Big Ten football brings us a new-look rivalry this weekend as No. 2 Ohio State hits the road against No. 3 Oregon in college football’s Week 7 action under the lights. Let’s take a look at the updated predictions for the game by an expert model that picks winners.

Ohio State and Oregon are both 5-0 overall this season and own 2-0 records in Big Ten play: the Buckeyes weathered some early defense from Iowa last week to eventually pull away, and ranks 4th in scoring offense and 1st nationally in scoring defense.

After winning its first two games by a combined 13 points, Oregon won its last 3 games by an average of 26 points behind some efficient quarterback play from Dillon Gabriel, who is completing almost 78 percent of his pass attempts.

Looking ahead to this week’s matchup, let’s check out the latest college football predictions from the Football Power Index computer prediction model.

The model simulates every NCAA college football game 20,000 times and uses key analytics from both teams and picks winners based on a projected scoring margin per game.

So far, it’s the road team that’s getting a little more hype than the home side this week.

Ohio State is favored to win the game outright in a majority 64.2 percent of the computer’s most recent simulations of the matchup.

That leaves Oregon as the expected winner in the remaining 35.8 percent of sims.

In total, the Buckeyes are projected to win in 12,840 of the index’s 20,000 simulations, while the Ducks came out ahead in the other 7,160 predictions for the game.

And the index foresees a very close matchup on the scoreboard, too.

Ohio State is projected to be 5.3 points better than Oregon on the same field in both teams’ current composition, according to the model’s latest forecast.

If so, that would be enough for the Buckeyes to cover the spread.

That’s because Ohio State is a 3 point favorite against Oregon, according to the lines listed at FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel lists the total at 53.5 points for the game.

And it lists the moneyline odds for Ohio State at -165 and for Oregon at +140 to win outright.

Bettors have more faith in the Ducks to hold serve on their home field, according to the latest spread consensus picks.

A majority of bets — 57 percent — expect Oregon will either pull off the upset or keep the game within the line.

The other 43 percent of wagers forecast that Ohio State will win the game and cover the spread.

The game’s implied score suggests a close win for the Buckeyes on the road.

When taking the point spread and total into consideration, it’s implied that Ohio State will defeat Oregon by a projected score of 28 to 25 in the game.

Ohio State is first among Big Ten teams with a 91.2 percent chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff and will win 11.6 games this season, according to the FPI’s metrics.

That model names Oregon as the Big Ten’s second-best team, with a 66.1 percent shot at the playoff and a win total projection of 10.4 games.

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance. 

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games, using a combination of key analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting, and a team’s schedule.

Teams are ranked not in order of talent like in other rankings, but by a projected point margin per game against an average team on a neutral field.

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Texas (52)
2. Ohio State (9)
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Georgia
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. Tennessee
9. Ole Miss
10. Clemson
T-11. Iowa State/Notre Dame
13. LSU
14. BYU
15. Texas A&M
16. Utah
17. Boise State
T-18. Kansas State/Indiana/Oklahoma
21. Missouri
22. Pittsburgh
23. Illinois
24. Michigan
25. SMU

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When: Sat., Oct. 12
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. PT
TV: NBC network

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks

Caroline Fenton, Jason Fitz & Adam Breneman wrap up Week 6 of college football with Miami’s comeback victory on the road against Cal in what might be the statement game so far for Cam Ward’s Heisman campaign. The latest AP Poll has Georgia ranked above Alabama despite the Bulldogs losing painfully to the Crimson Tide less than 10 days ago. Both teams are 4-1 but one lost to the other, so how can that be?

Caroline, Fitz & Adam share what teams, players and even conferences in college football they have trust issues with. Can we trust Oregon’s offense to hold up against Ohio State this weekend and can Nico Iamaleava ever be who Tennessee needs him to be?

Finally, the trio previews some of the biggest matchups this upcoming weekend including Ole Miss vs. LSU & Texas vs. Oklahoma.

(1:50) Miami @ Cal recap

(9:40) Georgia ranked too high

(18:55) Indiana & Pitt ranked too low

(21:16) Texas & Ohio State ranked just right

(24:49) College Football trust issues

(45:21) Penn St @ USC preview

(47:08) Texas @ Oklahoma preview

(51:31) Ole Miss @ LSU preview

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out all the episodes of the College Football Power Hour and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Gov. Tina Kotek has called for a pause on automatically registering voters through the state’s Motor Voter law, but that doesn’t mean a person can’t still register to vote.

The deadline to register to receive a ballot for the general election is October 15.

Earlier this week, the state announced it had unearthed hundreds more people than previously known who were improperly registered to vote under the state’s Motor Voter law.

The latest tally includes 302 people identified on Monday, according to an “after-action” report ordered by Gov. Tina Kotek. The latest numbers add to the 1,259 people who officials with the state’s Driver and Motor Vehicle Services office and Secretary of State had earlier revealed were registered in error.

Kotek has called on the DMV to pause the process of automatically registering drivers to vote through the state’s Motor Voter law. She also asked for an external audit. Republicans have taken to the issue – which fits into a broader national narrative pushed by former President Donald Trump of widespread voter fraud – and demanded a fuller examination of the state’s more than 3 million voters.

Pausing the Motor Voter program will have no effect on the upcoming election, according to information from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office. There is always a cut off point at which automatic registrations cannot be processed before an election, according to Laura Kerns, with the secretary of state’s office. That cutoff date is always 42 days before an election, so this year it was near the end of September.

Under Oregon’s 2016 Motor Voter law, people who obtain or renew a driver’s license are automatically registered to vote if they submit proof of U.S. citizenship. Drivers can choose to opt out of the system.

Oregon now says that a poorly laid out dropdown menu in a DMV computer program led workers to mistakenly indicate that noncitizens had presented U.S. passports or birth certificates when they had not.

But the state discovered a new error: Another 178 people from the U.S. territories of American Samoa and Swains Island have been wrongly classified as U.S. citizens.

The secretary of state’s office said officials are still reviewing whether any of those people actually voted.

Kotek initially reacted to the motor voter errors last month by ordering an after-action report and directing the DMV to pursue an outside audit of its data handling practices. The agency has said it put new safeguards into place to ensure no noncitizens were being registered.

Monday’s acknowledgment of hundreds of additional errant registrations calls into question just how deeply DMV examined the issue.

The agency has said it began looking into the accuracy of its automatic voter registration process after it received an inquiry in late July.

Republicans, whose questions about the state’s vote-by-mail system increased after the 2020 presidential election, are requesting the secretary of state cast a broader audit.

“She only looked at a small portion of voters registered at the DMV since 2021 and continues to insist that voter fraud is ‘extremely rare,’” reads a statement from Angela Plowhead, the party’s vice chair. “This small sample highlights how widespread inaccuracies in Oregon’s voter rolls are. The urgent need for an independent full and complete audit of the voter rolls is critical to ensure transparency and to reassure Oregonians that our elections are fair and free of fraud.”