Oregon v Ohio State

[donovan]

If it helps, go for it, Spence.

http://fox8.com/2015/01/03/city-of-oregon-ohio-to-temporarily-change-name-for-national-title-game/

[Spence]

Yeah, I heard about that. They are up around Toledo. Half the time they think they are from Michigan anyway.

[warrriorsfan808]

GOOD LUCK SPENCE!

The only thing between the DUCKS and the National Championship are the Buckeyes!

[Spence]

Yeah. It going to be tough. The Heisman winner against the 3rd string quarterback. Thanks though, it's been a fun year. It started with high expectations, then we found out Braxton and Spence were done for the year. The JT kept getting better and we thought we could get over losing Miller. Then when Barrett went down we all thought it was over. Then Jones played so well in the ccg and well enough with Elliott and the D to beat Alabama. I didn't really have any expectations for the post season. Everything past the conference championship is cake. If we win it will be unbelievable. If we lose it won't be unexpected. I just hope for a good game.

[donovan]

Big games are determined by mistakes. No one gets there because they are not good. Mistakes took the stuffing out of FSU, whether self-inflicted or Oregon imposed. I think mentally FSU got down and that was it.

Same thing holds true to UO v OSU. Two reasonable coaches. If they can keep the mental focus up, one or two mistakes may not be disastrous. If both teams play flawlessly, then I think Oregon may have a slight edge. But flawless never happens.

OSU will be ready for Oregon's quickness as getting the ball snapped, you can bet on that. Oregon does not do as will when the other team controls the pace.

[Spence]

Ohio State and Oregon run basically the same offense. Ohio State just runs it from a power running position because you have to have some kind of power running game late in the year in the Big Ten because of the weather. That's why Ohio State has trouble with Minnesota at Minnesota late in the year, but blasts Wisconsin indoors.

[Spence]

I think the Oregon has more than a slight edge. They have an experienced QB who won the Heisman trophy. Sometimes the Heisman winner isn't the best player, but if Mariota isn't the best player, he is 1B. Ohio State might have a slight edge on the Dline, but there is no depth there. It is Mariota's edge that is next to impossible to overcome.

[donovan]

Yeah, I heard about that. They are up around Toledo. Half the time they think they are from Michigan anyway.

So I hear the Mayor of Oregon, Ohio, City by the Bay Duck Hunters.....and he speaks......He says, I was not going to change the name of "Ore Gone" Ohio..just add the tag line.

Well Mr. Mayor....is it not "Ore Gone" in Oregon..it is "Ore Gun" But at least you told the truth..most of you are Michigan and Notre Dame fans...that is what he said... Oh 20 minutes of fame.

And Nike is shelling out 5 million bucks for rights to the New Uniforms.......Follow the money....I would watch it if I were Ohio State...Knight may have planted Ohio State Buckeye Husks in the crotches of the OSU uniforms....

[Spence]

In Ohio it is "Ore gone" But most of use don't claim much of that area because most are Michigan fans. It has always been that way. To the point that Woody Hayes, when he thought he couldn't get a kid tried to turn them from Michigan to Notre Dame - which is part of the Notre Dame connection. The other part is Ohio has a pretty large Catholic population. Lots of those are Notre Dame and Ohio State fans. My brother -in -law is Catholic and he is both an Ohio State and Notre Dame fan. I give him crap about picking a team, but he has always been both.

[Spence]

What do you think the Keys to the game will be? You are as familiar with Oregon as anyone here. I've only seen them play three times.

I think that Ohio State has to play a very disciplined style defense. (not their usual aggressive style) The have to contain Mariota in the pocket and make him play the game from there. Let the pocket collapse around him instead of trying to flush him out of the pocket and get a sack. He is best when he improvises and keeping him in the pocket and letting the defensive back field do their jobs will force him to make decisions based on coverage instead of him leaving the pocket and exploiting the coverage breakdown caused by him being loose. Ohio State must shut down Oregon's running attack as well. (of course, football 101 is to stop the run so that is a given)

I think Ohio State can score on Oregon. Elliott running between the tackles and a vertical passing game should be effective for Ohio State, but if they turn the ball over or get into a giant score fest with them Ohio State will get beat.

For Oregon to beat Ohio State they have to exploit Ohio State's aggressive defense and do what they do. Score a mile a minute. On defense they need to stop Elliott and Marshall's running. If Ohio State can't run the ball, Cardale Jones can't beat Oregon himself. He has a million dollar arm, but he doesn't have the experience to be able to make it up as he goes.

