Tag: Oregon Football

Ryan Day: Ohio State is brimming with confidence ahead of Rose Bowl vs. Oregon

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said the team is feeling a lot of confidence ahead of the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are feeling good. They’re feeling a lot better than they were a few weeks ago, to say the least.

It makes sense, too. On Saturday night, the Buckeyes blew out the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the College Football Playoff, 42-17,  advancing to a quarterfinal game against the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Considering that this was Ohio State’s first game since November 30, when they lost to the unranked Michigan Wolverines 13-10 at home — their fourth-straight loss to the rival blue — nobody can blame them for feeling upbeat. A few weeks ago, head coach Ryan Day was being thrown to the wolves by a majority of the fan base, many of whom were calling for his dismissal after the Michigan loss.

That didn’t seem to be of any concern to Day on Monday morning when meeting with media members ahead of the Rose Bowl. He spoke of the energy that his team got from blowing the doors off of an SEC team on Saturday night.

“You can feel the confidence in the locker room,” Day said. “Have to make some adjustments like we always do. Issues are always there. But there was just an overall balance and confidence about the group coming off the game to know that we already have a playoff win under our belt. It will give us confidence going into the game.”

While Ohio State’s players might have picked up a boost in confidence from the win, Oregon players likely feel like they have a boost in health and recovery after enjoying the bye week that came with their No. 1 overall seed. Dan Lanning and his players have been recuperating and preparing for this upcoming matchup against the Buckeyes for a couple of weeks now, waiting for their chance to try and beat Ohio State again.

Ohio State players can have the confidence from winning a first-round playoff game in early December. The Ducks will take the confidence of being undefeated, the No. 1 seed, and having already beat the Buckeyes when the two teams faced earlier this season.

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Oregon’s ability to ‘win in different ways’ gives Ducks confidence ahead of Rose Bowl

The Oregon Ducks have shown an ability to win in multiple different ways, which gives Dan Lanning confidence ahead of game vs. Ohio State.

Winning is a skill, and the Oregon Ducks have proven this year that it’s a skill they possess in droves.

With a 13-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, Dan Lanning is coaching the only undefeated team in the nation. Winning has become natural for them.

But a lot of teams in the nation can win. It’s the ability to win in different ways that set this Oregon team apart going into the playoffs.

So far this year, the Ducks have won a pair of games by three points, one game by eight points, and a thrilling victory against Ohio State by a single point back in October. They also have won two games by 35 points, one game by 31 points, one game by 28 points, four games by 21 points, and one game by 10 points.

It’s safe to say that the Ducks feel good about their chances whether it comes in a a blowout, a shootout, or a dogfight. Going into a win-or-go-home situation against the Buckeyes on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl, that matters.

“I think it’s been really important for us, for our team, to realize that we can win a lot of different ways,” Lanning said on Monday in his Rose Bowl press conference. “And with that piece, knowing that if you’re able to put all three phases together, and you play your best football, you can have a lot of success.”

There are a lot of teams who have one trick that works, and they go back to that well time after time to great success. Past Oregon teams have done this, using an explosive offense that few teams could stop to make it to national championships and College Football Playoffs. When that team met resistance, though, particularly in the trenches against a bigger and more physical team, we saw them struggle to adapt.

This Oregon team is different, though. They’ve shown this year that they can air it out in a shootout with Ohio State, out-physical Michigan in a blowout on the road, and get down and dirty in the trenches with Wisconsin in an absolute dogfight.

“Football games come in a lot of different ways, and being able to be a team that can win it in multiple different ways is important for us,” Lanning said.

So what will the Rose Bowl against Ohio State present for the Ducks? That’s tough to say at this point, as the Buckeyes are about as multiple as Oregon, showing the ability to beat you in different ways. With one of the most explosive receiving corps in the nation, a backfield of talented rushers, and the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation, Ohio State presents a lot of challenges to their opponents.

Fortunately, the Ducks have always been able to find the right solution so far.

