courtesy of buckeyeplanet.com

Can’t blame him for leaving since he is still playing in the playoffs, but you ask yourself what if.

As always, presented without comment.

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com

courtesy of The Columbus Dispatch

How fitting is it that we are 2 Days away from the National Championship Game and Dontre changed his number to #2? Not sure if anyone remembers Urban flipped Wilson from Oregon to the good guys and right now he is probable to play Monday night. Sometimes the irony that sports stories that write themselves.

Let it be known I don’t care what anyone thinks about Jim Tressel being inducted into the CFB Hall of Fame. He earned his spot in this class and should be honored. What ever your thoughts on Coach Tressel are he was one of the best coaches in the country.

Also pretty fitting he joins a class with Former Texas RB Ricky “I smoke a lot” Williams, Brian “I truly cheated” Bosworth, and Kansas St Coach Snyder.

The path to this game for both Ohio State and Oregon was most likely not the ideal one if you were to ask both head coaches and fan bases, but never the less, they have arrived at the ultimate goal. Oregon’s path involved overcoming perceptions of being too soft and flashy to be taken seriously, as they dismantled Michigan State and Stanford throughout the year. They also lost key players throughout the season and at times had to adopt a mentality that Ohio State faced from the opening of fall camp, next man up. After an early October loss to Arizona, many began to write off the post Chip Kelly Oregon Ducks. However, led by their Heisman winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Ducks have reeled off 9 straight including two consecutive blow-out victories in the Pac-12 title game and the Rose Bowl. They enter this contest missing key players, including the Ducks leading receiver Devon Allen and their best corner Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, but the Ducks managed to not miss a beat against Florida State missing both players so expect them to be in full attack mode regardless of who takes the field for them.

For Ohio State the phrase next man up was not an adopted phrase used on and off during the year, it was a lifestyle for this team. Beginning with the seven NFL starters they lost from last years team, followed by the loss of Braxton Miller and Noah Spence, and then the sudden loss of J.T. Barrett, this team has had to learn and grow on the fly all season. Despite how green and naive this team was, Urban Meyer and his coaching staff, masterly guided this team through the storm of injuries and question marks. The one blemish on their record was an early season loss to Virginia Tech in which their quarterback and majority of offensive line were just in the second start of their respected careers. Since that loss Ohio State has proved doubters wrong all year. They traveled East Lansing and dismantled the defending Big Ten Champions Michigan State. They would continue on to the Big Ten Title game, where as under dogs and their third string quarterback at the helm in his first start, they shut out Melvin Gordon and the Wisconsin Badgers and hung up 59 points in route to claiming the first conference title under Urban Meyer. Following that massive win the Buckeyes were matched up with the world beaters and number one team in the country Alabama in the national semifinal. The Buckeyes would overcome an early 21-6 deficit and roll the Crimson Tide in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated, 42-35.

With the mini-season review in the books, lets begin to take a look at how these two teams match-up.

Ohio State Offense vs. Oregon Defense

The Buckeyes offense comes running in to the title game as balanced as it has been all season. Expect a similar look in the national title game. The Buckeye offense isn’t predictable, but it is at the same time. It’s predictable in the sense that if it can run inside zone then it will continue to run it until you can stop it. Generally speaking you’ll see inside zone, followed by a touch pass or jet sweep to stretch the defense horizontally, then either a deep crosser or shot down field off of play-action. That is generally the sequence of plays that this offense flows in regardless of who is at quarterback and who is lining up on the other side of the field.

However, against Oregon, I could see the Buckeyes taking more advantage of the run game and leaning on that more than they do on the arm of Jones. Its not that the coaching staff does not trust Jones, its just that Oregon allows teams to run the ball and it is somewhat by design. They do not over commit players in to the box. Even against Florida State the Ducks were content to allow the Noles to gain rushing yardage as long as their backs weren’t breaking off big plays. Therefore, I expect Zeke to have a good day rushing the ball. It is very conceivable that he could average 5 to 6 yards a carry, but the important stat for him in this game will be runs of 15+ yards. If Zeke begins to break off those runs and one or two go for a touchdown then it could change how the Ducks attack. The Ducks can implement a Bear look in their 3-4 defense, but I would be shocked to see Buckeye coaches and players not understand how to attack it.

When passing the ball the Ducks tend to only rush four and drop seven. They do have quality pass rushers and their four can definitely get home without needing extra blitzers, however, the majority of Oregon’s success versus Jameis Winston was based in the quality of their coverage rather than their four getting home quickly. Oregon does a very good job of disguising it’s zone and man coverage and almost always plays two deep safeties. Therefore, the middle of the field behind the linebackers should be open to exploit. Winston was able to at times exploit this area but their offense was never able to get in to rhythm due to the high volume of drops, turnovers, overthrows, and overall poor execution.

