Oregon vs. Ohio State: NCAAF Week 2 betting odds, preview, and pick

The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will host the No. 12 Oregon Ducks Saturday, at noon ET, in a game that was originally scheduled for the 2020 college football season.

The anticipated rematch of the inaugural College Football Playoff title game, held in 2015, was cancelled last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that national championship tilt, Oregon fell, 42-20, to Ohio State, who is 9-0 all-time against the Ducks.

Stroud finding his stride as new Buckeyes QB

This Ohio State team is much different from the one that won the College Football Playoff, let alone the group that reached the national championship game last year, in Ryan Day’s second season as head coach.

Dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields moved on to the NFL and has been replaced by redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud, a four-star recruit whom Oregon coach Mario Cristobal attempted to lure to Eugene.

In Stroud’s first college start, he looked out of sync in the first half, as Minnesota led, 14-10, heading into the locker room.

Settled in after the halftime break, Stroud responded with 246 yards and four touchdown passes to help the Buckeyes finish with a 45-31 victory.

In the ground game, redshirt freshman Miyan Williams broke free for 125 yards and a score on nine carries, while Master Teague III added 29 yards on six attempts.

The defense featured seven first-time starters and played without injured cornerback Sevyn Banks. He and cornerback Cameron Brown should be back in the lineup Saturday, which should inject a jolt of energy into a unit that relied on young backups against Minnesota.

Brown carried Oregon in first start

The Ducks also broke in a new quarterback, Anthony Brown Jr., a sixth-year senior who transferred from Boston College ahead of last season.

Brown got his first significant action in a 34-17 loss against Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl. In his first start for Oregon on Saturday, he completed 15 of his 24 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 56 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

Despite Brown’s solid outing, the Ducks struggled against Fresno State in their home opener.

The Bulldogs scored 18 unanswered points and led 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter.

Even worse for Oregon's defense, end Kayvon Thibodeaux, a projected top five NFL draft pick, sprained his left ankle and did not play the second half.

Thibodeaux recorded a sack of Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener, who fumbled the ball on the play. The turnover set up a two-yard touchdown run by Oregon back CJ Verdell.

Oregon and Ohio State betting trends

• Oregon is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 non-conference games.
• Oregon is 1-7 ATS in its last eight games as a road underdog.
• Ohio State is 1-3-1 ATS in its last five games as a favorite.
• Ohio State is 1-5 ATS in its last six home games.
• The Under is 4-0 in Oregon's last four games.
• The Over is 5-1-2 in Ohio State's last eight games.

Oregon secondary will surrender too many big plays

Both teams displayed weaknesses on defense in Week 1. Ohio State gave up 203 yards on the ground to Minnesota, while Oregon let Fresno State rack up 298 yards through the air.

The Ducks will look to the ground game to expose Ohio State, but the return of a few key players on defense should clean up some of the Buckeyes' mistakes from last week.

The Ducks defense, on the other hand, will be without linebacker Dru Mathis, and potentially Thibodeaux.

Ohio State has the talent on offense to blow past Oregon's secondary, which allowed the fourth most passing yards in the Pac-12 last season.

Once Stroud found his rhythm against Minnesota, he reeled off touchdown passes of 38, 56, 61, and 70 yards.

With big-time receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson at his disposal, Stroud will pick up where he left off in the second half against the Gophers, and the Buckeyes will pull off a decisive victory in front of a rowdy Ohio State home crowd.

Score prediction: Ohio State 41, Oregon 24

NCAAF Week 2 pick: Ohio State -14.5