Ohio State-Oregon Prediction

Week 2 of the college football season is here, and the game of the weekend takes place in Columbus, Ohio as the No. 3 Buckeyes take on the No. 12 Ducks, and BetRivers is here to provide odds, insight analysis and our official Ohio State-Oregon prediction. Ohio State earned a hard-fought road win in Week 1 against Minnesota, and while the Buckeyes weren’t perfect, they were certainly explosive. The Ducks struggled to put away Fresno State in Week 1, which made the Ohio State-Oregon odds a bit stronger than many anticipated heading into last week.

Longtime college sports writer Rob Dauster, the co-founder of The Field of 68 and The Field of 12 Network is here to break down the tantalizing matchup and provide his Ohio State-Oregon prediction for Week 2 of the college football season.

OHIO STATE-OREGON PREDICTION:

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#3 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (1-0) vs. #12 OREGON DUCKS (1-0)
GAME: 12 p.m. ET, FOX
MONEYLINE: Ohio State -715 ML, Oregon +410 ML
SPREAD: Ohio State -14.5
TOTAL: 63.5

OHIO STATE-OREGON PUBLIC TRENDS:
Ohio State ML: 97% handle, 94% bets
Ohio State Spread: 71% handle, 51% bets
Over: 81% handle, 74% bets

It’s hard to tout this game and make an official Ohio State-Oregon prediction without having a feel for the status of Kayvon Thibodeaux.

If you don’t know who Kayvon Thibodeaux is, what are you even doing? He may be the best player in college football. He is the guy that can do things like this:

It’s not a coincidence that the Ducks were up 14-0 before he hurt his ankle in Week 1 against Fresno State and needed a 30-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to win 31-24. He’s an absolute difference-maker, and Oregon has not said anything more than that he is “day-to-day”. I think it’s important to note here that while Ohio State put up 45 points on Minnesota, the entirety of that damage was done on explosive plays. They scored on a 71-yard runs, pass plays of 70 yards, 61 yards, 56 yards and 38 yards and a fumble recovery. Ohio State didn’t run a play in the red zone. Oregon has plenty of talent on the field defensively, and Thibodeaux’s presence will only make it that much more difficult to put together those explosive plays.

So let’s look at the other side of the ball to start this off. Ohio State got manhandled on the ground by Minnesota, giving up 203 yards before Mo Ibrahim went out with a season-ending knee injury. Oregon’s strength right now is on the ground. They had 186 yards and three touchdowns rushing in the opener, and I do think that their effectiveness running RPOs will give Ohio State some issues. If Thibodeaux doesn’t play, I could see Oregon putting together a game-plan that emphasizes long drives centered around the running game to try and keep Ohio State’s offense off the field.

With that said, I do think it means that the under is in play without Thibodeaux. With him, I’d be more intrigued. And if we get word that Thibodeaux is suiting up, and I can get Oregon plus two touchdowns, I’m in.