Yeah, I wonder if this is going to be like the Oregon-Auburn shampship game where everyone's expecting a 59-56 game and it ends up being low scoring because they're so used to each other's style of play.
i think it will be somewhere in between. both of these offenses are very deep and have so many players they can spread the ball to, so even if the other knows what's coming, they should score.
in 2010 darron thomas was not a threat to run the ball which took so much away since the DL was blowing the oregon line up and not worried about any keeps on read plays. jeff maehl was a great receiver, but the depth of skill players was nowhere near what it is today. it was basically james, barner, maehl. david and tuinei were solid and reliable, but not the best athletes.
similarly, auburn had limited options if cam newton didn't get going. he was their leading rusher and they had to rely on guys like kodi burns and philip lutzenhufdihf in the passing games.
the thing that makes ohio state and oregon so hard to stop this year is who do you key on?
thomas tyner had not played since 11/8 and had 13 carries for 124 yards yesterday. freeman, mariota, marshall, and nelson could touch the ball on any run.
even with pharaoh brown and devon allen out, oregon still has 5 people who have caught 20 passes or more. carrington has 14 catches, 2 TDs, and 291 yards over the past 2 games.
evan baylis had 4 catches going into the game yesterday, and had 6.
so the ball can go to any of:
marshall
mariota
lowe
carrington
stanford
baylis
nelson
freeman
tyner
on any play. you have to account for every eligible skill player on the field. that makes them awfully hard to stop, even if you know what play may be coming.
ohio state is the same way. especially in the passing game. no one has more than 50 catches, and 10 players have 10 catches or more. why do you think it has looked so easy for barrett and jones to step in there?
if you don't break into the backfield against these teams, you have little chance of stopping them.
if ohio state doesn't get to mariota and make plays in the backfield, they are toast. as oregon's defense showed yesterday, they will be content to let teams chip away and hope they make mistakes. i don't expect this to change with jones at qb.
i don't see a scenario where ohio state wins if they aren't mauling oregon's o-line. but given what i've seen of them, that's not out of the realm of possibility. oregon showed that vulnerability against teams like utah, arizona, michigan state at points during the season, but mariota bailed them out and the line is healthier now.