College Football Playoff Championship Pick: Oregon vs. Ohio State
By Joe Micik
Our last pick of the 2014 season happens to be the College Football Playoff championship pick. Perhaps someday, maroon and gold will factor into it.
For now, we will have to settle for scarlet and gray as well as green and yellow.
Most fans wanted this new playoff (except for maybe a few whose teams directly benefitted from a system such as the BCS), but the debate is settled and here we are. The 4th-seed Ohio State Buckeyes made it to Jerry World for the championship against the 2nd-seed Oregon Ducks and Heisman winner Marcus Mariota.
College Football Playoff Championship Pick
Oregon (-5.5) vs. Ohio State | Arlington, TX | 8:30pm ET (ESPN)
This game should be fun. Oregon and Ohio State have been two of the best teams all season and deservedly found their way to Texas for the title game.
Should Ohio State march to victory, prepare for Virginia Tech football to declare a transitive property national championship while the Buckeyes claim an actual one. Nevertheless, there are still bound to be a few people surprised that Ohio State is in this situation, what with their third-string quarterback and all.
If it is not already, it should be clear why the Buckeyes are prospering regardless of the fact that they have burned through two other signal-callers this season: Urban Meyer. They lost their starting quarterback, and then the next guy stepped in and played great. Then, that guy got hurt and here comes Cardale Jones, and he plays great. It is not a coincidence: it is players buying into and thriving in a system.
As for Oregon, they have bought in themselves, given that they score a ton of points every game at will. All Mark Helfrich did was continue the path laid out by Chip Kelly, because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Boston College Eagles
They do have one problem, however: WR Darren Carrington of the Ducks failed an NCAA drug test and has been excluded from the game. He caught seven passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout win over Florida State, so losing him will be a major problem — or will it?
Oregon, like Ohio State with their quarterback situation, has embraced the idea of “next man up.” One guy gets hurt, and the guy behind him steps in and does the job. This is not the first time Oregon has lost a starter, but they adapt. The Ducks will adapt without Carrington.
This should be a competitive game, but someone is going home disappointed while the other takes a trophy. The Ducks would seem to have a lot of experience beating teams calling themselves “OSU.”
College Football Playoff Championship Pick: Oregon