Oregon hosted Ohio St on Saturday in what was a matchup of 2 vs 3. Oregon came out victorious with a 32-31 win on a game winning field goal with under 2 minutes remaining. In this game you were able to see why both teams were so highly regarded coming into the season and through the half way point of the season. Coming out of the game both teams look like they can contend for a National Title. Both teams are walk out of there with some glaring weaknesses as well.
Ohio State’s calling card was supposed to be their defense going into the season. It is a veteran unit that looked really good on paper. The only problem though is that Ohio St faced one of the weaker schedules in the country leading up to this game. By playing such a weak schedule you were not able to see any problems that this team could possibly have. The problems got exposed though in their first true test. The defense got absolutely torched by Oregon. The secondary could not cover Oregon’s receivers downfield and the Ohio St offensive line was not able to get any push up front. The Buckeyes have plenty of time though to fix their defensive problems. They do not face another offense that could give them challenges until the Big 10 Championship when they can potentially rematch with Oregon, or not until the playoff. That is possibly a good thing because it means they have about two months to correct what went wrong against Oregon.
Oregon walks out victorious. As great as their win was they better be on high alert when they face Purdue on Friday because it is a massive letdown spot and one that you can’t just walk into and expect to be given the game. Big 10 teams that have traveled cross country this year to play a game are only 2-9 on the season. The only two wins came from Indiana beating UCLA in Los Angeles and this past weekend Penn St beating USC at USC. But with this win, Oregon is in the pole position to win the Big 10 regular season and get to the Championship Game in their first year in the Conference.
Winners of the Weekend:
Oregon- defeating Ohio St puts the Ducks in the a very good spot and solidifies them as a true National Title Contender after a bumpy start.
Pitt- The Panthers are 6-0 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC. Pitt controls their own destiny at this point. With their toughest game remaining being home against Clemson, they can be a serious player in the conference.
LSU- The Tigers defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 29-26 in a OT thriller in Death Valley. With that win, LSU basically eliminated Ole Miss from Playoff Contention. LSU also solidified themselves as one of the second tier teams in the SEC with that win.
Losers of the Weekend:
Ole Miss- This Rebels team went into the season with such high expectations. People in Oxford were calling this the greatest Ole Miss team assembled. To get knocked out of Playoff Contention in Week 7 is a very bad look for that and their head coach Lane Kiffin.
USC- The Trojans blew what would have been a massive win for the program by blowing a late lead to Penn St and losing the game. The seat is getting hot for Lincoln Riley. As the seasons go by it is obvious he is a really good offensive coordinator, but he is a terrible head coach that makes terrible decisions.
Tennessee/Alabama- Both the Crimson Tide and Volunteers have looked really bad the last two weeks. Everyone knows what both teams are capable of. It is a good thing both face off this weekend. Hopefully, it reawakens both teams and we get to see both of them at their best.
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