Oregon vs. Ohio State: TV Info, Preview for College Football Championship 2015

After a long, wonderful season of college football, the biggest stage is finally set.

Oregon will take on Ohio State in the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 12 after both teams won their semifinal matchups in the inaugural College Football Playoff. It should be a momentous game unlike any other in college football's illustrious history.

"I think it’s good for college football. Once again, we’re part of history. And we also don’t want to swing and miss," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said, via Grantland's Charles P. Pierce.

Oregon capped defending national champion Florida State's epic winning streak at 29 games Thursday at the Rose Bowl, riding a late scoring surge to a thrilling, convincing 59-20 victory.

Later that evening, Ohio State bested Nick Saban's Alabama squad in the Sugar Bowl, 45-32, behind the miraculous play of quarterback Cardale Jones—a third-stringer in principle only, as he would start for a vast majority of college programs—and running back Ezekiel Elliott.

It's a bold step in a new direction for NCAA football, and there couldn't be two better participants for this novel edition of the college football championship, set to take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Meyer is quite possibly the best coach in college football today, while Oregon's been one of the premier programs in the nation over the past half-decade and features this year's Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota. 

Here is the date, time and key viewing info for the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, followed by a quick preview of this historic clash.

College Football Playoff National Championship 2015: Schedule, TV Info

Date: Jan. 12

Time (ET): 8:30 p.m.

Matchup: Oregon vs. Ohio State

Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

TV Info: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Championship Preview

This is a national championship game with an extra layer or two of legitimacy thanks to the new format.

The word "bowl" has been scrubbed from the proceedings, there's no BCS computer in a dark room absorbing controversial results and spitting out data in favor of even more controversial potential champions and the semifinal buildup was a rousing television success, lending credence to the new format.

In fact, the semifinals were such a brilliant display of the new format, the games convinced Pierce of the overriding business interests that may soon make this four-team format a relatively short-lived experiment:

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But there is no question that the idea of a playoff has triumphed among the players themselves. They already sound like basketball players who are between the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. (And if you think the field is going to stay at four teams, I have a used Mercedes-Benz Superdome I’d like to sell you.) The old days of one, two, heck many national champions and an offseason full of entertaining, if unhinged, acrimony are long gone already. The players and the coaches already talk differently, as if there is something more substantial on the line than the top spot in the last AP poll. 

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Really, it's almost impossible not to get wrapped up in the moment, especially considering the talent of the two teams involved.

Just look at Meyer's endearingly transparent reaction upon hearing just how badly his next opponent whooped the defending national champions in the Rose Bowl, via SportsCenter: 

Sure, some probably felt that TCU deserved to be in the playoff over the Buckeyes, but who other than perhaps Baylor's Shawn Oakman wants to argue with a team that hung a 42-spot on the Crimson Tide's sixth-ranked scoring defense?

Meyer's up-tempo, no-huddle offense caused 'Bama fits at times. It's certainly tempting to credit Jones' success to this relentless system—Thursday night was only the sophomore's second career start—but it should be said that just about any championship-caliber defense would have trouble dealing with a quarterback boasting the athletic frame of Cam Newton and the arm strength of Byron Leftwich.

SB Nation's Spencer Hall is clearly a fan of Jones' running ability:

Key to Oregon's chances in this one will be slowing down the instantly famous Jones-to-Devin Smith long-distance connection. Smith reeled in three long touchdowns from Jones against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game and left the Sugar Bowl with another highlight to add to the reel, as SportsCenter can attest:

Jones' atomic arm is a dangerous weapon, and Smith has the launch codes.

Oregon's secondary did well to make up for the absence of star cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who is out for the season, against Jameis Winston and Co. in the Rose Bowl; the team will need another standout performance if it is to win it all on Jan. 12.

The Ducks front seven won't be without its challenges, especially when it comes to containing Sugar Bowl MVP Elliott, who carried the ball 20 times for 230 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference-maker in the game.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

The Seminoles' Dalvin Cook averaged 6.9 yards per carry against Oregon on Thursday; if the Ducks can't slow down the rushing attack, they could be in trouble.

Clearly, Ohio State has a penchant for big plays on offense. It's too bad the Buckeyes defense has to face the Ducks, who know a thing or two about putting together an equalizing touchdown drive in blitzkrieg fashion.

Oregon's first two touchdown drives against the Seminoles were a combined 19 plays that took just five minutes and 11 seconds off the clock. Their first two scoring drives of the third quarter? Ten plays in just under three minutes. 

Mariota accounted for three touchdown in the semifinal (two passing, one rushing). He was superb in the second half of that game and should have little to no trouble splitting Ohio State's defense at the seams and engineering a handful of scoring drives.

Ducks offensive coordinator Scott Frost never lost faith in his star signal-caller.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

"He's such a special player that eventually he's going to make plays," Frost said, via USA Today's Paul Myerberg. "He missed one or two, but he made his fair share too."

Mariota did seem a bit rattled early on, throwing just his third interception of the season in the first half of the game. By comparison, Ohio State picked off Alabama pivot Blake Sims three times in the Sugar Bowl. Mariota won't be that guy in the title game.

Besides, his defense should be strong enough to make up for an errant throw or two in the title game. The Ducks forced five turnovers against Florida State. Jones is human too, right? 

Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa will be one to watch against the Ducks' suspect offensive line, but expect a strong rushing attack led by Thomas Tyner and Royce Freeman to counteract an overeager pass rush. Tyner missed the Civil War game against Oregon State and the Pac-12 title win over Arizona, but ESPN Stats & Info points out he's been hot when able to play:

If there is a way to separate these two high-flying teams, it's coaching. Meyer's had success everywhere he goes—Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and now Ohio State—and is 8-2 in bowl games with two national championships to his credit.

Oregon seamlessly transitioned from Chip Kelly to Mark Helfrich as head coach in 2013, but the head honcho in Eugene can't hold a candle to Meyer's sterling big-game resume, although he is 2-0 in bowl games himself.

Adjustments will be key in this one as Oregon feels out what Jones offers on the day and the Buckeyes essentially play gridiron whack-a-mole against the litany of Nike-clad Ducks who can pop up for a big play at any given moment. It's tough to say if coaching experience will win out in this one, but it's definitely going to be worth tuning in to find out.