The bottom line in this part of the match-up is this: Oregon’s defense has holes that are able to be exploited, however they put every ounce of pressure on you to exploit them. If you make any ounce of a mistake they will make you pay by forcing a turnover and their offense is very good at making you pay twice by turning it in to points. The Buckeye’s success in this game will come down to red zone efficiency and the turnover battle. Unlike Alabama, Oregon’s offense is much less forgiving when opposing offenses stumble at points in the game.

Oregon Offense vs. Ohio State Defense

This is probably the more interesting match-up for both fan bases. The Ducks feel as though they have an unstoppable force with Mariota at the helm, and more often than not they are correct. This year, however, it isn’t just Mariota who is behind the success of the Ducks offense. The way Oregon attacks a defense is very similar to the way Ohio State does. Both coaching staffs have exchanged ideas several times so it is no surprise to see both offense look as similar as they do.

Like Ohio State’s offense, Oregon’s bread and butter is the inside power run. However, for the first time, the Ducks have a true power runner to run inside the tackles unlike previous years. Royce Freeman, true freshman from Imperial, California, has led the ducks in rushing this season running for over 1300 yards and 18 touchdowns. Freeman has a similar build to Zeke being 6’1, 230 pounds. His inside power has given the Ducks offense that extra “umph”. How important is that “umph”? Urban Meyer can easily say it put his offensive juggernaut over the top. Meyer never had a thousand yard rusher at running back until he coached two very physical runners, Carlos Hyde and Ezekiel Elliott, both of whom flourished with the inside zone run. Is Freeman as talented as Hyde and Elliott? Absolutely. And it gets worse.

The Ducks work off of that inside power and transition it to an inside read with Mariota who is the lightning to Freeman’s thunder. Unlike Braxton, Mariota is a north and south runner who gets north a lot faster than any other player in the country. Being that Mariota is a senior and has taken hundreds of snap in this offense his ball handling skills are the best in college football. A player that has comparable skills to Mariota when it comes to ball handling in the option offense? Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds. So the Buckeyes will have had some experience but they faced Reynolds months ago and the Navy offense did not run at the tempo the Ducks offense did.

When the Ducks do get running at tempo, which is almost all the time, Mariota has just about mastered his decision making. The Ducks have built in checks to their offense so if Mariota notices a corner playing off and the box loaded he can read the play and throw the screen. This is what makes the Ducks offense so dangerous. They hit you with the run game vertically, mix in tempo, then attack you horizontally, mix in more tempo, throw the option game at you, followed by more tempo, and then hit you with a deep crosser where their receiver can pick up yards after the catch. This offense is almost a spitting image of what the Ohio State offense would look like if you put Braxton Miller’s legs on JT Barrett and added some wide receiver screens to the play calling, oh and speed it up by about 10. Now that I’ve properly scared you, here’s how you combat the offense, bend but don’t break and keep the ball away.

Do I think Ohio State has the talent to walk on the field and “shut down” the Oregon offense? No. The reason being is you don’t shut down this offense with sheer talent, ask Florida State. It takes negative plays, turnovers, and out executing them to beat them, very familiar to how you slow down Ohio State. Mariota will throw up a couple of questionable jump balls and if he does the Ohio State defense and offense have to capitalize.

If you hold this Oregon offense to less than 35 points then you should absolutely have a chance. Why 35? The one loss Oregon has this year it scored 24 points versus Arizona, every other game the Ducks scored no less than 38 points and won. This title game should be one for the ages. Best of luck to both teams, hope everyone enjoys!

Warming the bench as the days grew colder in Columbus, Ohio was Cardale Jones’ priority over the college football season’s first 14 weeks. The redshirt sophomore took to the sidelines regularly for Ohio State, dressed to play but only throwing 17 passes in seven games. Flash forward to the Big Ten Championship Game on December 6, where a slew of injuries to quarterbacks Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett forced Jones to permanently step in under center. A 59-point outburst against Wisconsin made heads turn, but it was his stellar performance against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl Game that catapulted him to overnight fame.

