Potential playoff preview. Many say that Oregon v.s. Ohio State has the best odds of being in the Big Ten championship matchup.
Will the winner of this blockbuster become the new national No. 1? It’s easy to forget — we’re only in Week 7.
The stakes for the upcoming matchup between the No. 3 Oregon Ducks and the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes have elevated each week. Both teams will enter Saturday undefeated and both have had a lot of eyes on them every week leading up to now.
When a top team in the country hiccups — or has any amount of trouble against a not-so-amazing team — everyone’s on notice. This past weekend saw four of the top-11 teams fall to inferior opponents, with Ohio State “only” leading the Iowa Hawkeyes by one touchdown at halftime.
Oregon hasn’t been absolved from this phenomenon so far this season. The first two matchups showed that the Ducks can hiccup and pull out some victories, especially when it required a game-winning field goal against now No. 17 Boise State.
Both the Ducks and Buckeyes underwent their fair share of tests during the first six weeks of the season, but this matchup may be the one that comes up again as the season goes on. The two teams have been on a collision course, and one that may see
At this point, Ohio State and Oregon are the clear front-runners in the conference. With defending-national champion Michigan falling out of contention this past weekend, the Big Ten is primed for a new top dog.
The moniker of the conference’s best — one which will almost surely be tested again come championship weekend — is at stake Saturday evening, as Autzen Stadium becomes the center of the football world once again.
If the season ended today, both schools would be ranked in the top three, vying for a first-round bye. Unfortunately, only one team can earn said off week in the new 12-team College Football Playoff format. Saturday’s game will separate the two, lining one up in an even better position for a bye. The Big Ten Champion will almost-certainly earn a bye, so stakes would be even higher if the Ducks and Buckeyes meet again in Indianapolis at the end of the year.
At this point, it would be incredibly surprising to see one of these schools not make it to the grand finale of the Big Ten’s season. With all the movement in other conferences, a game like this could be the difference between the top seed and not when it comes down to playoff time.
Saturday will prove the biggest test of the season. In a lot of ways, it can prove to be a preview of December 7th’s conference finale. This holds especially true if both of these teams live up to their expectations, which include winning out after this game.
However, that may not happen, which makes the game at hand even more important. Whoever wins will take the mantle of the Big Ten’s best, at least until another hiccup happens. But it hasn’t happened yet, and leads us perfectly into the most anticipated 4:30 p.m. kickoff of the season.
