The Surprising X-Factor in Oregon vs. Ohio State National Championship

Darron Lee didn't even come to Ohio State as a linebacker. 

As Gerry Ahern of USA Today noted, Lee, a redshirt freshman, was a high school quarterback for New Albany High School (Ohio) and joined the Buckeyes as a safety. Now in the middle of the Buckeyes defense, he has turned into one of the most pleasant surprises in major college football. On Monday night against Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship, he can be the game's surprising X-factor. 

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Lee emerged in the second half of the season, recording at least five tackles in five of the last six games. In all, he's third on the team with 73 tackles. In the 42-35 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama, Lee was named the game's Most Outstanding Defensive Player with seven tackles and a pair of sacks. 

In fact, Lee is second on Ohio State's defense in sacks (7.5) only to star defensive end Joey Bosa (13.5). However, sacking Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota might not be Lee's No. 1 priority—at least ideally. 

Lee's job against the Ducks? Spend less time in the backfield and more time using his speed to slow down Oregon's offense in space. 

In an interview with Martin Rickman of Sports Illustrated, Pac-12 Network analyst and ex-USC assistant Yogi Roth said the Buckeyes must get pressure on Mariota with their defensive line: 

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If you look at the history of teams who have had success against Marcus, they’ve had the ability to get pressure with their interior defensive linemen. They’re extremely gap sound, and their overhang players [linebackers or a strong safety in the box] have done an incredible job of playing really fast and stringing out plays. If you put on the Stanford film from years ago, they had a really talented guy on the edge who was so big and long that they played their gap, did not have to guess and just strung it out to the sideline and used it as an extra defender. If you can do that, you’re going to have a chance.

"

And, indeed, the Buckeyes have one of the best defensive lines in the country. Matt Brown of Sports on Earth calls the matchup of Ohio State's D-line vs. Mariota the best of the season. If any team can disrupt Oregon's offense with its front four, it's Ohio State. 

But as good as Ohio State's D-line is, it's not perfect. Ohio State ranks 34th nationally against the run at 3.9 yards per rush, as Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com noted.

What happens defensively behind that loaded front four will be important as well. Oregon's offense hasn't been stopped all season. In their lone loss—31-24 to Arizona on Oct. 2—the Ducks were held to season lows in total yards (446) and yards per play (6.03). That's still a good day for a lot of teams. 

Stats and history say that Ohio State isn't going to shut Oregon down completely, even though the Ducks will be without receivers Darren Carrington (suspension) and Devon Allen (knee injury) and tight end Pharaoh Brown (knee injury). 

As such, there's a good chance Lee will make a lot of tackles and great individual plays even if his defense is giving up yards. And for as fast as Oregon goes at times, the Ducks are surprisingly (and impressively) not prone to turnovers. 

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#Oregon turns the ball over on just 5.1 percent of its drives this season. That’s the lowest rate by any team in the last decade.

— David Hale (@DavidHaleESPN) January 12, 2015"

Oregon is probably going to get its yards and its points. Lee's job is to make the Ducks earn everything and hunker down in the red zone. 

He'll have to wear a lot of hats in the process by stopping the run and the pass. He'll be asked to stretch the field and make one-on-one plays as well as get into a phone booth against an offense that is more physical than in years past. 

"He is an amazing athlete," Mariota told Ahern about Lee. "He is always around the ball."

Ohio State's defensive line will grab the headlines, but Lee is as important to the Buckeyes' success as anyone on the field. If he has a great game, Ohio State has a strong chance of taking home the first playoff national championship. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.