In the College Football Playoffs, the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes will square off in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks’ social media team shared a preview of the game ahead of their Rose Bowl semifinal showdown, mentioning what is likely the most historic bowl game in college football history in the caption. They posted, “The Granddaddy Of Them All,” by the Oregon Ducks.

Ohio State and Oregon are set to face off at 2:00 PM ET on January 1 at Rose Bowl Stadium in sunny Pasadena, California. Ohio State enters the game with an 11-2 record, while Oregon remains undefeated at 13-0.

The Rose Bowl’s history dates back to 1902 when Stanford and Michigan played in the inaugural game. Initially known as the East-West football game, the stadium has since hosted several Super Bowls and serves as the venue for an annual College Football Playoff matchup.

The previous meeting between Ohio State and Oregon occurred during Week 7 of the 2024 college football season. In their first meeting, the Ducks prevailed 32–31. The Buckeyes are a 2.5-point favorite going into the Rose Bowl, according to ESPN BET, even though the Ducks were the most dominant team in the 2024 Power Four.

Before the Rose Bowl matchup, Ohio State Buckeyes fans rally with chants of “We Want Oregon.”

In the opening round of the College Football Playoff, the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Tennessee Volunteers with a 42-17 victory, earning a Rose Bowl rematch against the Oregon Ducks. As the game against Tennessee became a blowout, Buckeyes fans erupted into chants of “We want Oregon.”

The rematch will pit Oregon’s coach, Dan Lanning, against Ohio State’s Ryan Day, with early betting odds favoring the Buckeyes.

The Ducks and Buckeyes delivered an instant classic during their regular-season showdown, setting the stage for what seemed like an inevitable rematch in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. However, a stunning upset loss to the Michigan Wolverines knocked Ohio State out of the conference title game, paving the way for the Penn State Nittany Lions to face the Ducks instead.

However, there were some dispute surrounding Oregon’s first meeting with Ohio State. After the game, there was much discussion about a number of dubious calls made by the referees. Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa seemed to wrestle the ball out of Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek’s hands as the two were falling to the ground during the Buckeyes’ opening offensive drive of the game.

The slow-motion replay demonstrated that Kacmarek never had possession of the ball, and Bassa was not given an interception, even though the officials chose not to examine the play. Three plays later, Ohio State had a 7-0 lead.

The Buckeyes were attempting to set up a game-winning field goal attempt as they drove down the field in the fourth quarter. After the game, observers like Joel Klatt of Fox Sports questioned the referees’ decision to flag offensive pass interference on Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Ohio State had a third down with 25 yards remaining in the game with 10 seconds remaining. In the play that followed, Oregon guarded the Buckeyes with 12 men on the field after Oregon coach Dan Lanning called a timeout for the Ducks defense. The incident made many question whether Lanning and the Ducks purposefully earned the five-yard penalty to waste important time off the clock so late in the game, even though the officials called a foul.

Will Howard, the quarterback for the Buckeyes, scurried with six seconds left and slid as the clock ran out. With time remaining, Ohio State was unable to request a timeout.

Although the Oregon coach never acknowledged it, the play prompted the NCAA to formally amend the regulation in the middle of the season. The NCAA rules committee changed the rule to allow the offense to reset the game clock to the time prior to the snap if the defense commits a substitution violation in the last two minutes of a half.

The rematch in the Rose Bowl is expected to be another close game after the Ducks defeated the Buckeyes by a single point, 32-31. The Ohio State coach discussed his quarterback’s mentality in the lead-up to the New Year’s Day game.

“Creating another solid strategy and carrying it out on the field will be crucial. That’s what it boils down to, I believe. “I know Will is thrilled about the chance to play Oregon once more,” Day said.