Oregon Ducks Football Week 10 Rooting Guide: Clear rooting interest in Penn State vs Ohio State and other top matchups
The vibes are high for the Oregon Ducks right now before their matchup with Michigan. They're undefeated at 8-0, beat Ohio State at home two weeks ago, and are the No. 1 team in the country.And yet, even if they finish off an undefeated season, there's a path where they could miss the Big Ten […]
The vibes are high for the Oregon Ducks right now before their matchup with Michigan. They're undefeated at 8-0, beat Ohio State at home two weeks ago, and are the No. 1 team in the country.
And yet, even if they finish off an undefeated season, there's a path where they could miss the Big Ten Championship Game.
Yes, you read that right. Allow me to explain.
Currently, Penn State and Indiana are both undefeated. One of the tiebreakers in the Big Ten Conference comes down to margin of victory over common opponents. Guess who Oregon, Penn State, and Indiana all play this year? Ohio State.
Oregon's margin of victory over Ohio State was only one point. Meaning, if Penn State and Indiana both run the table, and both of them beat Ohio State by more than one point, Oregon, despite being hypothetically undefeated at the end of the season, would be on the outside looking in.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, they don't entirely control their own destiny.
No. 3 Penn State vs No. 4 Ohio State: Ohio State narrow victory
So, with the above in mind, Oregon needs to root for their new rival, Ohio State, to knock off Penn State. We want Ohio State to win, but not too handily. The last thing the Ducks want to see is a Penn State victory, but the second-worst option is a lopsided Ohio State victory. If Ohio State dominates this game, we could see them climb all the way to No. 2. Fortunately for the Ducks, since they have the head-to-head victory and an undefeated record, Ohio State can't do anything to pass them up.
No. 2 Georgia vs Florida: Georgia not to look great
Listen, Florida isn't going to lose to Georgia, especially not with the game in Athens. That said, Florida has an incredible true freshman quarterback in DJ Lagway that could cement himself in the hearts of Gator nation by going into Georgia and pulling out a victory. Lagway has an incredibly bright future. Even if Florida doesn't pull off the upset, Ducks fans want Georgia to leave that game with plenty of questions to keep distance between them for the No. 1 ranking.
No. 5 Miami vs Duke: Miami to have their faults
The Miami Hurricanes might have the best quarterback in the country in Cam Ward, the Washington State transfer that's having an incredible season in Miami. Ward is leading all Power-4 quarterbacks in touchdowns with 24. For Ducks fan, similarly to the viewing goals of Georgia, we want Miami, who is undefeated at 8-0 just like the Ducks, to not have a dominant performance that would even begin to open up any conversations of them getting close to No. 1 in the AP Poll.
Follow along all year for more Oregon Ducks coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on X @JonHelmkamp, as well as follow our main page @AtoZSportsNFL for all the latest news.
