History of the budding rivalry between Oregon and Ohio State

When the Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies announced their plans to join the Big Ten, it became clear that old rivalries, like the Ducks vs. the Stanford Cardinal, would fade, but it also meant that new rivalries would start to grow.

For the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes, a seed of rivalry was already planted. Early in the 2021 season, the No. 12 ranked Ducks upset the No. 3 Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, 35-28. It was the 10th meeting between the two schools and Oregon’s first win in the series.

On the 2021 Ohio State offense was NFL star QB C.J. Stroud, as well as WRs Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Chris Olave. Current Buckeyes star RB TreVeyon Henderson was also the Buckeyes’ leading rusher that season.

Oregon and Ohio State faced off for the first time 66 years ago in the 1958 Rose Bowl, where the Buckeyes won 10-7. After that game, the Ducks and the Buckeyes played eight more times before Oregon finally picked up their first win over the Buckeyes in 2021. In those eight games, the Ducks rarely kept it close, losing by an average margin of 17.5 points.

Although the history of this rivalry hasn’t had much parity, these teams are now on a level playing. Both teams lost key games to their archrivals in 2023, and they had to watch those teams go head-to-head in the National Championship Game. Now, Washington and Michigan have fallen out of the 2024 College Football Playoff race, and Oregon and Ohio State are major contenders, each vying for the top spot in the Big Ten.

Saturday’s game will be just the second time these teams have squared off in Autzen Stadium, and although the No. 3 Oregon Ducks are underdogs to the No. 2 Buckeyes, this game will, hopefully, go much different than the 30-0 loss Oregon experienced the last time Ohio State came through Eugene.

Story originally appeared on Ducks…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/history-budding-rivalry-between-oregon-150353680.html

Author : Ducks Wire

Publish date : 2024-10-09 15:03:53

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