Oregon vs. Ohio State: Biggest Storylines in College Football Championship 2015
In a game as big as Monday night's national championship showdown between Ohio State and Oregon, the spotlight is never owned by one single storyline.
The Ducks and Buckeyes both beat some tough odds and overcame a plethora of setbacks to get here. Each team bounced back from early-season losses to play its best football down the stretch of the season. But with legacies to play for, there's nowhere to look but forward for these two teams looking to notch a program-defining win.
As tends to be the case in the days leading up to a championship game, every single potential facet of the game is being analyzed (and overanalyzed) as Monday draws nearer.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Let's go ahead and take a look at what three of those top storylines are below.
Top Storylines for Oregon vs. Ohio State
Out with the Old, In with the New
The simple fact that Ohio State is here is either a testament to its offense's cohesiveness, a showcase of its depth at quarterback or both.
Star quarterback Braxton Miller was sidelined just before the season's start. Freshman J.T. Barrett posted a nearly historic 2014 season in relief of Miller, but he suffered a season-ending injury against Michigan just before the crucial Big Ten title game against Wisconsin.
Enter Cardale Jones.
The sophomore quarterback (once a third-stringer) led the Buckeyes to a 59-0 win over Wisconsin and then an improbable 42-35 victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. He combined for 500 passing yards, four touchdowns and just one interception in the two games.
Jones has stayed prepared despite being buried on the depth chart, and it's paid off.
“Everybody sees him as a two-game starter," Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman told ESPN.com's Chris Low. "But when Cardale came to Ohio State, this is fully what he expected to be. When you expect that, meeting those expectations doesn’t surprise you. This isn’t a shock to him.”
Jones had no trouble executing Ohio State's offense to perfection against two of the nation's top defenses in Wisconsin and Alabama. Against Oregon, he could be in for even more success, as CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd noted the Ducks' defensive ineptitude:
The Ducks have an athletic and underrated front seven that could give Jones and running back Ezekiel Elliott problems, but Jones can remedy that with a few accurate strikes down the field. His deep balls have been money ever since he took the starting position, but they will have to be on point again versus the Ducks.
Short-Handed Speedsters
Oregon's offense prides itself on attacking opponents in a variety of ways, which inevitably puts the balls in the hands of as many as a dozen different playmakers in a single game.
But even an offense with the many wrinkles of Oregon's can't help but be fazed by what has hit the receiver position.
Notable wide receiver Devon Allen is out for the championship after suffering an injury in the Rose Bowl, and the issues got even worse in the days leading up to Monday. As first reported by Aaron Fentress of Comcast Northwest, receiver Darren Carrington failed a NCAA drug test and will miss Monday's game.
Tyson Alger of The Oregonian put the loss of the two Ducks wideouts in perspective:
There's no doubt that the losses will hit the Ducks offense hard. Byron Marshall leads the team in receiving with 66 catches and 834 yards, but Carrington and Allen are second and third in receiving yardage on the team, respectively.
"It will not be a distraction," Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said (via ESPN's Brett McMurphy). "It's a great, great thing to talk about and the only thing that I'll talk about from that standpoint is confirm that it's an NCAA policy that is in play here and he's ineligible for this game, and we'll ride."
The losses will make the impacts of Charles Nelson and Keanon Lowe all the more important. Both are regarded primarily as slot receivers but will inevitably have to make some sort of impact on the outside to help out Marcus Mariota.
The (No) Turnover Battle
It seems like it would go without saying that turnovers will loom large in a game of this magnitude, but it could end up being the deciding factor in Monday's title game.
Turnovers have been a key recipe to success for both teams, especially the Ducks. Oregon leads the FBS in turnover margin entering Monday, with a plus-20 differential for the season.
As of late, though, turnovers have been even more important for both teams.
Ohio State turned it over twice in the first half against Alabama, both of which led directly to Crimson Tide touchdowns. But when the Buckeyes played a turnover-free second half, they were able to pull away all while forcing three interceptions from Blake Sims.
As for Oregon, it forced turnover after turnover in the second half against Florida State to ride to a breezy 59-20 win in the Rose Bowl. After that game, WTVN's Matt McCoy captured Oregon's season-long dominance in the turnover department:
Mariota has been especially careful with the ball this season, having scored 56 total touchdowns to just three interceptions thrown. One of those came in the Rose Bowl, however, and the Buckeyes are peaking when it comes to forcing interceptions from opposing quarterbacks.
If Mariota is able to play a turnover-free game and take care of the ball for Oregon offensively, a few Buckeye mishaps offensively could help put the Ducks over the top.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
