THE PERTINENT INFO

When: Saturday, September 11, 2021
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
TV: Noon // FOX
Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft

This will be the tenth time Ohio State and Oregon play each in football. The Buckeyes have a perfect 9–0 record in the all-time series and are 5–0 when playing against the Ducks in Columbus. 

Mario Cristobal's team is currently ranked twelfth and is 1–0 after defeating Fresno State, 31-24, last week.

Below, you will find some interesting facts about the teams, coach information, and team stats.

THE LAST TIME...

• The Scarlet and Gray lost to a ranked non-conference opponent at home was in 2017 against Oklahoma.
• Ohio State played on September 11th was against Miami in 2010. The Buckeyes defeated the Hurricanes 36-24 in the Shoe.
• The Buckeyes lost to a Pac-12 team was 2009. Pete Carroll and USC defeated Jim Tressel's Buckeyes 18-15 in Columbus.
• Ohio State played a Pac-12 when ranked third in the nation was 2013. The team traveled to Berkley and beat Cal 52-34. 
• The Scarlet and Gray won on the last offensive play of the game in regulation was on September 11, 2004. The Buckeyes defeated Marshall, 24-21, with a 55-yard field goal as time expired.

ON THE HORIZON​​

• Chris Olave is one touchdown catch away from tying Santonio Holmes (25) for fourth on the all-time career touchdown list.
• This will be the 91st time Ohio State has faced a current member of the Pac-12. The Buckeyes have won 62 of the previous 90 games (.689). 
• This will be the 50th time Oregon has faced a top-five team. The Ducks are 8–40–1 all time in this scenario.
• Ohio State has defeated Oregon nine-straight times and is looking to go 10–0 against the team from Eugene.
• Home openers for the Buckeyes typically take place in Ohio Stadium during Week 1. This will mark only the tenth time for Ohio State to have its home opener as the second game of the season in the Shoe and the 13th time in Columbus.

GET TO KNOW OREGON

• UO is located in Eugene, OR.
• The university was established in 1876. 
• The Ducks are in their 126th season of playing football. 
• The team's original nickname was Webfoots. A live white duck named "Puddles" was seen at games in the 1920s.
• In the '40s, drawings of Puddles started to look like Disney's Donald Duck. In 1947, the university and Walt Disney came to an agreement to name the university's mascot Donald Duck.
• A student cartoonist came up with a new design in 1978 and named it Mallard Duck. However, the students voted to keep Donald by a 2-to-1 margin.
• In 2010, Oregon and Disney agreed to end the association of Donald Duck with the school's costumed mascot. The Oregon Duck mascot now has a rounder head than the cartoon version of Donald. The cartoon version of the Oregon Duck still resembles Disney's Donald Duck.  
• The Ducks played their first football game in 1894.
• Notable alumni are Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Ann Curry (The Today Show) Dave Depper (Death Cab for Cutie), Sam Elliott (Road House, The Big Lebowski), Neil Everett (SportsCenter), Dan Fouts (NFL HOF), Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cincinnati), Stu Jackson (NBA), Phil Knight (Nike), Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Steve Prefontaine (guy who liked to run far and fast) Ahmad Rashad (NFL, Inside the NBA), Norv Turner (OC Browns)

STRANGE OREGON LAWS

You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street in Marion County. Homer Simpson quietly weeps for the people in the county of Marion.

No ice cream on Sundays. One of the best bribes for keeping little kids quiet in church is not allowed in Oregon.

No animal sex in Oregon City. Is your pet feeling frisky and wanting to get it on with the poodle next door? Fido, a feline or another furry animal can have at it in Portland and Eugene. In Oregon City? No dice. Pets are not allowed to get their freak on in public.

It is illegal to whisper "dirty" things in your lover's ear during copulation. Who is in the room to enforce this law?

It is against the law to place a container filled with human fecal matter on the side of any highway. Oregon must have had a rash of drivers throwing their shit out of their cars while driving. I'll give the offender credit, it must take mad skills to drive and drop a load in a container at the same time.

​TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Can you name the current members of the Pac-12? Hint, there are 12 teams. 
2. Which Pac-12 team accounts for half of Ohio State's 26 losses to the current teams in the conference?
3. Only three teams in the Pac-12 have defeated Ohio State three or more times, who are they? 

THE COACHES

Ryan Day

• 24–2 (.923) at Ohio State (3rd year)
• 24–2 (.923) overall

Day's hometown is Manchester, NH. He attended Manchester High School and attended college at New Hampshire. Day has been in coaching for 20 years and is Ohio State's 25th head coach. 

Over his three seasons, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have outscored their B1G opponents 822-297. That is an average victory of 46-17. 

After 26 games with Day as head coach, Ohio State has put up a program record 1,149 points. Urban Meyer's teams had 1,083 points after 26 games.

Mario Cristobal

On December 8, 2017, Mario Cristobal became Oregon's 34th head coach. The Ducks finished 2020 with a 4–3 record and lost to Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon has played in a bowl game every season with Cristobal in command and defeated Wisconsin, 28-27, to win the 2020 Rose Bowl.

