Oregon Ducks legend Joey Harrington explains which team, Ohio State or Tennessee, he would rather see in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
The Oregon Ducks have clinched the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, as well as the subsequent first round bye and spot in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Who will they be playing? That’s yet to be decided, with the Ohio State Buckeyes and Tennessee Volunteers battling it out in the first round on Saturday night in Columbus.
Who should they want to play? That depends on who you ask.
The Ducks beat Ohio State earlier this year, 32-31 at Autzen Stadium. That was a vastly different Buckeyes team from what we have now, though, as injuries on the offensive line to both All-American left tackle Josh Simmons and All-American center Seth McLaughlin have forced a shift in personnel.
Oregon hasn’t played Tennessee in over a decade, but on paper, they seem to match up well with the Volunteers’ strengths.
[lawrence-related id=70709,70640]
Based on the numbers, each fan may have a different perspective on the preferred opponent in Pasadena. Who does Oregon legend Joey Harrington want to see on January 1st? He discussed it on the latest episode the the Bleav in Oregon Podcast with Zachary Neel.
“Tennessee,” Harrington said with no hesitation. “I don’t like the idea of having to beat a team twice.”
That’s fair, but what if that team that you have to beat has looked far from their best as of late, and the last time we saw them on the field, they were losing to a 6-5 team at home with fans calling for the head coach to be fired?
“I still don’t like it,” Harrington said of the prospect of facing Ohio State again. “I’ve seen too many crazy things, I just don’t like it.”
[lawrence-related id=70668,70750]
Instead, it’s the matchup against the Volunteers that has Harrington intrigued, particularly with Oregon’s defense on the field. While Tennessee has the No. 9 rushing offense in the nation, they’ve been average throwing the ball this year, racking up just 230 yard per game — 62nd in the nation.
“Tennessee’s strength is in the running game, and their strength is on defense,” Harrington said. “If I’m going to say what type of team I want to play against — one that’s going to be balanced and explosive, as Ohio State has shown it can be, or one that is going to rely heavily on the run game, I think we saw that against Penn State.”
The numbers between Tennessee and Penn State, Oregon’s last opponent, match up quite favorably. While the Nittany Lions have the No. 19 rushing offense in the nation, they are slightly more average throwing the ball, with the No. 41 passing offense.
[lawrence-related id=70855,70859]
The Ducks were able to beat the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship, 45-37, and Harrington thinks that’s a matchup that bodes well for Oregon should it present itself again.
The question then becomes about which defense you would rather face. Ohio State has the No. 1 defense in the nation, allowing just 241 yards per game this year. Meanwhile, Tennessee has the No. 4 defense, giving up 278 yards per game. Both of those units may seem daunting, but the Ducks were able to put up 45 points on Penn State’s No. 6 ranked defense in the conference title game.
“At this point, it’s kind of a coinflip, these are the top-12 teams in the country,” Harrington said. “Any one of them can beat any one of them tomorrow. If I’m going to choose (an opponent) based on statistics, I’m going to choose Tennessee because of how Oregon played against Penn State. If I’m going to choose based on the simple gut feeling of not wanting to play a team twice, I’m also going to choose Tennessee.”
We will find out once and for all who the Ducks will play in the Rose Bowl on Saturday night, with Ohio State hosting the Volunteers at 5 p.m. PT, with the game airing on ABC.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
