The NCAA football season officially wraps up on Monday with the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship. The contest pits the Pac-12 champion – No. 2 Oregon (13-1) – against the Big Ten champion – No. 4 Ohio State (13-1) – at the AT&T; Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Here’s how Daily Bruin Sports envisions the game playing out.
Kevin Bowman’s prediction
Oregon: 51
Ohio State: 41
Oregon will be without some key playmakers in the national championship game, as tight end Pharaoh Brown, wide receiver Devon Allen and cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu are injured, and wide receiver Darren Carrington was suspended because of a failed drug test. Still, the Ducks have plenty more weapons to pick up the slack.
No team has been as dangerous as Oregon in recent weeks, and no player has been as explosive as Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. Ohio State has the offensive firepower to keep pace with Oregon, but not enough to outscore the Ducks. This should be a high-scoring affair, as the nation’s No. 2 and No. 4 offenses meet. Look for the Ducks to pull away late in the third quarter and hang on to bring the national title back to the Pac-12.
Matthew Joye’s prediction
Ohio State: 37
Oregon: 33
The Buckeyes will win this game for two reasons: coaching and experience. These two factors are already crucial in any college football game, but they become even more so in a national championship game that comes after a bye week.
With the extra time during the bye week, coaches get to game-plan even more for the opposing team, so scouting and strategy become even more critical. And I think there is no question that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has the upper hand over Oregon’s coach Mark Helfrich. Meyer has a 5-1 career record in College Football Playoff and Bowl Championship Series games – which includes a 2-0 record in national title games. Meanwhile, this is Helfrich’s first-ever national title game appearance as a coach, and it will occur just 11 days after he won his first-ever College Football Playoff game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. And if there’s one advantage that Helfrich has over many coaches he faces, it’s that his no-huddle spread offense catches opponents off guard. But that will not happen in this game, as Meyer is all too familiar with the Ducks’ plan of attack.
What adds to the Buckeyes’ advantage in coaching is their advantage in experience. And by experience, I don’t mean that they have better veteran players than the Ducks; in fact, the national championship game will mark just the third career start for Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones.
But it’s the Buckeyes’ most recent experience that is also their most valuable: They faced and defeated arguably the most talented team in the country, No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Jan. 1, while the Ducks faced a No. 3 Florida State Seminoles squad that looked like it didn’t belong in the College Football Playoff at all. When the teams finally face off on Monday night, Oregon will be caught off guard by how talented Ohio State is, while Ohio State will be prepared and poised.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman and Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.