By Danielle Daniels
Dan Lanning Oregon head football coach 2024 Ducks Team BTC Media Day July 2024.mp3
GAME NOTES
https://goducks.com/documents/2024/10/8/GM6_-_Ohio_State.pdf
The Matchup
#3 Oregon vs. #2 Ohio State
Saturday,October 12, 2024
4:30 p.m. PT | NBC
Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Ore.
#3 Oregon Ducks (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten)
AP/Coaches Rank: 3/3
Head Coach: Dan Lanning (William Jewell College, 2008)
Record at Oregon: 27-5 (3rd Season)
Career Record: Same
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten)
AP/Coaches Rank: 2/2
Head Coach: Ryan Day (New Hampshire, 2002)
Record at Ohio State: 61-8 (6th Season)
Career Record: Same
TV: NBC
Play-By-Play: Noah Eagle
Analyst: Todd Blackledge
Sideline: Kathryn Tappen
Sideline: Paul Burmeister
Radio – Oregon Sports Network
Local: KUJZ-FM 95.3 (Eugene) | KFXX-AM 1080 (Portland)
Sirius: 133 | XM: 197
Play-by-Play: Jerry Allen
Analyst: Mike Jorgensen
Sideline: Dusty Harrah
Pre-Game Show: Joey McMurry
Historic Matchup
All eyes will be on Eugene this Saturday as the No. 3 Ducks welcome No. 2 Ohio State to Autzen Stadium for one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2024 season. It will be the first showdown of top-five teams in Autzen Stadium history, and Oregon will host a top-five opponent in Autzen for the first time since 2016 (11th overall). Both teams enter the game at 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play, with major Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff implications on the line. Ohio State holds a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series, but Oregon won the most recent matchup in 2021, a historic 35-28 win in Columbus.
A Win Would…
» Be Oregon’s highest-ranked victory ever in Autzen Stadium and fourth against a top-five opponent.
» Match the highest-ranked win in program history (59-20) vs. No. 2 Florida State in 2016 Rose Bowl).
» Be UO’s ninth all-time against a top-five team.
» Make Oregon 6-0 to start the season for the first time since 2013 and ninth time in program history.
» Improve Oregon to 4-0 at home to open a season for the fifth year in a row (excluding 2020).
» Make Oregon 19-12 all-time when ESPN’s “College GameDay” is on site, and 9-3 when the pregame show visits Eugene.
Ducks Earn First Big Ten Home Win
The Ducks improved to 5-0 by winning its first conference home game as a member of the Big Ten last Friday over Michigan State. Oregon’s defense was terrific once again, holding the Spartans scoreless through the first three quarters and allowing just 250 total yards. Jordan Burch continued to wreak havoc off the edge, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after notching a career-high 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Jordan James powered the offense with a career-high 166 rushing yards and a touchdown, and both Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart caught touchdowns as Dillon Gabriel completed 20-of-32 passes for 257 yards and also rushed for a score.
History Vs. Ohio State
Saturday will mark the 11th all-time meeting between Oregon and Ohio State, with the Buckeyes holding a 9-1 advantage in the series. The Ducks claimed their first-ever win over the Buckeyes on Sept. 11, 2021, securing one of the most significant regular-season wins in program history, 35-28, in front of the fourth-biggest crowd (100,482) ever to watch Oregon. UO’s win over No. 3 Ohio State was the program’s fifth-ever against a top-three opponent, and its first road win over a top-five team since 2011. The Ducks and Buckeyes also squared off in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 12, 2015, with Ohio State coming out on top, 42-20. Saturday’s game will also be the second-ever trip by Ohio State to Eugene; the Buckeyes played the second game ever in Autzen Stadium on Oct. 7, 1967, a 30-0 Ohio State victory.
Top-Five Showdown
Autzen Stadium will host a top-five showdown for the first time on Saturday, with a top-five opponent coming to Autzen for the first time since 2016 and 11th time overall. Oregon is 3-6-1 in those games, with wins over No. 4 USC (10/31/09), No. 3 Michigan (9/20/03) and No. 4 BYU (9/29/90). The Ducks are 28-4 all-time as a top-five team in Autzen Stadium, with eight of those wins coming against ranked opponents. Saturday will be the highest-ranked matchup in Autzen since No. 3 Oregon took down No. 7 Michigan State, 46-27, on Sept. 6, 2014.