One game now separates Ohio State from claiming the first-ever College Football Playoff Championship, though the Buckeyes will have to get through a formidable foe in Oregon in order to carve their name in the history books. I’ve had a lot of people contact me to see if I could help them get their hands on some tickets for the big game. I had to regretfully inform them that yes, I am an alumni of the greatest university on earth, but no, my alumni contributions don’t put me in that rarefied air of having access to events like this. Such a shame. Fans hoping to watch Jones end his season with a bang at AT&T Stadium will have to open their wallets big, too, as the average price for College Football Championship Game tickets on TiqIQ is now $1,112.27. The game’s cheapest seat looks more like a top NFL team’s home secondary average, with get-in price listed at $417. (That’s a skosh out of my price range)

Such prices are significantly more expensive than last year’s BCS National Championship Game between Auburn and Florida State. Held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the average secondary price for tickets was $907.48, marking a price jump of 23% under the new playoff format this season. Jameis Winston and his Seminoles led a spirited late-game drive to defeat the Tigers last January. Cardale Jones will hope to do the same when his Buckeyes take on the Ducks in Texas next Monday.

At 13-1 and 8-0 in Big Ten matchups, the Buckeyes enter the National Championship Game on the heels of a 12-game win streak including monster victories over Wisconsin and Alabama. Oregon will likely serve as their most difficult opponent yet, however, as the Ducks hold the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota and one of the most dominant offenses in college football. Jones’ ability to lead the Buckeyes over his first three career starts has instigated a sense of confidence in the Ohio State locker room that they’ll need to carry into Arlington next week.

With secondary ticket prices reaching a four-digit average in its inaugural year, the College Football Championship Game will undoubtedly serve as one of the most anticipated events of the New Year. For Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes, an eighth national championship and first-ever under the new playoff format would be a fantastic way to greet 2015.

That feeling you have these days is a lighter back. The proverbial monkey which turned into an 800 pound gorilla is off the back of the coaches, players, fans, and the entire Buckeye Nation. It is a grand time to be a Buckeye fan for sure. Let’s give out some game calls shall we?

THE DEFENSE

Darron Lee- He gets a game ball for many things 7 solo tackles and 2 sacks were great. What I am giving him a game ball though is for his leadership. When Cardale threw and INT and Zeke fumbled it was Lee who could be seen talking to them and getting their heads fixed. When OSU made big plays on offense and defense it was Lee who led the charge to make sure he celebrated with and encouraged his teammates. He has gone from never heard of to team leader on a team going to the NCG.

Curtis Grant- What can you say about a SR who has heard and felt the footsteps of a young buck trying to take his spot all year. He didn’t lay down and take it. He flourished on the big stage leading the team in tackles with 10 and making several big stops. Most fans will never give him the credit he deserves this year.

The entire Defensive Backfield- Doran Grant and Eli Apple did a marvelous job most of the game and allowed the safties to help make plays with their 2 INTs. Sure there were some mistakes but they had to contain the best WR in the country and did a good job of it. Vonn Bell was POPPING people all game long with 8 solo tackles.

Steve Miller- Pick Six need I say more? What surprised me the most was his speed. It was fantastic.

THE OFFENSE

Ezekiel Elliott- 20 Rushed for 230 yards and 2 TDs and throw in 1 reception for 13 yards. The fumble was awful but he more than made up for it. He was our offensive MVP and he continues to get better and better as the year has progressed. OSU would not be playing for the NC without this youngman who already has the 4th best rushing year in OSU history with 1632 yards and has one more game to go.

The offensive Line- Replacing 4 starters 3 of whom are starting on NFL teams in the playoffs is really hard to do and OSU did it almost seamlessly which is an incredible feat. All of them get a game ball for dominating the #2 DL in the country. Practicing against the best DL clearly has helped them a lot.

The Pass Catchers- Evan Spencer is so important to the team for all the small things he does. Devin Smith and Michael Thomas make spectacular plays. The rest do their jobs so the team can keep moving the ball and they do it really well.

THE COACHES

Luke Fickell- It is time for the haters to admit Luke Fickell is a whale of a coach and recruiter and play caller. Luke calls the front 7 plays and it was he who had Steve Miller drop in coverage and get the pick 6. He was the only coach who believed that Darron Lee was worthy of becoming a Buckeye. He had to convince Urban Meyer to take a chance. Every fan should be grateful for his efforts.

Chris Ash- I dont want to point fingers at Everett Withers but he is gone and Chris Ash is here and the defense is much improved. His attack style is working amazing and he has done wonders with young DBs this year.

Urban Meyer- He had the most to gain and lose by beating Nick Saban and Bama. He built on his reputation immensely and shut up his doubters. One more win and he could arguably be called the greatest CFB coach ever. Not even joking a little.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Special Teams- How about Corey Smith who has struggled a lot this year as a WR but came up huge on KO coverage for OSU this game? Sean Nuerenberger made every kick he was asked to and that is a feat for a true freshman playing in the biggest game of his life.

The Fans- We have been through a lot and had a lot of success the last 15 years. It has been a roller coaster ride for sure. Buckeye Nation is strong and goes everywhere to support the team they love. We deserve credit for that and a game ball for sure. YAY US!!!!