Oregon vs. Ohio State: Matchups to Watch in College Football Championship 2015
The national championship showdown between Oregon and Ohio State is being billed as a clash between the Heisman-winning Marcus Mariota and the third-stringer Cardale Jones or the historically dominant Urban Meyer against the up-and-coming Mark Helfrich.
However, the two quarterbacks (or the two coaches for that matter) are not on the field at the same time. The outcome will ultimately come down to more immediate and direct matchups between different units that actually square off with each other.
With that in mind, here is a look at a couple of marquee matchups to watch in the title game.
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Ohio State Red-Zone Offense vs. Oregon Red-Zone Defense
Oregon’s offense is getting plenty of attention heading into the national title game, and rightly so, but Ohio State brings one of the country’s best units to the table as well. The Buckeyes were fifth in the nation in scoring offense, 10th in rushing and just dropped a cool 42 points and 537 total yards on Alabama’s supposedly shutdown SEC defense.
However, the Buckeyes had to settle for two field goals after getting stopped inside the 10-yard line on their first two scoring drives in the Sugar Bowl.
Oregon’s defense, on the other hand, epitomized the bend-don’t-break approach against Florida State in the Rose Bowl, allowing 528 yards of total offense but only 20 points. Included in that effort was a fourth-down stop of Jameis Winston at the goal line and five forced turnovers, many of which ended promising drives.
Statistically, Ohio State was 54th in red-zone scoring percentage, but a more impressive 20th in touchdown percentage, while Oregon’s defense was 56th in opponent red-zone touchdown conversions.
Ira Schoffel of Warchant.com and Fox Sports 1 and Greg Biggins of Scout.com pointed out the importance of Oregon’s defensive efforts in the red zone, while Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat noted that the Ducks defense was different closer to the end zone:
That last tweet from Clark highlights a key issue in the title game. Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones should be able to run the ball on the Ducks considering they just dominated Alabama on the ground, but Florida State was able to move the ball on the ground as well. You saw how well that worked out for the Seminoles when they couldn’t convert with touchdowns.
It is nearly impossible to topple the Ducks and their high-flying attack by settling for field goals on the offensive side.
Mariota and company are going to score points, regardless of how impressive Ohio State’s defense can be at times. The Buckeyes have to take advantage of their own scoring opportunities more effectively than Florida State, otherwise they will find themselves behind early and fighting an uphill battle all game.
Marcus Mariota/Oregon Offensive Line vs. Ohio State Defensive Line
Everything Oregon does on offense relies on two things—the offensive line’s ability to give Mariota the time to make decisions and Mariota’s ability to escape pressure and make the correct reads.
Mariota’s decision-making on read-option plays is the engine that drives the Ducks. Even some of Oregon’s pass plays are read-option type of designs where Mariota has the choice between handing it off, keeping it himself or throwing to the receiver in the flat or up the seam. Considering he won the Heisman Trophy and has his team in the title game, he usually makes the right decision.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer discussed Mariota on the ESPN telecast after the Sugar Bowl, via Bill Bender of Sporting News: “I think their quarterback is outstanding. I love their people. It’s a program I have a lot of respect for.”
For as excellent as Oregon’s quarterback is, decision-making is much more difficult when you are under constant pressure. Ohio State’s loaded defensive line could make life particularly difficult for Mariota if it plays up to its capabilities.
The Buckeyes feature Joey Bosa, Michael Bennett, Steve Miller and Adolphus Washington as one of the best groups in the country, and their pressure up front forced Alabama quarterback Blake Sims into a number of crippling mistakes in the Sugar Bowl.
Bosa (13.5 sacks, first-team Associated Press All-American) and Bennett (third-team Associated Press All-American) get most of the credit as the two superstars and future NFL players, but Miller turned in the critical pick-six in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama, while Washington often took advantage of the two blockers on either Bennett or Bosa and generated a push up the middle.
A consistent pass rush will give the Ohio State secondary a better chance to keep up with Oregon’s speedy wide receivers (just like it helped the corners at least contain Amari Cooper from going off in the Sugar Bowl) and possibly even force Mariota into a rare mistake. What’s more, a consistent push against the run will give the linebackers more freedom to operate in space and potentially put the Ducks behind the chains on first and second downs.
Oregon’s offensive line was only 86th in the country in sacks allowed, but that is a bit misleading because the Ducks were without multiple offensive linemen because of injuries earlier in the season. The unit is largely healthy now and protecting Mariota much more effectively.
However, Ohio State’s defense is eighth in the nation with 43 sacks, so Oregon’s front is going to have its hands full.
The Ducks are one of the most dynamic offenses in all of college football (second in scoring, 11th in passing and 18th in rushing), but even they will have trouble moving the ball without proper protection up front.
The main reason Ohio State beat Oregon in the 2010 Rose Bowl was the defensive line’s ability to dominate up front. LaMichael James, Jeremiah Masoli and company only racked up 260 yards of total offense, which was shockingly low for the Oregon attack.
Granted, that was a much different Oregon team, but if Bosa and the rest of the Buckeyes defensive line can dominate up front like their 2010 counterpart did, we could see a similar result.
*Stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
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