

There is perhaps no better a trio at wide receiver in college football than the Ducks’, save for the Buckeyes’ own corps of Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate. Johnson is the headliner from the slot position, collecting 78 receptions for 866 yards and 10 touchdowns, all team-highs.

Stewart and Traeshon Holden provide ample support to Johnson’s flanks, each over 600 yards receiving in 2024. The final complement to the passing game is tight end Terrance Ferguson, one of the nation’s premier receiving threats at his position with 38 catches for 520 yards and three scores.

Johnson had seven receptions for 75 yards the first time Ohio State and Oregon played but it may have been the best game of Stewart’s career as he finished with seven catches, 149 yards and a touchdown. Their effort combined with Gabriel’s in Week 7 prompted a re-engineering of Jim Knowles’ defense that has, thus far, been successful.

But Ohio State also hasn’t played as complete a passing attack since it played Oregon. Holden was also ejected in the second quarter for spitting on Buckeye cornerback Davison Igbinosun.

Running back Jordan James is a threat in his own right if Ohio State puts too much focus on the passing game, as he has 1,253 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns at a clip of 5.5 yards per carry this season.

Strong Pass Defense

Ohio State currently possesses the best defense in college football statistically, but Oregon doesn’t lag that far behind.

The Ducks are No. 9 nationally in total defense, allowing just 301.8 yards per game. They excel against opposing passing attacks, rankingNo. 8 nationally with 175.7 yards per contest allowed through the air.

But Ohio State found success tossing the pigskin against Oregon once already this year, with Will Howard going 28-of-35 for 326 yards and two touchdowns against the Ducks in October. That said, Oregon did not have the services of star defensive end Jordan Burch that day due to a lower-body injury.

In just nine games this season, Burch has racked up 30 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. His running mate at defensive end, Matayo Uiagalelei, has 11.5 sacks in 2024. 

Conversely, Oregon’s been weaker defending the run this season, as evidenced by Penn State’s two 100-yard rushers two weeks ago. The Ducks are just 35th in rushing yards allowed per game (126.1) and tied for 55th in yards allowed per carry (four). In Week 7, Ohio State rushed for 122 yards in the first half in Eugene, but only gained 19 yards on 12 carries in the second half after anchor left tackle Josh Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second quarter.

It’s been a series of ups and downs for Ohio State’s ground game and offensive line since. The Buckeyes struggled against Nebraska but got a season-defining game from their offensive line at Penn State, smothering the Nittany Lions late with their rushing attack. Season-defining, at least, until Rimington Trophy-winning center Seth McLaughlin suffered his own season-ending setback, a torn Achilles.

The ground game showed signs of being ineffective the following game against Indiana, then bottomed out against Michigan. But after coming out aggressive passing the ball against Tennessee, the Buckeyes quietly outrushed the Volunteers 156 to 152, averaging a respectable 4.7 yards per carry.

RELATED Ohio State vs. Tennessee Notebook: Offensive Line Rotates at Guard and Steps Up in CFP Win

Ohio State’s patchwork offensive line – and team at-large – will hope to carry that momentum forward against the Ducks. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Eastern Time and 2 p.m. local time in Pasadena on Jan. 1.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind watch at 9:29 p.m. on Sunday valid from Monday 4 p.m. until Tuesday 10 a.m. for Foothills of the Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon.

The weather service states, “Southeast winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 65 mph possible for the base of the northern Blue Mountains of Oregon.”

“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” describes the weather service. “Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates.”

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

No. 1 Oregon will face No. 8 Ohio State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

With the rematch officially set, we’re taking a look back at the path the Ducks (13-0) took to reach the CFP as the top seed.

The season began with a clunky 24-14 win over Idaho. The right side of the offensive line was responsible for multiple penalties and three sacks to an FCS opponent that made for an unnecessarily difficult opener, even as Dillon Gabriel threw for 380 yards with two touchdowns to Tez Johnson.