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Updated ESPN FPI has Oregon Ducks among biggest longshots to win national championship

The Oregon Ducks are considered one of the biggest longshots to win the national championship according to the updated ESPN FPI.

Throughout the entire 2024 college football season, teams across the nation have been competing to get themselves into a position to compete for the national championship.

This past week, we saw eight of the top 12 teams in the nation — those who rightfully earned a spot in the College Football Playoff — compete to advance to the next round and keep their championship hopes alive.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Texas Longhorns, and Penn State Nittany Lions were successful in this venture, and they will now go on to join the Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Boise State Broncos, and Arizona State Sun Devils in the quarterfinals.

Of the eight teams remaining, who has the best chance to make it to the national championship game, and ultimately win the first-ever 12-team playoff?

As we’ve done all year long, let’s take a look at the ESPN Football Power Index. For those unfamiliar with ESPN’s FPI, it is an index that “relies on past performance on offense and defense, returning and transfer production and past recruiting data for players on the roster to form a rating.” In essence, it’s ESPN’s way of declaring the top teams in the nation, looking at their roster, their schedule, their percentage to win each game, and where that ultimately lands them after the season comes to an end.

Here’s a look at the latest probabilities for the CFP, according to ESPN.

Oregon Ducks Overall Season Outlook

Oregon vs. Ohio State Win Probability

Oregon Ducks: 46.4%

Ohio State Buckeyes: 53.6%

Percent Chance to Make National Championship:

  1. Texas Longhorns — 47.0%
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish— 37.7%
  3. Ohio State Buckeyes — 29.9%
  4. Penn State Nittany Lions — 28.4%
  5. Georgia Bulldogs — 27.1%
  6. Oregon Ducks— 18.0%
  7. Boise State Broncos — 6.7%
  8. Arizona State Sun Devils —5.1%

Percent Chance to Win National Championship:

  1. Texas Longhorns — 27.2%
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish — 20.0%
  3. Ohio State Buckeyes — 17.3%
  4. Georgia Bulldogs — 12.9%
  5. Penn State Nittany Lions — 12.1%
  6. Oregon Ducks— 7.7%
  7. Boise State Broncos — 1.4%
  8. Arizona State Sun Devils — 1.3%

For anyone who is surprised by the utter disrespect of the Oregon Ducks in these numbers from ESPN, you obviously haven’t been paying attention this season. We wrote a couple of weeks ago after the Big Ten Championship that the FPI calculations are clearly broken, as they have doubted the Ducks all season long, and continue to do so despite the fact that Oregon is the only undefeated team in the nation, and the No. 1 seed in the playoff.

The good thing is that this computer doesn’t decide who wins the games, the players do. We will see what the players can do on New Year’s Day in a highly-anticipated rematch against the Buckeyes.

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Updated Oregon Ducks national championship odds after 1st round of College Football Playoff

An updated look at the Oregon Ducks’ odds to win the national championship after the first round of College Football Playoff games.

After years of talk and anticipation, the 12-team College Football Playoff is here, and it brought a great deal of intrigue and entertainment over the weekend.

We watched big wins for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions, Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Indiana Hoosiers, SMU Mustangs, Clemson Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers had their seasons end short of the national championship.

While this first round whittled the playing field to eight teams, it also gave us a good look at what some of these teams are capable of in the postseason environment.

Which ones are capable of winning the national championship, though?

That’s a different question. There are still some heavyweights in the conversation, but also some who may have stated their case to be considered a longshot option.

Let’s take a look at the latest numbers, according to BetMGM.

[gambcom-standard rankid=“4141” ]

Here’s a look at the full odds:

We will take a look at the full odds again next week after the quarterfinal games are played.

[gambcom-standard rankid=“6305″]

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How to buy Ohio State Rose Bowl Bowl tickets, Ohio State vs Oregon College Football Playoff tickets

Ohio State is headed to the Rose Bowl to take on No. 1 Oregon on Wednesday, Jan. 1. Tickets are already on sale and selling fast.

