Playoff Game Will Be At A Slower Pace Than Last Time

Ohio State vs. Oregon, 5:00 ET

If we went back to the start of 2024, we would've seen the top four teams battling it out for the National Championship around now. Instead, now in 2025, we have eight teams still vying for the future (technically at the start of this game there will only be six teams remaining, but you get my point). This matchup is arguably the best of all the Quarterfinals matchups as we get Ohio State taking on top-seed Oregon.

Ohio State was regarded as one of the best teams in the country for almost the entire year. They had a dominating offense and a stingy defense that didn't provide much opportunity for opponents to get things going. This will be the second game of the Playoffs for the Buckeyes as they destroyed Tennessee 42-17 in their first matchup. For the year, the Buckeyes only suffered two losses. The most recent loss came at the hands of rival Michigan who once again got the best of head coach Ryan Day. Day has not beaten Michigan since 2019. If he wins a National Championship, I'm sure all things will be forgiven, but this was a bad loss. Michigan was average this season and went into Ohio State and took a win. Their other loss came at the hands of this same opponent, Oregon. It was a great game, but ultimately Ohio State lost 32-31. Yes, Ohio State fumbled the ball at one point and gave the Ducks an extra possession, but Oregon also missed a field goal and turned the ball over on downs, so it wasn't like Ohio State was completely dominant and Oregon got lucky. 

COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes lines up to take the field prior to a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium on November 30, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

Speaking of Oregon, they are looking to close out an undefeated season. This year they have been one of, if not, the best teams in all of College Football. Their offense has been explosive and their defense has been good enough to carry them to victory time and time again. I wouldn't say they have played the toughest schedule in the world - they did beat Boise State early in the year in a close game, the aforementioned Ohio State win, a dominant performance over a ranked Illinois, and a championship win over Penn State 45-37 in their most recent game. The rest of the games were wins, but I also don't think most of their opponents were that tough. The same can be said about Ohio State though as both play in the same conference now. One question that the Ducks will need to answer rather quickly here is the rest vs rust situation. They've been off since December 7th and now face a tough opponent as they head back onto the field. Will they come out rested and fresher than their opponent, or are they going to come out flat and need a couple of quarters to get back into game speed? 

In the first matchup the teams combined to score 63 points. The total for this one is at 55.5 which seems a bit high to me even with the high-powered offenses. I do think that there is going to be a bit slower of a pace as both teams try to win the chess match. Ohio State had one of the best defenses in football so giving up 32 points was a bit of a fluke, and the same can be said of Oregon. I'm going to take the under in this one. I think the teams are going to be a little more cautious and we won't see quite as many points. 

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