It’s been six years since Ohio State and Oregon have played on the same football field, with their last meeting coming in the first-ever College Football Playoffs National Championship game. Ohio State won (convincingly) then, but can they do so again in this week two, top 15 college football matchup?
This week’s games featuring No. 12 Oregon Ducks against No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the biggest of the week, serving as an early season test and potential standout performance when it comes time for the College Football Selection Committee to try and pick the four best teams in the country.
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Ohio State vs. Oregon is taking place at noon ET on Fox, here is what you need to know about it.
Ohio State vs. Oregon matchup preview
While the game marks the first time the Buckeyes and Ducks have met since the 2015 national championship game, it is the 10th meeting overall between the two schools from the Big Ten and Pac 12, respectively. The history of the matchup has been completely one sided, as Ohio State holds an undefeated record against Oregon in their nine previous meetings. What will it take for Oregon to finally break that streak?
Oregon started their season with a bit of a fight, besting Fresno State by a single score, 31-24. While a win is a win, the Ducks struggled to put up a dominating performance and to add insult to literal injury, star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered an ankle injury in the game against Fresno and is considered day-to-day, leaving his status for the matchup with Ohio State uncertain.
If the Oregon defense is hindered by the absence of its stars, it will fall to quarterback Anthony Brown and the rest of the offense to make up the difference. However, this Oregon offense isn’t the same as the high-flying from the early 2010s; they may try to win the ball possession battle against Ohio State rather than get in a shootout with the Buckeyes.
As for Ohio State, their score was more impressive than their play in their season opening 45-31 win against Minnesota. The Gophers took the lead in the second quarter and would hold it for a good way into the third quarter before Ohio State got an offensive and defensive touchdown in quick succession to take the lead back for good.
The game will be the second career start for quarterback C.J. Stroud, and his first in front of his home crowd. Any nerves might be eased however by having the dynamic weapons of wide receiver Chris Olave and running backs Miyan Williams and Master Teague III. However, with or without Thibodeaux, the Ducks defense is more likely to be able to match up against Ohio State and their playmakers than Minnesota was.
Ohio State is currently a 14.5 point favorite over Oregon.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Oregon
Ohio State vs. Oregon will be airing on Fox at noon ET on Saturday, Sept. 11. Having the game on Fox means that it will be available on local Fox stations in all markets, which is available on essentially every traditional cable and satellite provider out there, as well as being accessible for TV viewers utilizing a good old fashioned TV antenna.
Fox is also available through live TV streaming services that include Fubo TV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV. With all those services, Fox is included in all base packages except Sling TV, which features two packages that start at $35 per month, Orange and Blue; Fox is available just on Sling TV Blue.
There are some streaming options for the game as well. The first is through the Fox Sports app, however to access you need to be signed up for a service that offers Fox. Pac 12 Live, the streaming channel for the Pac 12 athletic conference, will also offer a live stream of the game.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Oregon from anywhere
Buckeyes and Ducks not in a place where they can watch the Fox broadcast, or without the necessary signups to stream the game, can still root for their teams by using a virtual private network, better known as a VPN. A VPN is designed to route network traffic through a specific set of servers in a specific country, allowing viewers to watch content on an encrypted feed over a computer.
