The battle between one of the best offenses and defenses in the country, that’s the easiest way to outline No. 4 Texas Tech and No. 5 Oregon’s matchup on New Year’s Day. The two have only met three times before, in 1991, 1992 and 2023.
Check out below how the Red Raiders and Ducks’ seasons have gone and Oregon’s first round win:
🔴⚫️ Texas Tech (12-1)
When describing Texas Tech, the saying ‘defense wins championships’ must be the first that comes to mind — and it’s not just because the Red Raiders won the Big 12 championship.
TTU arguably stunt college football’s best defense this year. They’ve antagonized each offense presented in front of them, ranking first nationally in both rushing yards allowed per game (68.5) and turnovers gained (31), and third in points allowed per game (10.92) and yards allowed per game (254.4). Outside of their loss to Arizona State, no team has scored over 20 points on them — 24 total points across three ranked matchups.
It was no surprise that the group secured five All-Big 12 honors a few weeks ago, but if there’s one name to know, it’s linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. The man in the middle was named conference Defensive Player of the Year and won multiple national awards as well. Rodriguez finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Now, the offense isn’t too far behind, torching defenses week after week. Second in the country in points per game (42.5), they averaged 32.3 points in its three ranked contests, most recently dropping 34 on BYU in the Big 12 championship.
Texas Tech hasn’t faced much pushback this season, chugging through most of the season like a freight train. However, Oregon’s strong offense and defense presents a tough challenge.
🦆 Oregon (12-1)
The highest ranked at-large bid team in the CFP, Oregon unleashed its high-octane offense against James Madison in the first round, dropping 51 points and 514 yards in front of the home crowd, resulting in a 51-34 victory.
Even though the six touchdown performance was impressive, it’s not surprising for the Ducks. The offense is their bread and butter, headlined by quarterback Dante Moore, who finished with five touchdowns against the Dukes, and a deep and talented wide receiver core that got starting wide out Dakorien Moore back from injury after missing the previous four games with a knee injury. And let’s not forget about tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who leads the team in touchdowns, alongside a rushing attack that averages 217.1 yards per game.
Oregon poured in 39.2 points per game this season, but fell behind Indiana and Ohio State in the Big Ten’s ‘top team’ competition after losing to the Hoosiers midseason, erasing their Big Ten championship game odds, even with three ranked wins, two coming against then-No. 3 Penn State in double overtime and then-No. 20 Iowa, 18-16. However, the Ducks’ win over James Madison should’ve been a reminder of how scary they can be when the offense gets going.
Coach Dan Lanning called the 17-point victory ‘bittersweet’ after Oregon’s momentum slowed as the game continued. They led 34-6 at halftime and were outscored 28-17 in the second half, which could be concerning considering the Ducks rank top ten in scoring defense, allowing just 16.31 points per game.
It will be interesting to see how Oregon performs against another strong opponent like Texas Tech.
