College football games do not get much bigger than the one that is set to unfold this weekend in Eugene, where Oregon hosts Ohio State in a top-three showdown and a clash that will determine the early Big Ten title frontrunner. The winner earns an inside track to a first-round College Football Playoff bye and may climb to the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll with a résumé-building victory. Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said ahead of the cross-country trip that this game is one the Buckeyes have had their eyes on for quite some time.
Autzen Stadium will be electric for the first top-five matchup in its history. It is one of the most raucous environments in college football and regularly serves as a decisive x-factor when highly ranked teams travel to the Pacific Northwest. That is a challenge Egbuka said the Buckeyes embrace.
“Hopefully it’s chaotic,” Egbuka said, via Bucknuts. “We want it as hard as possible. We’re just looking forward to the opportunity. It’s kind of been building up to this. We’ve had this one marked on our calendars for a long time, but we didn’t look past any opponent.”
This is the first Big Ten matchup between the Buckeyes and Ducks but not the first time the two big-name programs squared off on a massive stage. The sides have a history in bowl games and met in the national title game in the first year of the Playoff era, and they went head-to-head in a 2021 regular-season clash, as well. Oregon won that most recent meeting in upset fashion, toppling the Buckeyes on their home turf, 35-28.
Neither squad will creep up on the other this week, though. The Week 7 showdown has long been billed as one of the biggest games of the entire season, dating back essentially to the moment the conference announced the matchup.
“I think Oregon’s a good team,” said Egbuka, who played his high school football a few hours north, across the Columbia River. “Obviously they’re undefeated. Going over to the Pacific Northwest is a homecoming game for me, being from Washington. This is kind of the game you dream about when you commit to Ohio State, going and playing on a platform like that. We’re excited to welcome them to the Big Ten. I think it’s going to be an awesome game and matchup.”
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Playoff expansion gives the losing side plenty of cushion in the weeks ahead, but that team will have work ahead on its journey to a coveted first-round bye. This could be the first of three matchups this year between the Ducks and Buckeyes should they meet again in the Big Ten Championship Game and in the CFP.
