ESPN College Gameday 2024: TV Schedule, Predictions and Location for Week 7
The ESPN College Gameday crew rolls into Eugene for a titanic showdown between No. 3 Oregon Ducks and the visiting No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes.
The teams meet for the first time on Saturday as members of the same Big Ten conference, with College Football Playoff and national title aspirations.
Who walks away from the marquee game victoriously and where can you check out College Gameday's coverage of all of the Week 7 action?
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Find out with this preview.
Info
Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 9:00 a.m. EST
TV: ESPN, ESPN U
Streaming: ESPN+
Location: Memorial Quad at the University of Oregon
Crew: Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Pete Thamel, Stanford Steve, Jen Lada, and Jess Sims
Preview and Prediction
Ohio State's defense should be the story of Saturday's game.
The Buckeyes rank first in the nation in overall defense, allowing just 202.4 yards per game.
If that is not enough, the team's scoring and red zone defense should be.
Ohio State has allowed just 6.8 points per game through the first seven weeks of the season and is tied for third in red zone scoring rate at 60 percent.
The nation's No. 2 team has demonstrated a truly elite defense. Some will argue that it has yet to play a team with a strong offense or even a competitive matchup, though, with one-sided wins over Iowa, Michigan State, Marshall, WMU, and Akron.
How the team performs against an Oregon team that averages 458.6 yards and 35 points per game is the question.
Benefitting the Buckeyes is the fact that the Ducks have struggled mightily to create big plays down the field. It is a methodical offense that eats up small chunks of yardage but has not yet developed the explosive plays that help them score quickly in high-pressure situations.
That does not bode well for them against an opponent that is the fourth-ranked offense in the nation and averaging 46 points per game. Those numbers are even more impressive considering that Ohio State quarterback Will Howard has only attempted passes of 20 yards or more on 11 percent of his dropbacks.
If Oregon can someone slow an Ohio State rushing game that averages 222.2 yards per game and force Howard to try and beat them and their stout defense (10th, 263.4 yards per game), it will have a chance to keep things close.
Despite the lack of competition, Ohio State has been more consistent this season and their defense will allow them to remain in any game.
Assuming Oregon cannot shut down TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, the Buckeyes may start slow but will ultimately rush their way to a high-stakes victory in one of the most important games of the college football season yet.
Prediction: Ohio State wins by 10
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