6/1/2021 football Edit

Oregon AD says OSU game is ‘great opportunity’ to show Pac-12 strength

Rob Mullens discussed his program's forthcoming matchup with the Buckeyes on SiriusXM radio recently. (© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

Griffin Strom • DottingTheEyes

Team Writer

Just twice in the College Football Playoff era has the Pac-12 conference earned a proverbial “seat at the table” come bowl season, with its champion left watching from the sidelines more often than not.

For the past two years in a row, that champion has been the Oregon Ducks, who begin their 2021 campaign against Fresno State on Sept. 4, but unsurprisingly appear a bit more focused on the impending matchup with Ohio State the following week, based on recent comments from athletic director Rob Mullens.

“The chance to take a trip to Ohio State, we would’ve loved to have had them at Autzen last year, but the chance to go out there and compete against what many believe will be a top-three, top-five team on the road, will give us a chance to show what Pac-12 football is like,” Mullens said on SiriusXM radio in May.

The two programs were set to play one another in Eugene, Oregon, last season before the game was canceled due to COVID-19, and now Ohio State will pay $3.5 million to the Oregon program to travel to Columbus in 2021.

The last time these two teams met, the contest decided the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2015, with the Buckeyes securing a 42-20 victory over Mark Helfrich, Marcus Mariota and company.

That was the last time a Pac-12 team played for the national title, and Washington’s failed semifinal bid against Alabama in 2016 was the last time a team from the conference wound up in the playoff at all.

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“This league has won more national championships –– when you combine all sports –– than anybody,” Mullens said. “But at the end of the day, because of the visibility of football, that carries a disproportionate share of the brand of all of these college conferences.”

Ohio State is 9-0 against Oregon all-time, and the Buckeyes have not lost a nonconference regular season game since 2017, when eventual Heisman Trophy-winner Baker Mayfield led Oklahoma to a win in Columbus.

Still, Mullens views the stiff early-season task as a great chance to prove the Pac-12’s mettle as it looks to regain its luster in the college football landscape.

“We have to take advantage of our opportunities,” Mullens said. “A lot of those come in postseason, but we’re gonna have some great opportunities in the nonconference segment of our schedule this fall. We’ll have one –– even though it’s Game 2, and we’re focused on Game 1.”

However, the Ducks may have to overcome the odds to do so.

At least one early betting line, released by the South Point casino in Las Vegas recently, pegs Oregon as a 13-point underdog against the Buckeyes when the two meet for a noon kickoff on Sept. 11 in Columbus.