State your case National Championship edition
Oregon
Let me start by saying, I play a lot of NCAA Football on the Xbox 360. With those credentials established, let me tell you why the Ducks hailing from the state of Oregon will be the National Champions in 2015.
I really should begin with this little fact; 59-20. Now, Florida State, in my opinion, was lucky to still be undefeated, as well as be in the new college playoff. On top of that, the team self-destructed, but still, 59-20.
Oregon’s offense is now known as more than just a “finesse game.” Have you heard of Royce Freeman? He’s new around campus, a freshman in fact, from Imperial, CA, but he is no stranger to the end zone. How does 18 rushing touchdowns and 1,343 yards on the year sound?
In some ways, Oregon’s offense chooses to be a finesse game, but that can only be relevant because of Mr. Marcus Mariota’s magic touch. The 2014 Heisman winner has thrown only three interceptions for the year; that’s less than Aaron Rodgers (The Aaron Rodgers) who has five.
Fun fact: Oregon outscored the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium this season, and they did it in two games. The 49ers played six at home. How? Because just like the FSU game, the Ducks scored 59 against Cal and put up 51 against Arizona. Now how will they do this against Urban Meyer and his Buckeyes?
Ohio State will be so preoccupied with stopping the now dominating run game that Oregon will lay waste upon its secondary. With such an all-around team that loves scoring in bunches, 59-20, the ground and air attacks from the Duck field-general Mariota will make Urban Meyer look like he was lucky to get his job.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s very possible to predict, over-power, and demoralize a Heisman quarterback, but that team would have to be playing Oregon, and they would lose 59-20 (cough, cough).
My prediction? Oregon rolls over Ohio 44-33.
— Brad Ferguson
Twitter: @bradferg47
Ohio State
I find it comical that Vegas has Oregon favored by 6 points in Monday’s National Championship.
Yes, Marcus Mariota is an incredible quarterback who is able to create plays on his own. Football, however, is a sport where you have 22 guys on the field at a time. Any one of those players can make a significant impact on any given play, and that is where coaching becomes a big factor. Ohio State has a much better head coach than Oregon does in Urban Meyer.
Meyer started the season having Braxton Miller, a pre-season Heisman candidate, at the helm of quarterback for OSU. Just before the season started Miller suffered a season ending knee injury, forcing Meyer to turn to freshman J.T. Barrett as quarterback. Barrett shocked the nation by going 11-1 as a starter and led Ohio State to the Big 10 championship.
Unfortunately for him, he too was injured in their last game of the season and was forced to miss post-season ball. Coach Meyer then turned to their third string quarterback, Cardale Jones. In Jones’ two games since he has been starting at quarterback, Ohio State blew out Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big 10 championship game, and then beat #1 ranked Alabama 42-35 in the College Football semi-final game. What I’m trying to get at is that Ohio State is such a well-coached team that it doesn’t even matter who plays quarterback for them.
As long as they have a quarterback that is talented enough to execute the game plan that their coaches have given him, they will win. Cardale Jones has now proven that he’s got it. He has a 6’5, 250 pound frame, has the speed to outrun any linebacker, and can throw the deep ball just as accurate as any other QB in college football.
All this talk of Ohio State’s quarterback and I haven’t even mentioned the rest of their offensive weapons or their shut down defense. Because of the athletes Ohio State has on the field and their incredible coaching, I would be surprised if they don’t beat Oregon by at least 7 points.
My prediction for the game; Ohio State 41 Oregon 30.
— Sean Cassity
Twitter: @seancassity1