The Real Buckeyes, The Real Ducks Both Hope To Show Up

If Ohio State and Oregon play like their preseason rankings of 1-2, Saturday should be a good game. If not, one or both will continue their mysterious seasons.

Columbus, OH – Are you ready for the Enigma Bowl?

That’s what Ohio State-Oregon is shaping up to be — and not just because we can’t be sure what uniforms the teams will be wearing when they take the field for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday afternoon.

You might assume Ohio State will be in its traditional home togs, but the word has come down the Buckeyes will forsake the gray for an all-scarlet look.

As for Oregon, who knows what sartorial crime Nike’s Phil Knight has planned for the Ducks.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder —unless you look at Oregon’s numbers.

On their jerseys or their stat sheets, most of them are pretty ugly.

The Ducks rank outside the national top 35 in nearly every traditional statistical category — 38th in points per game (33.3), 36th in total offense (425.4 yards per game), 92nd in rushing (140.4 yards per game), 47th in points allowed per game (21.4), 52nd in total defense (341.8 ypg.), 58th in rushing defense (133.8 ypg.) and 61st in passing yards allowed (208 per game).

The exceptions are passing offense (14th at 285 ypg.), third-down defense (20th), red-zone offense (eighth) and interceptions for the defense (13th).

Their advanced stats, if you’re into that sort of thing, aren’t much better. I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty from that file, but overall they paint a picture of a team that struggles play to play on offense but is capable of the big strike.

The defense is average overall but will give up the big play from time to time through the air.

The offensive line has struggled, which was not a huge surprise, while the defensive line has disappointed (it was expected to be a strength).

But is that the team Ohio State will see Saturday, or will the one that was ranked No. 2 in the country in August (right behind the Buckeyes) be the one that takes the field in Ohio Stadium?

Of course, the easy answer is the 5-3 Ducks will look mostly like they have looked over the course of the season, but Ohio State (6-2) knows to expect every team’s best shot.

Last week was another reminder of that when USC shook off its worst outing of the year (a blowout loss at Wisconsin) to post its best and save its season.

Oregon embarrassed USC in late September but lost star quarterback Dante Moore in the process.

Since then, the Ducks are 2-2, and that is dependent on a fourth-quarter comeback against a Nebraska team everyone makes fourth-quarter comebacks against.

Oregon also trailed No. 20 Northwestern 20-6 late in the first half last week before rallying to win 34-26, so it’s not like the Ducks were firing on all cylinders in that game, either.

The biggest question mark on the squad is Dylan Raiola, Moore’s replacement and a former Ohio State verbal commit. He looked good in relief at USC, played badly enough to be benched a week later against UCLA. then played hero against Nebraska, his former team. He was also the hero last week against the Wildcats, throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns, so perhaps his arrow is pointing up.

If you’re reading this, you are likely aware Ohio State does not have its starting quarterback anymore, either.

As far as unknowns, Luke Fahey is a greater one than Raiola, though that could be a good thing because the Oregon QB has put his fair share of bad play on film.

Fahey showed promise last week against USC, the biggest concern being the deep ball he missed to Devin McCuin in the second half.

Injured starter Julian Sayin had his ups and downs before suffering an arm injury, so it remains to be seen what the drop-off will be when all is said and done this season.

Some of the pre-snap penalties last week are surely a result of having a new quarterback, too, but the hope is those will be cleaned up.

Penalties and other mistakes were a major topic of conversation this week in the football facility.

Is it too late in the year for that to be the case, or was that simply a bad night in the Coliseum?

The Ohio State defense had been on the upswing leading up to that game, and USC has weapons on offense so it’s not like a shutout was ever in the offing.

The Ducks do, too, and, as mentioned, the big play is really their only shot at pulling an upset Saturday if the Ohio State offense is able to do much of anything.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia prefers to play bend-but-don’t break anyway, so that plays into his hands. But that style doesn’t work if guys are not running full speed to the ball.

The biggest surprise to come out of L.A. was self-accusations of loafing on USC’s explosive plays that proved to be the difference in the game.

That also continued to be a topic of conversation this week, leading to one of the most incredible statements I can ever remember hearing in 20-plus years of attending these press conferences.

“I think guys just had a lot of faith that people were gonna make that solo tackle, and the running backs did a good job, and tight ends did a good job of breaking those tackles,” Ohio State middle linebacker Payton Pierce said.

That is some incredible spin, though I don’t think he meant it that way because Payton Pierce is an earnest football player, not a crafty communications expert.

He is a captain of the football team, though, and he fell on the sword.

“That’s on me, and that’s on all the leaders,” Pierce said. “That’s unacceptable. We’re the Silver Bullets, we gotta be flying to the ball every play, expecting them to miss the tackle, and having 11 hats on the football every time.”

If you dissect it, his statement makes sense and is consistent with playing sound defense.

Since even before I was attending those press conferences, the mantra was they need “11 Silver Bullets flying to the ball.”

Not only does that sound cool, it’s also practical because it lets guys be aggressive in going for a tackle knowing someone will be right behind them if they miss. That is the surest way to prevent big plays, no doubt.

So was the public shaming enough for the defense to turn it around?

The last time they laid an egg — six weeks ago against Illinois — the Ohio State defense responded with much better showing against Iowa, Maryland and Indiana.

The message after the Illinois game revolved around everyone doing their job, ironically the opposite of Pierce’s message. Then hero ball — guys doing too much — was the concern. Now it’s not doing enough. Maybe that means they can find a happy medium.

Whatever the case, Oregon should provide a bigger test than almost anyone the Buckeyes face.

Better to assume the Ducks will be loaded for bear than looking forward to the offseason.

To that end, focus still seems to be on the mental aspect of the game this week.

Psychology has become a major interest of Day over the past few years, and this week was another example as he shared his messages to the team.

“It’s extremely important, and for those guys, I know that they understand, but I’m constantly reminding them that this is an opportunity to leave a legacy,” Day said. “This is it, right now. And so if there’s conversations that you feel like you need to have, if there’s guys you need to challenge, we cannot waste any time. Every moment is critical to get these things fixed and to go play our best game on Saturday.”

Will those words of wisdom land the way Day wants?

Will Fahey’s passes find their intended targets?

Will the real Ohio State defense please stand up?

Welcome to the Enigma Bowl.