Ohio State is heading to the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes crushed the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night, clinching the final spot in the newly-expanded College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

Ohio State’s reward? A date against the overall top seeded Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. on Wednesday, Jan. 1.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Oregon Rose Bowl tickets” link=”https://seatgeek.pxf.io/c/1205322/2374311/20501″]

Rose Bowl tickets were selling quickly since the Ducks were announced as a participant, but now that Ohio State will join them in California, tickets are almost gone.

At the time of publication, the cheapest available Rose Bowl ticket to see Ohio State vs Oregon cost $393.

Whether you’re a fan of Ohio State, Oregon, parades, or just great college football action, don’t miss out on your opportunity to see this game in person.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Oregon Rose Bowl tickets” link=”https://seatgeek.pxf.io/c/1205322/2374311/20501″]

Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl opponent set after Ohio State vs. Tennessee game

The Oregon Ducks will officially face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

At long last, the Oregon Ducks know who they will be facing in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

After a blowout 42-17 win from the Buckeyes between Ohio State and Tennessee, it is official that the Ducks will face the Buckeyes in the second round of the College Football Playoff.

For all of the talk about Ohio State coming into this game, they looked like an utterly dominant team against Tennessee, jumping out to an early 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never letting off the gas. While Tennessee might have been outmatched, the Buckeyes’ defense was elite, and the offensive passing attack opened up unlike we’ve seen before this season.

Oregon and Ohio State played earlier this year in Eugene, with the Ducks winning 32-31 in one of the best games of the season. The rematch will be highly anticipated, to say the least.

The Ducks have been able to enjoy the last two weeks off since beating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship Game, taking the opportunity to get healthy and ready up for what could be a three-week run toward the national championship.

With a couple of weeks’ head start, Duck fans also had an opportunity to scoop up tickets to the Rose Bowl before fans of the Buckeyes knew to schedule their trips to Pasadena.

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How to buy Ohio State Rose Bowl Bowl tickets, Ohio State vs Oregon College Football Playoff tickets

Ohio State is headed to the Rose Bowl to take on No. 1 Oregon on Wednesday, Jan. 1. Tickets are already on sale and selling fast.

Ohio State is heading to the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes crushed the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night, clinching the final spot in the newly-expanded College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

Ohio State’s reward? A date against the overall top seeded Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. on Wednesday, Jan. 1.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Oregon Rose Bowl tickets” link=”https://seatgeek.pxf.io/c/1205322/2374311/20501″]

Rose Bowl tickets were selling quickly since the Ducks were announced as a participant, but now that Ohio State will join them in California, tickets are almost gone.

At the time of publication, the cheapest available Rose Bowl ticket to see Ohio State vs Oregon cost $393.

Whether you’re a fan of Ohio State, Oregon, parades, or just great college football action, don’t miss out on your opportunity to see this game in person.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Oregon Rose Bowl tickets” link=”https://seatgeek.pxf.io/c/1205322/2374311/20501″]

Former USC defensive lineman Bear Alexander lands at Oregon

You wanted him, Oregon? You got him. The Ducks now have to deal with Bear Alexander drama.

Back in September, USC defensive lineman Bear Alexander elected to redshirt and leave the team due to frustration over his playing time. Three months later, Alexander officially has a new home. On Friday, Alexander announced his commitment to Oregon. Thanks to his redshirt this season, he will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Alexander’s journey has certainly been a wild one. In high school, he attended four different schools in four years. A blue chip recruit, he committed to Georgia, and saw playing time as a freshman on the Bulldogs’ 2022 national title team.

Alexander entered the transfer portal following his freshman season and committed to USC. As a sophomore in 2023, he had a solid season, and was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise abysmal defense. He entered spring 2024 projected as one of the top defensive linemen in the country.