[donovan]

I have seen Oregon many times over the years. I am terrible at predicting outcomes but here is what I see. Assuming errors on either side are at a minimum, if you concentrate on Mariota, you will lose. If you concentrate on the run game you will lose. If you put your efforts on stopping the pass, you will lose. With that said, Oregon is beatable. You just can’t buy into the belief they are a single faceted team. Helfrich is not a Kelley, but he is of that ilk and may be better at the college level. He will have subtle changes in his offense that will be hard to prepare for and very hard to identify during the game. I am sure Meyer will identify them…but I think Meyer does the same thing. As you stated, both offenses are similar and the differences will be those little changes they have made for this game.

I think you have to go against the Oregon offense in all aspects every play. Gambling you can guess what they are going to do, will kill you. I think the exact same thing can be said for Ohio State. Whoever executes best has the advantage.

On defense Oregon runs mostly a 3-4 while it seems to me OSU runs a 4-3. Oregon has great coverage. Seldom are Oregon players out of position. They may get beat, they may be blocked out, but it is not because they are not where they are supposed to be. Ohio State will have to make their blocks. Oregon players know how to tackle, and they are quick. I seem the same for OSU, very similar.

What do you do with Mariota. You make sure your defense covers their men and force him to improvise. Now he does that as good or better than most, it can kill you, but they key is not to center on him, but the players he has to work with. Meyer will play to Jones’s strengths, that is what he does. So I think Oregon’s defense can put pressure on him, but that is easier said than done. OSU offensive line knows how to block.

In the end, all things being equal, it will be ball control. Both teams have to take care of the football. We know that Oregon can do that. We are not sure why FSU has issues there in such massive amounts. Maybe it was pressure from Oregon, not sure, but this is a real issue.

In the last ending, this game may be won by the team with the most mental conditioning. Oregon’s strength is they are not dependent on that by any one player. They don’t seem to lose it when things don’t go right. This is coaching. I think this is why FSU lost. Somehow all the distractions by immature players just got out of control.

[donovan]

...and let's not forget Oregon is 0-8 against Ohio State.

[warrriorsfan808]

The only reason I'm not selling OSU short is the upset play or plays. In two games I was sure I would lose on the last play ( Houston and Western Kentucky) but for some reason the upset didn't happen and I'm afraid this might be the one. So I'll wait and see. GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spence]

...and let's not forget Oregon is 0-8 against Ohio State.

I am sure that this stat doesn't matter. Thanks for the rest.

I don't think you can shut down one phase of the game and win either. I do think that if we can keep Mariota in the pocket and limit his improvisation it will make the pass easier to defend. If Ohio State gets into a scoring race with them they will lose. Mariota is just too good and trying to make Cardale Jones match him will result in turnovers. Jones doesn't have the experience or the IQ to be expected to match Mariota td for td. Jones has two things going for him, he has one of the biggest arms you will ever see and he loves contact while running. At 250+ pounds that can ruin a safety's day. I look for Ohio State to punt 3 times and have one turnover. They have to have five to six stops on Oregon to win, IMO. Ohio State is rightfully the underdog in this game. I do believe the Buckeyes can match speed with Oregon everywhere but QB. Ohio State has a rough time with between the tackles running. That is their weakness and has been all year. The only back they stopped this year was Gordon and he is more of a smaller, shiftier type back than a power guy. It will be a tough game for Ohio State. We need a couple T/O's and Oregon doesn't generally let that happen.

[Eric]

So far I've doubted Cardale Jones' QB savvy. I didn't think he could handle being the starter against Wisconsin and--BAM! 59-0 win. Okay, pretty good, but how about Nick Saban? I'm sure Saban will throw some stuff at Jones that he just flat-out won't be prepared for and--BAM! Ohio State wins with Jones only making one critical mistake. The rest of his game was smart, conservative, and he played within his ability. He may be a 3rd-string QB, but he is a good QB.

One thing Ohio State might have in this game instead of in the Alabama game is the "bombs away" style of playcalling. Ohio State loves to take shots downfield. Oregon has a good secondary, but I think without Ekpre-Olomu, they can be had. Ohio State has some great receivers, maybe Meyer will open it up a little bit more. FSU didn't have much of a problem running the ball against Oregon either, so Elliot might be in for a field day. But Oregon always tightened the screws in the red zone, something they've been pretty good at doing all year.

I think this will be one of the higher-scoring championship games in recent memory, but college football has a way of screwing with people's expectations, especially in critical matchups. Sometimes guys just choke on either side of the ball and it's something completely opposite of what you'd expect. Even so, in this regard, the playoff system might weed some of that stuff out. If a team like Oklahoma from 2004 is unprepared or reeling heading into a semifinal game, they're going to get roasted and the more prepared team will have at least displayed enough poise in crunch time to the point where they will show up for the championship game. I don't think we'll have many blowouts in the new system because the semifinals are more likely to produce teams that are both good and hot heading into the title game.