Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day. Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Ohio State could repeat unwanted history in CFP quarterfinals against Oregon

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Dec 23, 2024 8:52 PM ET

The 12-team College Football Playoff has been whittled down to eight remaining squads vying for a shot at the national championship.

One of the four quarterfinal matchups set to kick off around the New Year holiday is eight-seed Ohio State facing top-seeded Oregon at the Rose Bowl.

The two Big Ten Conference juggernauts met once already on Oct. 12 in a dramatic 32-31 victory for the Ducks at home in Eugene.

This time, the stakes are raised even higher in what will be a throwback to the days of the Pac-12 defending the West Coast from its Midwest rivals in Pasadena.

However, if the Buckeyes were to lose for a second consecutive time to Oregon, it would be the first time since the 19th century they've lost to the same program twice in the same season, per CBS Sports.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by CBS Sports (@cbssports)

Ohio State has lost to the same team twice in the same year three separate times.

All three occasions came in a three-year span from 1892-94 against first Oberlin College, then Kenyon College and finally Wittenberg University - in that order. Those three schools currently reside in Division III for NCAA athletics.

A loss to Oregon in Pasadena would add insult to injury in a year where Ohio State's $20M NIL investment resulted in no Big Ten title game berth and a fourth consecutive loss to fierce rival Michigan.

Both teams met in the 2010 Rose Bowl, the very first meeting between the programs, in a 26-17 win for the Buckeyes.

The New Year's Day game will be their fifth clash and second in the historic Pasadena-located stadium. The winner advances to the CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Interestingly, Ohio State has won each postseason matchup against Oregon but has lost those occurring in the regular season.

The last postseason game played between the two was the 2015 national championship, the first edition of the then-four-team CFP in which the Buckeyes emerged victorious.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

More must-reads: