Joel Klatt makes bold prediction for Oregon-Ohio State showdown
10/10/2024 02:54 PM
The biggest Big Ten game of the season is almost here as the Oregon football team will clash with Ohio State this weekend. The Ducks are ranked #3 in the country heading into the game, and the Buckeyes are #2. This one almost feels like a Big Ten title play-in game, and it also wouldn’t be surprising at all if this was a sneak-peek at this year’s conference championship game.
Oregon will be hosting this one as the Ohio State football team will be making the cross-country trip to Eugene for the game. The Buckeyes are favored, but it is still huge for the Ducks that they are at home in this one.
“Autzen Stadium is one of the best environments in college football,” Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt said in regard to matchup. “It is fabulous up there, and Oregon is outstanding at home. In fact, if you look down, you’ll realize that the Ducks have won 34 of their last 35 in Autzen Stadium. Their only loss was back in 2022 over that span to Washington. So the Ducks know how to get it done at home.”
Joel Klatt loves the home-field advantage that the Oregon football team gets, but he is actually still going with Ohio State to get the win this weekend.
“I think Ohio State goes on the road and they get the win,” Klatt said. “Ohio State is favored by three and a half. I actually think they cover that three and a half. I like Ohio State something like 28-22. 22 is an odd number. I know that. But remember, Oregon always will go for two at some point and so they always kind of have those odd numbers in terms of their offense, so I like 28-22 Buckeyes getting the win on the road against Oregon.”
Keys to the game from Joel Klatt
Joel Klatt also discussed what he has seen from both of these teams this year and what matchups he likes. For Oregon, the Ducks need to continue to protect Dillon Gabriel so that he can let his elite wide receivers feast.
“Remember, they were giving up far too many sacks and too many pressures for Dillon Gabriel early in the year, but they seem to have fixed that,” Klatt said. “They shuffled up the offensive line. They changed some guys around, namely the guard, center, guard position, and now they have not allowed a sack in their last three games. So that reshuffle has certainly helped. You can also see that Dillon Gabriel is more comfortable and the ball is coming out of his hand much sooner. That’s what I see when I watch the film. This is an Oregon team that their wide receivers are, I think, probably the best part of their offense. It’s a great matchup against the Ohio State secondary. We’re going to get to see if this Ohio State defensive line can get to Dillon Gabriel.”
For the Ohio State football, the key is running the football. The Ducks have shown some weaknesses in their run stopping game, and that could make the difference in this one.
“Ohio State has no shortage of weapons,” Klatt continued. “Jeremiah Smith, you know how I feel about him. He was number five in my Heisman list that I gave out yesterday. And I think with Ohio State’s ability to run the football and throw the football, they’re averaging 220 yards on the ground. You know what Ashton Jeanty did to this Oregon defense. Ashton Geanty, by the way, went for 192 against this Oregon team in this building in week two of the season. So there’s no reason for me to believe that Ohio State can’t run the football against Oregon, if they did it against Iowa, if Jeanty was able to do it against Oregon. It it is plausible, and I would say even likely, that Ohio State does well on the ground. If they do that, they win the game.”
No matter what happens, this should be a close battle, and it’s definitely a game that you won’t want to miss.
Oregon and Ohio State will kick off at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT on Saturday night from Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The game will be airing on NBC, and the Buckeyes are currently favored by three points.
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