Oregon football arrives at Rose Bowl with ‘business trip’ mindset

LOS ANGELES — It was a familiar scene in a season filled with long road trips and high expectations: Oregon football players lumbering off a fleet of buses in matching sweatsuits, flanked by coaches and support staff. Serious looks on nearly every face as the Ducks arrive at the team hotel.

A highly anticipated Rose Bowl matchup with No. 8 Ohio State is viewed as a “business trip,” above all else, Oregon players said. The No. 1 Ducks are treating it like any other game in more ways than just transportation.

“The overall mood is definitely business,” safety Kobe Savage said. “Coach (Dan) Lanning does a great job of emphasizing that throughout the week, telling us it’s not really a bowl game. It’s a playoff game. It’s do or die. It’s definitely a different mindset with a different mentality.”

This one is certainly different than Rose Bowls past, the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal game to be held at the Granddaddy of Them All. While the Ducks have embraced the game’s history — including their own with the chosen uniform combination — the Rose Bowl is no longer the icing on the cake that it has been for this program. It’s the start of a journey with the bigger goal of a national title in mind.

“I’ve been so proud of my team just grinding hard,” offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius said. “It’s a long season, but we’re not even going to worry about that. We’re just worried about continuing to play as well as we can.”

The Ducks will settle in before several days of shuttling between team meetings, practice, media obligations and volunteer events. It only adds to the anticipation for this group after nearly a month since its Big Ten championship game victory over Penn State.

“Just practicing all month of December (into) January, we’re really excited to get back out there,” Savage said. “Instead of going against each other, going out there against Ohio State and showing what we’ve got. … It got a lot of air under our wings being able to get the recovery in, get the extra film in. Being able to study both Tennessee and Ohio State. Mentally and physically, it helped us a lot.”

Ohio State dispatched Tennessee 42-17 in a CFP first-round game Dec. 21 in Columbus. The Buckeyes enter the Rose Bowl with renewed confidence after a stunning loss to rival Michigan in their regular-season finale, and are seeking revenge against Oregon after an Oct. 12 regular-season meeting that the Ducks won 32-31 and marked a signature victory of Lanning’s tenure.

“It’s an absolute blessing to be able to play on this stage and come this far,” Cornelius said. “I’m just honored to be here and want to keep playing.”

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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— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.