I think it just hit me.
I was walking into my wife’s rec volleyball game and I started humming “Shout!” to myself.
All of the sudden, I was transported thirty-two hours into the future to the biggest game in Autzen Stadium history.
Otis Day & The Knights are blaring over the loudspeaker as everyone in the crowd is hitting an unmatched peak of communal anxiety/joy.
This fleeting vision isn’t giving me a clear picture of whether we’re up by a touchdown or down by a touchdown, but I know there’s no place I’d rather be.
It’s Oregon vs. Ohio State. It’s 3 vs. 2. It’s a possible Big Ten title game preview against a historic blue blood program that we have a deeply personal past with.
And even though 2014 was for a National Title—and even though we literally won back in 2021—this might be the first time that Oregon will step out on to the field with a roster that matches theirs pound for pound.
Where do these teams truly separate? Where can we find Oregon’s edge?
If we look at the quarterbacks, give me Dillon Gabriel over Will Howard every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
When we measure the running backs, I’ll hand that one to Ohio. They’ve got two Jordan Jameses and we only have one.
If we are talking about individual wide receivers, the Buckeyes’ freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith is far and away the best receiver on either team, but if we’re talking about top-to-bottom depth, then I’d lean towards the Ducks.
I am even tempted to give Oregon the nod on the defensive side of the ball since we know they’re elite and the best piece of this team, but Ohio ranks higher in basically every defensive statistic out there—although, they never had to play the Heisman trophy winner.
So our defense wins on vibes, but theirs wins on paper.*
*Notably, football games are not won on paper.
Both of these teams are so deep, and so well-constructed, that I could go all the way down the rosters and I’m not sure I’ll find a player or position group that would single-handedly alter the course of the game compared to the other side.
So it’s gotta come down to coaching, right?
Both head coaches have been lauded as genius at times, and both of them have been the scapegoat, too.
Oregon smacked Ryan Day in 2021 because he wasn’t expecting Mario to make it a Run-It-Into-Your-Face game.
And Dan could never beat Kalen DeBoer because he didn’t know the power of Big Penix Energy.
Day and Lanning are equally in need of a “prove-it” victory, and this would be the perfect opportunity to get it.
OSU surely has the better offensive play caller. We know all too well about Chip Kelly and his genius dolphin brain.
BUT Dan has beaten Chip before in basically this exact game (a top ten College Gameday matchup in Eugene).
Sure, Ohio is way more talented across the board than that UCLA team, but DTR was way more “Built For Chip” than Will Howard is, and the Bruins also had an NFL running back with Zach Charbonnet, so they weren’t talentless on offense.
And I’m going to go out on a limb and say that as Dan & Tosh are dolphin-brained defensive play callers in their own right—especially in second halves—so I think the OSU offense vs our defense is essentially a good vs. good match.
So the real separation will have to made on the other side, our sometimes-stalled offense versus their stout defense.
The most dangerous player on Ohio’s D is Alabama transfer safety, Caleb Downs (#2).
When we played UCLA this season, Dan was on the record saying that Oregon was, “avoiding their strength,” and throwing all those screen passes to the edge to stay way from their NFL-level talent in the center of the d-line.
So let’s apply that theory here and assume Will Stein will try to avoid Downs and the back half of their defense (or at least pull them down).
Can we run the ball at the same clip that we did against Michigan State and Oregon State? Whether it’s straight up with Jordan James, jet sweeps with Sadiq, or designed runs with Dillon, our o-line’s ability to get a push would be a great start to Operation: Eliminate Caleb Downs’ Impact.
They also have two insane edge rushers in Jack Sawyer (#33) and the never-Husky, JT Tuimoloau (#44). The Bucks don’t blitz all day long, but you can bet that our offensive tackles will have their biggest test of the year with those two future first-rounders.
Even if our O-line generally holds up, Dillon will still have to remain mobile and get the ball out quickly—which means the screen passes, RPOs, and dinks-and-dunks to Tez ain’t going anywhere.
Of course, all of that Small Ball™ is the slow drip that ideally it opens up the flood gates for a shot play/deep pass to Evan Stewart—especially if my cousin Michael has anything to say about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I personally like the Small Ball™ because we are very good at it, and Will Stein is great at drawing those plays up, but it’s not going to be the kind of thing that wins it all, it’s simply going to be the thing that keeps us in the game.
So, if we can’t find a separating factor anywhere else—and if our football team can match every aspect of their football team—then that leads me to believe that only one thing can really make a difference tomorrow night:
Me.
Myself and 60,000 of my closest friends just might be the thing that gets Oregon over the line in a knock-down-drag-out, one-answer-after-another kind of battle.
It’s a blackout, prime time game at the center of the college football world that will shatter every noise and attendance record we have.
Right after we’ve danced to, “Shout!” and Ohio is knocking on the door of the red area, the Autzen faithful just might draw a crucial false start penalty that forces the Buckeyes back.
Those corn-nuts may think their 100,000-person stadiums are rowdy, but regardless of the outcome I can guarantee you they’ll walk out saying it was the loudest place they’ve ever been.
Perhaps they’ll say it’s, “where good teams go to die.”
Or maybe that it’s, “where good teams go to lose by eleven points to a team of destiny.”
31-20, Otis Day & The Knights.
Go Ducks.
And just in case you need a song to play after the final whistle blows tomorrow:
Great article James! Lets go Duck fan, make a difference!! Hope I can sleep tonight.
You’re the only one of me!