Folks, it's duck season.
I'll be honest, I have very little beef with Oregon. I found it extremely difficult to drum up any real, deep-rooted pregame hate for this team.
That seems like a rather innocuous statement to make, when you really break it down, it's about the most demeaning and disrespectful thing I could possibly say. Because while they're out here trying to build a powerhouse program that routinely competes for titles and garners national attention, all they've ever been to my favorite football team is a footnote to its success.
Ohio State has played Oregon nine times and won nine times. The only game that was even within one score happened before The Beatles existed. Ohio State's clowned on their lone Heisman Trophy winner, ripped roses out of their mouths on multiple occasions, and taken a national championship from them in a three-touchdown game that really felt more like the Buckeyes playing with their food.
Oregon is a fine program. They win a lot of games. They have nice facilities, probably more uniform combinations than actual games, and unofficially use Donald Duck as their mascot, which is cool I guess. But the next time I genuinely fear Oregon will be the first time.
Today, the Ducks show up in Columbus as the No. 12 team in the country in Ohio State's biggest non-conference game in years looking for a statement win against one of the most elite programs in the country. And I'm... perfectly at peace, ready for another nooner?
I'm sure there's some arrogance at play here – that's fine, I'm an Ohio State fan blogger in 2021, what do you want from me? But really, what has Oregon really done in the past decade to command my respect? Beat Wisconsin a couple of times in the postseason? Neat! My team does that annually.
The reality is that the Ducks posit themselves as an elite team, but have done almost nothing to cement that status, despite chance after chance. That's their DNA. That's who they are. That's what they do.
Now, they could shut me up and make me look like an arrogant jackass for my Internet words today. But they won't. And everyone knows it. Especially this guy.
Word of the Day: Battue.
TODAY'S MENU. The good news is, we've got ourselves two top-12 matchups on the slate today. The bad news is, that's uh... pretty much it!
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois at Virginia | 11:00am | ACCN |
| Indiana State at Northwestern | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Youngstown State at Michigan State | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Tulsa at Oklahoma State | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| South Carolina at East Carolina | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Pitt at Tennessee | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| #12 Oregon at #3 Ohio State | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Miami (Ohio) at Minnesota | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| #13 Florida at USF | 1:00pm | ABC |
| Rutgers at Syracuse | 2:00pm | ACCN |
| Ball State at #11 Penn State | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| Air Force at Navy | 3:30pm | CBS |
| UAB at #2 Georgia | 3:30pm | ESPN2 |
| #5 Texas A&M at Colorado | 3:30pm | FOX |
| Buffalo at Nebraska | 3:30pm | BTN |
| #10 Iowa at #9 Iowa State | 4:30pm | ABC |
| SC State at #6 Clemson | 5:00pm | ACCN |
| NC State at Mississippi State | 7:00pm | ESPN2 |
| #15 Texas at Arkansas | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Appalachian State at #22 Miami (FL) | 7:00pm | ESPNU |
| Eastern Michigan at #18 Wisconsin | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Idaho at Indiana | 7:30pm | BTN |
| Missouri at Kentucky | 7:30pm | SECN |
| Howard at Maryland | 7:30pm | BTN |
| Washington at Michigan | 8:00pm | ABC |
| #21 Utah at BYU | 10:15pm | ESPN |
| Stanford at #14 USC | 10:30pm | FOX |
| UNLV at #23 Arizona State | 10:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Hawaii at Oregon State | 11:00pm | FS1 |
GAMEDAY IS HERE. For the first time in over 600 days, we've got ourselves a game day in Columbus. And even the street signs are dressed for the occasion.
It's been too long, Columbus.
To those of you going to the Concrete Cathedral today, yell some unkind words at the team in white for me, cool?
WINNERS ONLY.
- Ohio State -14.5 against Oregon. Oregon gave up almost 300 yards through the air to Fresno State a week ago. Forgive me for not being at all optimistic that they'll be anywhere close to effective against an offense that averaged more than 10 yards per play last week. Am I a homer? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean this isn't the right pick.
- Rutgers -2 against Syracuse. Yes, I am taking Rutgers – *RUTGERS* – on the road against a Power Five team, and I'm laying two points. Why? Because the Scarlet Knights are the significantly better team.
- Iowa +4.5 against Iowa State. I have no idea why everyone was sleeping on Iowa this offseason, and I have no idea everyone keeps giving way too much credit to an Iowa State team that's never earned it. Iowa's defense is legit, the running game is solid, and they looked way better in Week One. Hawkeyes are going to win straight up, but I'll take the points.
- Texas -7 against Arkansas. I was impressed with what I saw from Texas last week against what I think is a very solid Louisiana team. I'm not going to say Texas is *back* per se, but Sark's offense looks already looks significantly better than anything Tom Herman rolled out the past four seasons, which is wild given that Herman was the founder of MENSA.
- Washington +6.5 against Michigan. Look, I've seen this movie too many times. Michigan fans are flying way too high right now after a win over a Directional Michigan in the season opener in which they lost their best player to an injury. Washington may have lost its opener to Montana, but I think Michigan's going to have some problems against this Huskie defense.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Joker and the Thief" by Wolfmother.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Taco Bell wants you to send back your used sauce packets so it can refill them... Stop waiting for your soulmate... A girlfriend draws up a 17-page contract for her Tinder love after dating for two weeks... Rain boots, turning tides and the search for a missing boy... Upside-down rhino research wins a Nobel Prize...
