Friday, January 9, 2015

Why Ohio State will beat Oregon

Actually, there's two reasons, neither of which has much to do with the actual talent level of the two teams we'll see in the national championship game. There are times when "higher powers" intervene to pre-determine the outcome of any particular game. I'll get back to that.

Both the Ducks and Buckeyes are 13-1 teams. Let's take a brief look at each.

Ohio State. Given what we've seen lately, it seems almost bizarre they could have lost at home to Virgina Tech 35-21. But that was way back on Sept. 6. The Buckeyes are now on their third string quarterback and, instead of getting worse, they seem to keep getting stronger. Go figure. Yes, they had some close calls along the way, notably needing two overtimes to defeat Penn State on the road, but all good teams have nail-biters yet find a way to win. Further, they absolutely obliterated an otherwise very good Wisconsin team in the Big Ten championship game to the tune of 59-0, and went on to defeat #1 ranked Alabama fair and square (42-35) in the Sugar Bowl semi-finals. Very impressive stuff.

Oregon. They too suffered an early season loss (Oct. 2), at home, to Arizona (31-24). Like the Buckeyes, the Ducks survived some other close games throughout the season, but pretty much rolled. Fast forward to Dec. 5 in the Pac 12 championship game. They would exact their revenge in a large way over the very same Arizona Wildcats, at a neutral site, by blistering them 51-13. On New Year's day in the Rose Bowl (the other semi-final), the Ducks ran the defending champion Florida State Seminoles out of the building. The 59-20 final score was even somewhat deceptive as to how lop-sided the game actually was. Oregon sent in their second-stringers for the fourth quarter or they might have scored 80. In short, it was a beatdown. Also very impressive stuff.

So basically, we have two teams on a roll that will lock horns for the championship. What to make of it? A few things.

The wise-guys in Vegas have the Ducks as almost a touchdown favorite. Entirely plausible. They've got a Heisman winning QB and speed galore all over the field. Plus, I dare say, nationally speaking, Oregon is a sentimental favorite. Everybody likes ducks, including yours truly. I go to the local nature center occasionally to feed them cracked corn in the warmer months. Lovable little critters.

Even though I looked it up once, I'm still not sure just what exactly a "buckeye" is. Near as I could tell, it's a species of tree, or the nuts that grow on those trees. Why a fine university like Ohio State would name their teams after such things remains a mystery indeed. They must know something the rest of us don't. Then again, I've travelled through Ohio on many, many occasions and didn't see much else of interest. Maybe Buckeyes was the best name they could come up with. Beats me. Besides, they have other teams in that state called the Zips and Mudhens. Maybe Buckeyes isn't so bad after all.

Nevertheless, the two compelling (higher power) reasons mentioned above why Ohio State will be crowned champions are as follows ------

First, the latest issue of Sports Illustrated -- on their cover -- predicts Oregon will win 45-41. SI has a lot of great writers who pen a lot of terrific articles. But anyone familiar with their history knows they seldom get it right when it comes to picks, and being featured on their cover is almost like a curse. This is a bad omen for Oregon.

Much more importantly, my boss, aka the dastardly Henry the VIII of sports editors, has weighed in and predicted the Buckeyes will win the game. Far be it from a humble servant such as myself to dare raise his voice in disagreement after royalty has issued a proclamation. Given a choice, I'd much prefer my head remained attached to my torso.

But I'm  still going to root for the Ducks. Shhhhhh





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