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CORVALLIS — The Oregon State Beavers defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 38-21 Saturday night at Reser Stadium, improving to 3-1 heading into their first bye week of the season. It was a nice rebound performance for the Beavers after their lopsided loss to the rival Oregon Ducks. Here are eight takeaways from the victory:
1. A (nice) option
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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
— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.
The Oregon Ducks will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The Buckeyes handled business in the first round of the College Football Playoff and will now face the Ducks in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. PT on New Year’s Day.
What do the Vegas oddsmakers say about the upcoming matchup between Oregon and Ohio State?
The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes will play in the Rose Bowl for a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Buckeyes are coming off a 42-17 dismantling of the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the CFP. That performance was enough for Ohio State to now be a slight favorite over the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks.
It’s nearly a pick ‘em, but Ohio State is a one-point favorite as of now. The over/under is set at 53.5 points.
The odds makers have loved the Buckeyes all season, and they still do. Not only is Ohio State a slight favorite over Oregon, they also have better odds to win the national championship.
Texas is the overall favorite to win the national championship with odds of +340. Ohio State has the second best odds of +380. Oregon is third with odds of +400.
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Oregon and Ohio State treated the country to one of the best games of the 2024 regular season when they played in October. The Ducks outlasted the Buckeyes in a 32-31 thriller at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
The Ducks were underdogs in that game too, but prevailed and won outright. Now, the two will play against each other in the “Granddaddy of Them All” in the Rose Bowl. The winner will play the winner of the Texas-Arizona State game in the semi-finals.
What are the other games in the quarterfinal slate?
The quarterfinals in the College Football Playoff will kick off when No. 3 Boise State plays No. 6 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl at 4:30 p.m. PT on Dec. 31.
The New Year will start off with No. 5 Texas and No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl at 10 a.m. PT on Jan. 1.
Following the Rose Bowl between Oregon and Ohio State to finish off the quarterfinals is No. 2 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl at 5:45 p.m. PT on New Year’s Day.
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After years of talk and anticipation, the 12-team College Football Playoff is finally here, and it brought a lot of intrigue and entertainment over the weekend.
We got big wins for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions, Texas Longhorns, and Ohio State Buckeyes, while others like the Indiana Hoosiers, SMU Mustangs, Clemson Tigers, and Tennessee Volunteers saw their seasons come to an end short of the national championship.
While this first round of action whittled down the playing field to eight teams, it also gave us a good look at what some of these teams are capable of in the postseason environment.
Which ones are capable of winning the national championship, though?
That’s a different question. There are still some heavyweights in the conversation, but also some long shots who may have stated their case to be considered as a longshot option.
Let’s take a look at the latest numbers, according to BetMGM.
Here’s a look at the full odds:
We will take a look at the full odds again next week after the quarterfinal games are played.
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