College football picks | BuckeyeXtra consensus says: Ohio State 42, Oregon 40 – Columbus Dispatch
One thing that’s consistent among the predictions of our BuckeyeXtra panel of college football pickers (BXPOCFBP) is the thought that there will be no shortage of points scored when Ohio State and Oregon meet on Monday night in the College Football Playoff championship game. And if you’re an Ohio State fan who thinks our guys know what they’re doing, rejoice, because six of our nine panelists say the Buckeyes will be celebrating a national title early Tuesday morning.
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One more reason for Buckeye Nation to be optimistic: Dispatch sports editor Ray Stein and BuckeyeXtra editor Rob Dewolf are picking against Ohio State. Again. The dynamic duo also went with Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
The numbers:
Ray Stein 14-6
Tim Hall 11-9
Todd Jones 11-9
Tim May 11-9
Rob Oller 11-9
Bill Rabinowitz 11-9
Bobby Carpenter 10-10
Rob Dewolf 10-10
Bob Hunter 10-10
Season standings
Hall 114-56
Oller 113-57
Stein 113-57
May 112-58
Dewolf 110-60
Jones 110-60
Rabinowitz 110-60
Carpenter 109-61
Hunter 108-62
The picks:
Bobby Carpenter, 97.1 The Fan
Record to date: 109-61
Ohio State 45, Oregon 38: This Buckeyes team has come a long way from the loss to Virginia Tech in week 2. The young offensive line has improved to the point where it has almost become taken for granted. A defense that has struggled in recent seasons to handle highly athletic teams has looked like the Silver Bullets since Thanksgiving. However, none of the success of the 2014 Buckeyes would have been possible without an unshakeable faith and confidence in each other. Regardless the situation on Monday night, they will find a way to rally — and that is how champions are born.
Rob Dewolf, BuckeyeXtra editor
Record to date: 110-60
Oregon 45, Ohio State 31: The fact that Ohio State has reached this point is a shocker to me. I picked the Buckeyes to lose to Wisconsin, and I picked them to lose to Alabama. With their No.3 quarterback at the helm, it’s amazing that the Buckeyes throttled the Badgers like they did, then defeated the No.1 team in the country. Amazing? Heck, it’s almost unthinkable. I would argue that the Buckeyes aren’t given enough credit nationally for their past two accomplishments under the circumstances. It’s hard to imagine another football team in the country pulling off such a feat. Maybe because I find OSU’s two most recent wins so unbelievable, I just can’t wrap my head around the thought of the Buckeyes doing it again.
Tim Hall, 97.1 The Fan
Record to date: 114-56
Ohio State 38, Oregon 31: For the third straight game I’m going to continue to ride Cardale Jones’ mojo. There’s something about this guy that gives you a sense of calm. It was reasonable to wonder going into the Alabama game, but now that we’ve seen two outstanding performances, you have to accept it as truth. And the truth is this guy can play, and he can hurt you. And it’s much, much more than Cardale.
This is a championship team built on guys doing whatever they have to do to win. It’s a team on which a guy like Evan Spencer gets the respect from his peers as the season’s MVP. It’s a team on which a guy like Curtis Grant makes something of his senior year. It’s a team on which a guy like Darron Lee, who was continually told he wasn’t good enough to be at Ohio State, can be one of its outstanding defenders. It is what it is.
And that is a national championship team.
Bob Hunter, Dispatch sports columnist
Record to date: 108-62
Ohio State 52, Oregon 48: In a game where both offenses have been practically unstoppable lately, a maturing Buckeyes defense provides a narrow edge. Oregon has more weapons than any team Ohio State has seen, but the Buckeyes defensive line is better than any that that the Ducks have faced. For that reason, the Ducks will have to work harder to score against the Buckeyes than they have most of their opponents. OSU quarterback Cardale Jones is two big wins from where he was a month ago, which should pay dividends in this one. Oregon has never beaten the Buckeyes in eight meetings and won’t do it this time.
Todd Jones, Dispatch college football writer
Record to date: 110-60
Oregon 40, Ohio State 34: Ohio State appears to be a team of destiny, especially after upsetting Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes certainly have the talent and coaching acumen to win their first national title since 2002. Oregon, however, will have the best player on the field in Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. He plays with machine-like efficiency and has the experience to outduel OSU quarterback Cardale Jones. The Buckeyes will give the Ducks all they can handle, but, in the end, Oregon’s overall firepower on offense will be a little too much for a young OSU team still a year away from ultimately cashing in on college football’s biggest prize.
Tim May, Dispatch beat writer
Record to date: 112-58
Ohio State 45, Oregon 39: Two of the elite, points-scoring offenses will go at it, one led by Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and the other by the developing greatest story in the postseason, Ohio State sophomore Cardale Jones. That means this game — on paper, at least — should come down to who has the better defense. The written material says Ohio State. But neither defense has faced this kind of overall challenge this season. So, yeah, I expect a lot of points. I just expect Ohio State to score more.
Rob Oller, Dispatch sports columnist
Record to date: 113-57
Ohio State 41, Oregon 38: Both teams will be a step slower than normal because of having played grueling games against Alabama and Florida State, so it should come down to a conditioning contest as much as anything. The Ducks depend on their hurry-up offense to wear down defenses, which gives them an edge against the Buckeyes, but Ohio State counters with a better deep-passing game — Cardale Jones to Devin Smith all night long — against a depleted OU secondary. The X-factor will be OSU tailback Ezekiel Elliott, who will pound the Ducks and keep their defense honest, thus opening the passing game for Jones. A field goal decides it, possibly in the final seconds.
Bill Rabinowitz, Dispatch beat writer
Record to date: 110-60
Ohio State 45, Oregon 31: Marcus Mariota and the Oregon offense will get its yards and score its points. That’s not the key. This game will turn on whether those yards and points turn into an avalanche. I suspect that they won’t. Ohio State’s defense doesn’t rely on liberal substitutions. It is a well-conditioned unit that won’t tire easily and a strong one mentally as well, which is huge. Ohio State has the ability to control the line on both sides of the ball, and it as the ground game that can consistently get first downs to keep the defense from getting exhausted. The key will be converting in the red zone and avoiding turnovers that Oregon’s defense relies on. Cardale Jones has shown he doesn’t get flustered in big games. As a result of all this, I believe the first CFP trophy will be going to Columbus.
Ray Stein, Dispatch sports editor
Record to date: 113-57
Oregon 52, Ohio State 48: I picked Wisconsin to beat Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game because I did not believe in Cardale Jones. Good gravy, was I wrong. I picked Alabama to beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl because I did not believe Cardale Jones could lead a sustained offensive attack against a defense as physical and as fast as the Crimson Tide’s. Wrong again.
So am I picking Oregon to beat Ohio State in the national championship game because I’m going for a trifecta of failure? Not at all. Rather, it’s because I think it will come down to quarterback play again. Oregon’s QB, Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, will be the most dangerous player — and perhaps the one with the most football smarts — the Buckeyes will have faced all season. I think he makes the difference in a shootout.
Would I bet my son’s college fund on this prediction? No, I would not. Ohio State is an awesome underdog under Urban Meyer, which it has shown with authority against Wisconsin and Alabama. And the Buckeyes can definitely win this game as long as Jones avoids a sackful of egregious mistakes.
Ohio State will score points. But Oregon will score last.
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