Special teams rescued the Ducks in a 37-34 comeback over Boise State. Ashton Jeanty had 192 yards and three touchdowns to legitimize his Heisman candidacy. An 85-yard punt return touchdown by Johnson and a 100-yard kickoff return by Noah Whittington and recovery in the end zone by Jayden Limar erased a fourth quarter deficit. The offensive line made constant changes while allowing four sacks and committing five penalties in the unit’s most disjointed performance in years.

The early issues up front were gone as Iapani Laloulu took over at center in a 49-14 plastering of Oregon State. Gabriel threw for two touchdowns and ran for one as the offense gained 546 yards with 10 plays of 20-plus. The defense shutdown the Beavers ground game in the second half and UO secured its first win in Corvallis since 2018.

Following its first bye week of the season, Oregon officially opened Big Ten play at UCLA with a 34-13 rout at the Rose Bowl. A 28-3 lead was more than enough for the Ducks to coast and they held the Bruins to just 47 rushing yards.

Jordan James and Jordan Burch took center stage in a 31-10 Friday night drubbing of Michigan State at Autzen Stadium. James had 166 yards and a touchdown and Burch had 2.5 sacks and recovered a fumble. Two red zone interceptions by Gabriel made things briefly more competitive but the Ducks pulled away to setup a clash of undefeated titans.

The Oct. 12 game with Ohio State lived up to the billing as the top game of the season. There were seven lead changes in the 32-31 Ducks win over the Buckeyes, who were driving in the closing seconds and Will Howard slid at the UO 26 with time expiring. A deliberate 12 men on the field penalty by Oregon led to an in-season rules interpretation by the NCAA and provided further evidence of Dan Lanning’s preparation relative to Ryan Day. Even without Burch, who suffered a knee injury two days before the game, the Ducks were able to generate some pressure on Howard.

A Friday night trip to West Lafayette, Ind. will be remembered as Oregon’s first shutout since 2012. Purdue was hapless, throwing for less than 100 yards. Even with Traeshon Holden suspended and Terrance Ferguson out following an appendectomy, the Ducks were vastly better in every facet.

A 38-9 blowout of Illinois was filled with physicality in all phases. The defense had seven tackles for loss with three sacks, two interceptions and eight pass breakups to help build a 35-3 halftime lead.

Ferguson and Burch returned in a 38-17 beat down of Michigan at the Big House. The Ducks also suffered injuries to Johnson and Marcus Harper II but still managed to gain 470 yards and did not allow a sack against one of the best defensive lines in college football.

Gabriel broke the NCAA career touchdown record in a 39-18 win over Maryland. A season-high 12 penalties, particularly a couple of pass interference calls in the end zone, made the game more competitive than it truly was and Burch sprained his ankle.

Another fourth quarter comeback was required to escape Wisconsin with a 16-13 win. Gabriel found Ferguson on fourth and nine to open the fourth quarter and the defense closed it out with back-to-back three-and-outs, a fourth down stop and interception by Matayo Uiagalelei to cap an eighth straight conference win in as many weeks.

The second bye week allowed for Johnson to return for a 49-21 rout of Washington to cap a 12-0 regular season with Dan Lanning’s first win in the rivalry. Burch had 2.5 of Oregon’s 10 sacks and Uiagalelei had two. The Huskies ran for just 43 yards and could not stretch the field vertically.

A battle of top 10 defenses instead was a shootout in the Big Ten championship game, which Oregon won over Penn State 45-37 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Gabriel threw four touchdowns, with three going to tight ends, and the defense had two interceptions to help secure the conference title, No. 1 seed in the CFP and Rose Bowl berth.

CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl

• Who: No. 1 Oregon Ducks (13-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (11-2)
• When: Wednesday, Jan. 1
• Time: 2 p.m. PT
• Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
• TV channel: ESPN
• Stream: You can watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or by signing up for Sling (cheapest streaming plans, $25 off your first month). If you already have cable, you can also watch this game live on Watch ESPN with your cable or satellite provider login information.
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— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.