Bucks-Ducks to get it on in battle of top 3 teams … The general consensus prior to the start of the season was the Oregon just might be the biggest obstacle to Ohio State’s hopes of winning the Big Ten conference title this year. And we’ll certainly start to find out just how much a threat the Ducks really are to the Buckeyes when the two meet on Saturday night in Eugene. There will also be plenty of draft intrigue associated with this game as both teams are loaded with prospects, although somewhat ironically, neither has anyone who is a legitimate lock to be an opening round pick. That’s a little bit surprising, especially for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes return literally a small army of players who had been considered a top prospect for this past April’s draft, but opted to return to school for one more run at a CFP title including RB Tre’veyon Henderson (#32, 5-10, 215), WR Emeka Egbuka (#2, 6-0, 210), OG Donovan Jackson (#74, 6-3, 320), LT Josh Simmons (#71, 6-5, 310), DEs JT Tuimoloau (#44, 6-4, 275) and Jack Sawyer (#33, 6-4, 265), DT Tyleik Williams (#91, 6-2, 290) and CB Denzel Burke (#10, 6-1, 195) all of whom are second day prospects with at least some late first-round potential. In fact, the Buckeyes’ best prospects may be andidates for 2025 while Jackson and Williams are second-day prospects. In fact, the Buckeeys’ best prospects may be RB Quinshon Judkins (#1, 6-0, 220) who transferred up from Mississippi State and combines with Henderson to give Ohio State the best 1-2 backfield combination in the country, and rising CB Davison Igbinosun (#1, 6-1, 190). Meanwhile, other Buckeye veterans to watch include LBs Cody Simon (#0, 6-2, 235) and Sonny Styles (#6, 6-3, 230), CB Jordan Hancock (#7, 6-0, 190), S Lathan Ranson (#8, 6-1, 210) and C Seth McLaughlin (#56, 6-3, 305), another SEC transfer (Alabama). The key for Ohio State as they head into the meat of their conference schedule is former Kansas State QB Will Howard (#18, 6-4, 240). The Buckeyes’ most intriguing transfer, though, and just maybe their best player period, could be former Alabama S Caleb Downs (#2, 6-2, 205), a freshman All-American last year who won’t be draft eligible until 2026.
Like Ohio State, Oregon is led by a transfer QB in Dillon Gabriel (#8, 5-11, 200), a gunslinger who came over from Oklahoma to take over the helm of the high-octane Ducks’ Oregon offence from Bo Nix, the 12th player selected at the 2024 draft. Gabriel, at barely 5-11, isn’t quite the prospect Nix was, but he’s still been productive enough this fall with a 78% completion %, although the overall Oregon offence has been inconsistent at times to date this season. Gabriel has a couple of excellent WR targets to work with in veteran possession receiver Tez Johnson (#15, 5-10, 165, who set the Ducks single season record last fall with 86 receptions, and speedy Evan Stewart (#7, 6-0, 175), a Texas A&M transfer with reported 4.35 type speed, but has still to find a major role in the Ducks scheme. For good measure, the Ducks also feature one of the better TEs in the country in Terrence Ferguson (#3, 6-5, 255). The Ducks also feature one of the best 1-2 OT combination in the country in LT Josh Conerly (#76, 6-4, 315) and RT Ajani Cornelius (#65, 6-5, 315), while Jordan James (#20, 5-10, 220) is an effective back. On the other side of the ball, pro scouts want to see more of DE Jordan Burch (#1, 6-5, 295), an immense physical talent who appears to have finally put it together this year as he has 5 sacks in the Ducks first 5 games. Burch anchors a very goog DL that also includes Derrick Harmon (#55, 6-3, 310) and Jamaree Caldwell (#61, 6-1, 340. Same story at LB where the Ducks rotate Jeff Bassa (#2, 6-2, 235), Jestin Jacobs (#4, 6-3, 235) and Bryce Boettcher (#28, 6-2, 225), while CB Jabbar Muhammad (#7, 5-10, 185), a ball-hawking transfer from Washington, leads a talented secondary. Should be fun.