As a player and a coach, Cristobal has won three national championships. He took home two titles as a player with Miami (1989 and 1991) and one as an assistant coach with Alabama during the 2015 season.

Four of the last five Outland Trophy winners have been under Cristobal's tutelage. Prior to the 2020 season, he coached an All-American offensive lineman in seven consecutive seasons.

Cristobal started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Miami in 1998, a role he kept under Butch Davis thru 2000. He was at Rutgers (2001-03) as Greg Schiano's tight ends and offensive line coach. He joined Larry Coker's Miami staff in 2004 until he was hired as FIU's head coach in December 2006.

Cristobal made history when he was hired by FIU. He became the first Cuban-American Division 1-A head coach. During his six seasons with the Panthers the program went 24–47.

Nick Saban hired Cristobal on January 10, 2013. He became the Crimson Tide's assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator during his four seasons with the program. Cristobal was also named the National Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports in 2015.

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

• 0.....sacks allowed against Minnesota.
• 1......Saturday will mark the first time Oregon plays in Ohio Stadium when ranked in the AP Poll.
• 3......winning streak Oregon currently has over B1G opponents.
• 4......consecutive B1G titles.
• 5......2nd half completions for Stroud including 4 TDs. 
• 6......times Oregon has played in Columbus.
• 7......first time starters on defense for the Silver Bullets last week.
• 8.......number of Buckeye national championships.
• 11.....Big Ten titles since 2000.
• 12.....starters returning to play in 2021.
• 13.....starters from last year are not on this year's team.
• 14.....number of freshmen to play last week – eight were true freshmen.
• 15.....the Buckeyes are now 15-0 when starting the season against B1G foes.
• 16.....straight conference wins.
• 18.....times Ohio State has finished a season with at least 11 wins.
• 20.....years Ryan Day has been a coach.
• 21.....wins Oregon has over Big Ten teams.
• 22.....consecutive season-opening victories.
• 25.....bowl wins for Ohio State.
• 33.....straight seasons ranked in the AP preseason Top 25.
• 35.....wins Ohio State has against current Pac-12 teams in Columbus.
• 38.....C.J. Stroud's first career touchdown pass to Chris Olave. 
• 40.....the number of Big Ten titles the football team has won.
• 42.....wins in the last 45 season opening games.
• 45.....times current Pac-12 teams have played in Ohio Stadium.
• 46.....returning letterman are on the 2021 roster. 
• 70.....yards TreVeyon Henersond blazed for his first touchdown.
• 71.....yards Miyan Williams rumbles to score the Buckeyes' first TD in 2021.
• 75.....former Ohio State players on preseason NFL rosters.
• 85.....Buckeyes selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
• 89.....Consensus All-Americans.
• 100...this is the 100th season the Scarlet and Gray have played in Ohio Stadium.
• 132....number of years for Buckeye football.
• 152...the number of years The Ohio State University has been in the education business.
• 164...number of passing touchdowns since 2017 (Ryan Day's arrival).
• 246...yard Ezekiel Elliott rushed for against Oregon in the CFP title game.
• 453...victories for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.
• 461...Ohio Stadium victories for the Buckeyes when including the 2010 season.
• 932...number of official wins for the program (we know it's actually 944).
• 935...times Ohio State has been ranked in the AP poll.
• 4,501...combined rushing yards Oregon's CJ Verdell and Travis Dye have – the most of any active FBS RB duo.

2020 Final Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
45.0	19th	POINTS FOR	31.0	56th
201.0	45th	RUSHING OFFENSE	186.0	50th
294.0	33rd	PASSING OFFENSE	172.0	94th
495.0	27th	TOTAL OFFENSE	358.0	80th
.500	30th	3rd DOWNS	.438	48th
1.000	1st	RED ZONE	.750	89th
DEFENSE
31.0	88th	POINTS ALLOWED	24.0	73rd
203.0	98th	RUSH DEFENSE	90.0	43rd
205.0	62nd	PASS DEFENSE	298.0	102nd
138.1	88th	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	135.7	83rd
408.0	87th	TOTAL DEFENSE	388.0	78th
.571	109th	3rd DOWNS	.467	95th
1.000	62nd	RED ZONE	1.000	62nd
SPECIAL TEAMS
1.0	71st	PUNT RETURN	17.0	12th
19.0	47th	KICKOFF RETURN	17.8	60th
38.5	73rd	NET PUNTING	42.8	34th
MISCELLANEOUS
+1.0	27th	TURNOVER MARGIN	+2.0	10th
5.0	36th	PENALTIES	8.0	93rd
10		EDGE	9

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS

Can you name the current members of the Pac-12? Hint, there are 12 teams. 

Answer: Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington and Washington State.

Which Pac-12 team accounts for half of Ohio State's 26 losses to the current teams in the conference?

Answer: USC has 13 victories over the Buckeyes. Between 1975 and 2016 the Trojans owned a seven game winning streak in the series.

Only three teams in the Pac-12 have defeated Ohio State three or more times, who are they? 

Answer: USC (13), UCLA (4) and Stanford (3). The last win for USC was in 2009, UCLA nipped the Buckeyes 13-6 in 2001 and John Elway led Stanford to a comeback victory in 1982.