The College Football Playoff is set to continue as the Texas Tech Red Raiders meet up with the Oregon Ducks in the Orange Bowl as part of the quarterfinals round. And it’s going to be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Texas Tech and Oregon both have a ton of talent all over their rosters and they’ve been able to get some of their injured stars a good bit healthier in recent weeks. So, how will things work out as the Red Raiders face off against the Ducks in Miami?
Here are three storylines I’m intrigued by as the Red Raiders face off against the Ducks in the Orange Bowl:
Can Texas Tech’s offensive line keep Behren Morton upright against Oregon’s robust front seven?
The Oregon Ducks have been pretty solid on the defensive side of things, which isn’t at all any sort of shocking given that Dan Lanning is their head coach and Oregon has all of the resources available to build a really robust roster.
So, one thing I’m intrigued by is how Texas Tech’s offensive line holds up against the likes of the Oregon front seven. The Ducks have been able to stymie opposing offenses all year long and Behren Morton still isn’t fully healthy.
Can Texas Tech’s offensive front keep Morton upright? Will the Ducks be able to get after the Red Raiders’ quarterback? The Ducks have 25 sacks on the season so far. Will they add to that total against Texas Tech?
How will Oregon’s running game match up against the Red Raiders’ stout run defense?
The Ducks are really good at a lot of things and that certainly includes running the ball effectively against just about anyone. So far this season, Oregon is averaging 217.1 rushing yards per game. And that’s pretty solid!
But, the Red Raiders currently have the best run defense in the country. There’s nobody around that is doing better against opposing rushing attacks than Texas Tech is right now.
So, who wins this battle? Will it be Texas Tech’s run defense or the Ducks’ rushing attack?
Will the time off help the Red Raiders or hinder them as Oregon is carrying a bit of momentum after beating James Madison?
Last season, we got to see the Ducks take a bit of a breather in the opening round of the College Football Playoff and it absolutely did not pay off for Oregon when they ran up against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who hit their stride and rolled right past the Ducks in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff.
So, what will we see this year? Will we see Texas Tech be able to take advantage of having some time off or will the Ducks keep building some momentum after steamrolling the James Madison Dukes?