Since then, however, Alexander’s story has been a mess. He briefly entered the portal again last spring, before removing his name a few days later—essentially an NIL holdout of sorts. Then, after clashing with the new defensive coaching staff due to concerns over his attitude and work ethic, Alexander was relegated to a reserve role at the start of the season.

Even though he was not starting, Alexander still saw significant snaps in USC’s first three games of the season. Following the Michigan game, however, he decided to redshirt and depart from the team, with the intention of entering the transfer portal once it opened.

Now, Alexander is headed up to the Pacific Northwest. When he enrolls at Oregon in January, it will mark the seventh different school that he has attended in eight years.

If the Ducks’ coaching staff is able to work Alexander out of his attitude and work ethic issues, he has the potential to be one of the top defensive linemen in the country. But if they cannot, his addition could prove to be a massive headache for the program.

Oregon Ducks land transfer from USC DL Bear Alexander

The Oregon Ducks landed a big transfer portal commitment from former Georgia Bulldogs and USC Trojans DL Bear Alexander.

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks have shown an ability to take talented but unproven players out of the transfer portal and turn them into stars over the past few years, and they’re looking to do that again with their latest addition. 

On TK, former Georgia Bulldogs and USC Trojans defensive lineman Bear Alexander announced that he would be transferring to Oregon for the 2025 season. After redshirting with the Trojans in 2024, Alexander will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Ducks should he care to use them.

Alexander is a former high-end 4-star player who was rated as the No. 50 overall player when committing to Georgia back in the class of 2022. In the portal, Alexander is rated by 247Sports as the No. 4 DL in the portal.

The talent and upside are clearly there for Alexander, who stands at 6-foot-3, 315 pounds as an interior defensive lineman. While he hasn’t been able to produce to the level that many expected so far in his career, there is a belief that Dan Lanning, Tosh Lupoi, and Tony Tuioti will be able to bring the best out of him, much like they did with junior Derrick Harmon this year, who has flown up NFL draft boards and is expected to declare for the pros after one season at Oregon.

Alexander is the sixth portal addition for the Ducks this season.

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Should Oregon Ducks target Miami Hurricanes TE transfer Riley Williams?

Former Miami Hurricanes tight end Riley Williams will enter the transfer portal, and he could become a target for the Oregon Ducks.

The Oregon Ducks have been cleaning up in the transfer portal so far this year, picking up five high-end transfers that fill major positions of need on the 2025 roster.

They might not be done, though.

Oregon has gotten elite players in the defensive secondary with Theran Johnson and Dillon Thieneman, and on the offensive line with Alex Harkey and Isaiah World. They also grabbed an incredibly talented tight end with Louisville’s Jamari Johnson.

Now, a new target may have entered the mix.

On Friday, it was announced that former Miami Hurricanes tight end Riley Williams was entering the transfer portal after two seasons under Mario Cristobal. This is interesting for the Ducks since Williams is a former player from Central Catholic High School in Portland who took an official visit to Eugene and was close to committing to Oregon before making the move down to Florida to follow Cristobal.

At one point, both parties were interested, but now that we’re two years removed and Oregon has already found one tight end from the transfer portal—a major position of need with Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert graduating—is there still going to be interest?

It wouldn’t shock me in the slightest. While the Ducks did pick up Johnson to fill one spot on the TE depth chart, there still could be a need for more depth, depending on what Lanning and his staff feel they have in some of the young guys on the roster.

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Kenyon Sadiq will return next year, and Oregon brings back both Roger Saleapaga — injury status pending — and AJ Pugliano. On top of that, they have incoming freshman Vander Ploog, and Johnson as an incoming transfer. Is that enough to feel comfortable going into the new season? That’s not for me to decide.

At the very least, I would be surprised if there isn’t some contact between Williams and the Ducks. He is a talented player with 15 catches for 187 yards and 1 TD in his career. As a former 4-star recruit who was rated as the No. 4 TE in the 2023 class, the ceiling is high under the right coaching staff.

Is that coaching staff in Eugene? We will likely find out over the coming days and weeks.

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