ESPN “College GameDay” Returns to Eugene
ESPN’s “College GameDay” pregame show will return to Eugene on Saturday ahead of Oregon’s showdown with Ohio State. “College GameDay” will make its 12th all-time appearance in Eugene, and its first since 2022. The Ducks are 8-3 in the 11 games when the pregame show is on site, including a 45-30 win over No. 9 UCLA on Oct. 22, 2022. The show’s first trip to Eugene was on Sept. 23, 2000, when Oregon took down the Bruins, 29-10. Oregon has played 30 previous games with “College GameDay” on site, going 18-12 in those games.
Home Cookin’
Oregon has been one of the most dominant teams in the nation at home over the last decade-plus, and the Ducks are off to a 3-0 start in Autzen Stadium this season after going a perfect 7-0 at home in 2023. It was Oregon’s fourth undefeated season at home since 2019 and 11th in program history, and the Ducks were one of eight teams in the nation go go unbeaten at home while playing at least seven home games. Oregon is 34-1 (.971) at home since an overtime loss to Stanford on Sept. 22, 2018, a span that included 23 straight home wins to match the longest home win streak in program history. UO is 43-3 (.935) at home since the start of the 2017 season, boasting the nation’s fifth-best win percentage at home during that time while tying for the fourth-most wins.
Completion Machine
Dillon Gabriel has had a productive and milestone-filled first five games at Oregon while leading the Ducks to a 5-0 start. Gabriel went a staggering 41-of-49 for 380 yards and two touchdowns in his Duck debut against Idaho, and he completed at least 80.0 percent of his passes in each of his first three games while posting three UO single-game top-10 marks for completion percentage. In his first two Big Ten Conference games, Gabriel has combined to complete 51-of-73 passes for 535 yards and five touchdowns while also running for a score last week vs. Michigan State. He is 130-of-167 on the season for 1,449 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the nation in completion percentage at 77.8 while ranking eighth in completions, 13th in passing yards per game (289.8) and 14th in passer rating (168.88).
Top Target
Coming off a stellar debut season with the Ducks in 2023, wide receiver Tez Johnson has one of the nation’s top receivers through five games in 2024. Johnson is second in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation with a team-high 43 receptions, already half way to the UO single-season record of 86 receptions he set in 2023. Johnson also leads the Ducks with 395 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and he has caught double-digit passes in back-to-back games and three times in five games after finishing with 10 receptions for 84 yards and a score last week vs. Michigan State. Johnson had 11 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns in Oregon’s Big Ten opener at UCLA, and he matched his career high with 12 receptions for 81 yards and two scores in the season opener vs. Idaho. Johnson’s five receiving TDs are tied for No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 13 nationally.
JJ Leading the Way
Junior RB Jordan James has carried the load on the ground this season for the Ducks, leading the team in carries and rushing yards in all five games. He set career highs in carries (24) and rushing yards (166) last week against Michigan State – totaling 151 yards on 16 carries in the first half alone – and reached the end zone for the third straight week. James entered the season with three career games of 10 or more carries, and has toted the rock at least a dozen times in all five contests so far in 2024. He has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in each of the last two games, and three of his last four outings, and he now has four career 100-yard rushing performances. James enters Week 7 at No. 3 in the Big Ten and No. 13 nationally with 110.4 rushing yards per game, and his five rushing touchdowns are tied for seventh-most in the conference.
Game Wrecker
Jordan Burch has taken his game to another level in his second season at Oregon, emerging as one of the premier pass rushers in both the Big Ten and the nation. After racking up a career-high 2.5 sacks last week vs. Michigan State, Burch is now tied for the Big Ten lead and tied for No. 8 nationally with a career-high 5.0 sacks through just five games. He is also fourth in the Big Ten and tied for 25th nationaly with 7.0 tackles for loss, just 0.5 shy of his career high as the Ducks enter Week 7. Burch has racked up 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in just his last two games, after opening Big Ten Conference play with a sack and 2.0 TFLs in Oregon’s win at UCLA in Week 5. Burch was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Spartans.
