No. 23 Oregon vs. No. 12 Ohio State Picks, Predictions & Preview: Buckeyes Get Off The Mat

Oregon still has a chance to get to the Big Ten Championship Game.

They need a little help, but if Indiana loses another game and Oregon wins out, there’s still a path. That’s pretty remarkable considering how this season has felt at times for the Ducks.

People have been asking what in the world is going on up there. The starting quarterback is out, the defensive line hasn’t played nearly well enough, and the offense has struggled to score points.

And yet, Oregon is still in the picture.

On the other side, which version of Ohio State are we going to get?

Is it the team that looked like it had a national championship-caliber defense, or the one that went out against USC last week and laid an egg?

That’s what makes Saturday’s matchup between Oregon and Ohio State so interesting.

The Battle in the Trenches

I’ve pretty much given up hope on Ohio State’s offensive line at this point.

I didn’t expect that unit to be much better from last year to this year, and I certainly don’t expect it to suddenly improve dramatically midway through the season.

But here’s the thing: Oregon’s defensive line has been one of the most disappointing units in college football.

Going into the season, that defensive front was a big reason I thought Oregon could be a College Football Playoff team and potentially compete for a national championship.

They weren’t just one group of starters deep. They were two-deep along that defensive line, and I thought that was going to be a major strength of this football team.

They simply haven’t played well enough.

So what happens when you put an Ohio State offensive line that hasn’t been good enough against an Oregon defensive line that hasn’t lived up to expectations?

That’s the key to this matchup for me.

Matt Patricia Needs a Bounce-Back Performance

My X-factor for Ohio State is defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

I think there’s way too much going on right now with the defensive rotations, especially against a football team like USC that can randomly speed you up.

Oregon can do that as well.

They catch you making substitutions. They catch you misaligned. They catch you playing defense where guys are looking around with their palms up because they don’t know what’s going on.

And all of a sudden, you give up 30 yards.

That was the most damning thing to me against USC, apart from the fact that Ohio State couldn’t tackle.

And that’s another problem. How do you suddenly get better at tackling midway through the season?

I don’t know. We can’t practice the way we used to, and it’s a difficult thing to fix at this point in the year.

Matt Patricia has to get this defense back to playing the way it was before the USC game.

He’s my X-factor.

Oregon vs. Ohio State Prediction

When neither roster is excelling across the board, neither line of scrimmage is playing particularly well, and both teams are down to backup quarterbacks, you turn to the best player on the football field.

For me, that’s Jeremiah Smith.

What he’s able to do and the difference he’s able to make will ultimately determine whether Ohio State wins this football game.

I’ve got Ohio State beating Oregon 31-24.