The Oregon Ducks already feel like a staple team in the Big Ten, which is a product of Oregon winning the conference with an undefeated record in its first season as a member. The Ducks will take on the Big Ten’s biggest staple — the Ohio State Buckeyes — in two weeks at the Rose Bowl.
Of the Ducks’ new foes in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes are their most bitter rival. Oregon and Ohio State have played 11 times in their history, and four of those games have taken place in the 21st century. The Buckeyes were victorious in the first nine games, but Oregon has taken home the most recent two.
The 2025 Rose Bowl will be the third time the Ducks and Buckeyes have shared the field in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. The first game was played in 1958, which Ohio State won 10-7, and in 2010, the Buckeyes beat an Oregon team coached by Chip Kelly (the current Ohio State offensive coordinator) 26-17.
After that, this rivalry heats up. Five years after Oregon’s loss to the Buckeyes in the 2010 Rose Bowl, the Ducks met Ohio State in Arlington, Texas for the National Championship game — the first in the College Football Playoff era. The Ducks trailed for most of the game, and in the fourth quarter with the Ducks down 28-20, Ohio State put the game out of reach, scoring 14 unanswered points to win 42-20 — taking home the 2014 National Championship.
The Ducks would go nearly seven years before seeing the Buckeyes again. In 2021, Oregon made the trip to Columbus in early September, ranked as the No. 12 team with Ohio State as the No. 3 team in the country. Absent from the gameday roster was the Oregon’s best player: edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.
But despite Thibodeaux’s absence, Oregon pulled off the upset in the Shoe, winning 35-28. Three years later, it was easy to draw parallels between the 2021 game and this season’s Oregon-Ohio State game. Ohio State made the trip to Eugene in October, and the Ducks were once again without their star edge rusher. This time, it was Jordan Burch.
Oregon overcame missing a star player once again, pulling out a tight, 32-31, victory against the Buckeyes On Ohio State’s final drive, QB Will Howard scrambled to get his team into field goal range as time winded to zero. As he slid, the stadium clock illuminated three zeros, giving Oregon the victory and Duck fans safe passage onto the field.
New Year’s Day will mark the turning of several leaves in College Football. Oregon and Ohio State will play in the postseason for the first time as conference rivals in the 12-team playoff’s first season. But, in many ways, this New Year’s will feel familiar. The Ducks and Buckeyes will play their third Rose Bowl, second College Football Playoff game, and second head-to-head of the season.
All’s well.
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