National Championship Early Betting Preview – (2) Ducks Ready for Soaring (4) Buckeyes

2015 College Football Playoff National Championship: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (Jan. 12, 8:30 p.m. Eastern)

(2) Oregon Ducks (-6.5, 75 o/u) vs. (4) Ohio State Buckeyes

There was a priceless moment in Urban Meyer’s press conference after his No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (13-1) upset No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl: after being told that the No. 2 Oregon Ducks (13-1) had just routed the undefeated Florida State Seminoles by almost 40 points in the Rose Bowl, Meyer realized he better stop celebrating and turn his attention to the title game.

“Oregon won by 40?” Meyer said. “I gotta go. We gotta go get ready for that one.”

While many predicted that the Ducks would handle the Noles, the spread was still single-digits heading into the game, and the ease with which Oregon outpaced Florida State was downright scary.

In the Rose Bowl, the Ducks were led, as usual, by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. The QB, who more than likely will be playing his last game as a Duck come Monday, had 338 yards passing and another 62 on the ground.

Of course, Mariota and the Ducks are not letting themselves get complacent and know there is still work to be done.

“We’ve got one more to take care of,” Mariota said after the Rose Bowl.

Added Oregon linebacker Derrick Malone Jr., “It’s perfect. I need another game. I’m glad I can still be a part of this. If we didn’t have another game, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

If the Ducks are going to stop Ohio State’s rolling offense, it’ll be because linebacker Darron Lee continues to dominate. This season, the redshirt freshman had the tall task of replacing former Duck Ryan Shazier (who left last year to go pro). So far, the youngster has exceeded expectations.

“Well, I’m not going to sit here and compare myself to him in any way, shape or form,” Lee said. “Ryan Shazier is Ryan Shazier, he’s a whole different ballpark, a league of his own, you know. I’m Darron Lee, he’s Ryan Shazier.

“You know, if people say I make plays like Ryan Shazier, I’ll take that as a compliment, because I have a high amount of respect for him and everything he’s done for this program from when he first got here to when he left.”

Though Shazier is gone, this year’s Oregon team still has a plethora of NFL-ready talent on both sides of the ball. Mariota is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the next NFL draft, while freshman running back Royce Freeman has emerged as a force on the ground and is sure to be playing on Sundays down the road.

Looking at the trends, Oregon has covered the spread in nine straight games. However, on the road, the Ducks are just 1-2 o/u in their last three. With the total at a high 75, look for the title game to stay under (75).

(Photo credit: Neon Tommy (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)