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College Football Playoff players to watch, key to the Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon

nick bromberg
Senior writer
·4 min read

The 2025 Rose Bowl looks like a traditional matchup even though it involves two teams from the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff. No. 1 Oregon is the underdog to No. 8 Ohio State despite the Ducks' win earlier in the season.

[More CFP: Notre Dame vs. Georgia | BSU vs. PSU | Texas vs. ASU]

Date: Jan. 1 | Time: 5 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN | Line: Ohio State -2.5 | Total: 55.5

Ohio State: The Buckeyes looked like the national title contenders we expected them to be before the season with a 42-17 demolition of Tennessee in the first round. Ohio State went up 21-0 in the first half and made it clear that Tennessee had no chance at winning the game very early. Now they get a shot at avenging their 32-31 loss to the Ducks in October.

Oregon: The only undefeated team at the top level of college football has outscored its opponents by an average of 36-18 this season. The Ducks have four one-score wins this season and also are the only team with victories over three playoff teams. Oregon can boast wins over Boise State, Ohio State and Penn State.

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel was a Heisman finalist a year after Oregon QB Bo Nix was a Heisman finalist. Gabriel transferred to Oregon for his final season of college football after two seasons at Oklahoma and three seasons at UCF and has been one of the best QBs in the sport. Gabriel is 297-of-406 passing for 3,558 yards and 28 TDs with six interceptions. His interception rate is just 1.5% and he’s never had an interception rate higher than 2% in any of the five full seasons of college football he’s played.

Ohio State’s Will Howard was fantastic against Tennessee with 24 completions for 311 yards and a TD and an interception. Howard threw for over 300 yards for just the second time this season in that game and has thrown for 3,171 yards in 13 games. His first 300-yard game this season came in that loss to Oregon when he was 28 of 35 for 326 yards and two scores.

Oregon RB Jordan James: The Ducks’ leading rusher sets up the passing game and had a solid game against the Buckeyes on Oct. 12. James had 23 carries for 115 yards and a score in the win. For the season, James has rushed 226 times for 1,253 yards and 15 TDs while also adding 24 catches for 202 yards. He’s rushed for at least 83 yards in 11 of Oregon’s 13 games so far this season and has crossed the century mark six times.

Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka: Ohio State made it a point to get the ball to Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith early against Tennessee and it paid off. Egbuka had five catches for 81 yards and has 65 grabs for 824 yards and nine scores. His stats are down from 2022 when he had 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 scores, but he was also playing with Marvin Harrison Jr. that season. Egbuka had 10 catches for 93 yards and a score in the loss to Oregon earlier this season.

How loose is Ohio State? The Buckeyes looked like a totally different team against the Volunteers than they did against Michigan. The offensive stats from the matchup between Ohio State and Oregon on Oct. 12 were almost identical. Ohio State rushed 33 times for 141 yards; Oregon rushed 31 times for 155 yards. The Buckeyes threw for 326 yards; Oregon had 341 passing yards. The big separator between the teams came via penalties and turnovers. Ohio State fumbled twice and also committed eight penalties for 70 yards. Oregon didn’t turn the ball over at all and had three penalties for 25 yards.

If Ohio State is going to win as the favorite, the Buckeyes need to get Quinshon Judkins going. He had just 11 carries for 23 yards and a score in the first matchup while TreVeyon Henderson had 10 carries for 87 yards.