Ohio State | Oregon Preview
If you’ve ever wanted to see how it looks to allow a sports team to control every aspect of your life, may I show you a glimpse into my mental health this past week.
Not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought about this Saturday at minimum 10+ times. I’ve watched every YouTube analysis, seen very Reel on Instagram, every TikTok you could possibly watch, trying to get as much insight from whoever I could leading up to 7:30pm Saturday evening.
I’m simultaneously so excited that I can’t sleep and so nervous that I can’t sleep. That’s what games of this magnitude can do to a man. If this blog starts to really go off the rails, allow the prior sentence to serve as my excuse. It’s been a week.
Ohio State walks into Autzen Stadium as the #1 defense in the country, the #2 team in the nation, bolstering a roster worth $20 million, and expectations that I’ve never seen surrounding a team before.
It’s time for the Buckeyes to put their money where their mouth is.
Oregon won’t make it easy. Dillon Gabriel was thought to be a potential Heisman favorite and has the skillset and weapons around him to prove that true. The Ducks have an improved defense, offensive firepower, and the motivation to show that they are the new top dogs of the Big Ten Conference.
Will Howard will have to minimize mistakes, capitalize on the chances that he’s given, and show that he’s the guy who can lead this team to their goal, National Champions.
Remember that episode of the Office, where Creed takes over as Manager and Pam gives him two pictures of the office building and says corporate needs him to find the differences between them, only later to reveal that they are in fact the same picture?
That’s how it feels like trying to spot the difference between these two teams.
It sounds cliché but I truly believe the winner of this game will come from the team that makes the first mistake.
Last weekend during the Iowa game, I made a graphic of the Buckeyes standing at the entrance of the tunnel, eagerly waiting to run out onto the field, surrounded by 110k crazed Buckeye fans, with the quote saying, “Never Bet Against Ohio”.
Ohio State has a +5 TO margin, while Oregon has a -1. If I am picking who I believe makes that first and vital error, I’m not betting against Ohio.
Go Bucks!
Ohio State 34 Oregon 27
