No. 12 Oregon gets stiff test on the road at No. 3 Ohio St

No. 12 Oregon (1-0) at No. 3 Ohio State (1-0), Saturday at noon EDT (FOX).

Line: Ohio State by 14 ½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Series record: Ohio State leads 9-0.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

C.J. Stroud, Ohio State’s new starting quarterback, wants to show he is a worthy heir to Justin Fields. After some early jitters, the freshman had an outstanding second half as the Buckeyes pulled away from Minnesota 45-31 in the opener on Thursday. Success for Ohio State will depend on Stroud’s continued development. Oregon gets a measuring-stick game after surviving unranked Fresno State on Saturday. Ohio Stadium will be at full capacity of over 100,000.

KEY MATCHUP

Ohio State’s offensive line vs. Oregon’s defensive front. The Buckeyes O-line is huge, even by Buckeyes standards, and just as talented. The unit was tested against Minnesota’s pass rush and will have another fight on its hands against Oregon’s front, although the unit may be without star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, who left Saturday’s game at halftime with a left ankle injury. The Oregon defense had four sacks, eight tackles-for-loss and four forced fumbles in the opener.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Oregon: With Thibodeaux’s status uncertain, freshman linebacker Justin Flowe will be asked to do more. Flowe logged 14 tackles against Fresno State and forced a fumble that set up the game-tying field goal. He was limited to one game during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season due to a knee injury.

Ohio State: Social media was howling for Ohio State to bench Stroud after the Buckeyes trailed at halftime 14-10. The 19-year-old came out in the second half and blew away the Gophers, throwing for four touchdowns and racking up 246 of his total 294 yards passing.

FACTS & FIGURES

This season is the 100th in Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes. They christened their new home with a 5-0 victory over Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 7, 1922. … The Ducks are looking for their first win over a top-five team since they beat No. 5 Utah in the 2019 Pac-12 Championship game. … The Buckeyes ran 48 offensive plays at Minnesota but averaged a school-record 10.3 yards per play. … Ohio State is 6-0 in game in which receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson each catch a touchdown pass, which they did against Minnesota.

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