Increased Intensity
Defense has been the driving force for the Ducks early on in the 2024 season. Oregon held Idaho to just 217 total yards in the season opener, the Vandals’ fewest since Oct. 29, 2022, and forced a pair of turnovers before limiting Boise State to 148 passing yards and just 33 yards through the air in the second half. The Ducks then dominated in the rivalry win over Oregon State, holding the Beavers to just 91 yards of total offense in a scoreless second half. That momentum has carried over into conference play, where the Ducks held UCLA to 172 yards of total offense – its fewest in a game since 2010 – in their Big Ten debut before pitching a shutout first half against Michigan State, limiting the Spartans to just 102 yards of offense in the opening 30 minutes. Oregon’s is one of six teams (Kentucky, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee) to have both a top-25 rushing defense and passing defense this season.
You Shall Not Pass
The Ducks have dominated on both sides of the passing game once again this season. While the offense is averaging 294.2 yards per game through the air and leads the nation with an 77.0 completion percentage, the defense has limited opposing QBs to just a 53.4 percent completion rate and 162.0 yards per game, the 18th-lowest mark in the nation. The Ducks rank second in the nation with 31 PBUs through the first five games and are holding opposing signal callers to a 98.40 passer rating, the seventh lowest in the country.
» Oregon is tied for second in the FBS and tied for the Big Ten lead with 35 total passes defended.
» Opponents have completed just 53.4 percent of passes against the Ducks, the ninth-lowest mark in the nation.
Boyle’s Big Boot
Senior kicker Andrew Boyle made his first appearance since 2022 last week at Michigan State, after missing all of 2023 and the first four games of 2024 due to injury. Boyle made his presence known in his season debut, drilling his first career field goal attempt from 50 yards out in the third quarter. He became the first Duck to make a 50-plus yard field goal since Matt Evensen’s 52-yarder at Arizona State on Oct. 25, 2008, and his 50-yard field goal was the eighth-longest in Autzen Stadium by a Duck and longest since Jason Siegel’s 52-yarder against Portland State on Sept. 21, 2002.
Numbers To Know
5.0 –Jordan Burch is tied for the Big Ten lead and tied for No. 8 nationally with 5.0 sacks through five games.
5 – Oregon is one of five FBS teams (BYU, Central Michigan, Tulsa, UNLV) to return both a punt and kickoff for a TD this season.
6 – Oregon is one of six FBS teams to have both a top-25 rushing defense and passing defense.
9 – The Ducks have combined to allow just nine quarterback pressures in 109 opportunities over the last three games
10 – UO is tied for No. 10 nationally in total defense (263.4 YPG) and is one of six teams in the top 25 for both rushing and passing defense.
12 – Dillon Gabriel (166) is just 12 total touchdowns away from Case Keenum’s all-time NCAA record of 178.
21 – Jordan Burch is tied for No. 2 among all Big Ten edge rushers with 21 total pressures this season, second-most among Ducks.
35 – Oregon is No. 2 nationally with 35 passes defended while also ranking No. 2 with 31 passes broken up.
43 – Tez Johnson is No. 7 nationally with 43 receptions, already half way to his own UO single-season record of 86 from 2023.
50.0 – Oregon is No. 19 in the country with a 50.0 percent conversion rate on third downs this season (30-of-60).
50 – Last week vs. Michigan State, Andrew Boyle became the first UO kicker since Oct. 25, 2008, to make a field goal of 50-plus yards.
53.4 – The Ducks are holding opposing QBs to just a 53.4% completion rate, the ninth-lowest rate in the nation.
54 – Dillon Gabriel has started 54 career games, just seven back of Bo Nix’s FBS record of 61 for starts by a quarterback.
77.8 –Dillon Gabriel leads the nation with a 77.8 completion percentage and is one of just two QBs above 75.0 percent.
110.4 –Jordan James is No. 3 in the Big Ten and No. 13 in the nation with 110.4 rushing yards per game.
114 – In his last 14 games going back to 2023, Tez Johnson has racked up 114 receptions for 1,374 yards and 11 touchdowns.
COURTESY OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
