Ohio State's New Top Rival Showing It Means Serious Business

The Ohio State Buckeyes have a new fierce rival in the Big Ten, and it's a scary thought moving forward.

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus and the Oregon Duck interact during the first half of the NCAA football game at Autzen Stadium | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan, move over. The Ohio State Buckeyes may have a new top rival.

Okay, maybe that was a bridge too far. It's hard to imagine anyone supplanting the Wolverines as Ohio State's arch nemesis, but the Oregon Ducks may be on their way to earning one of the top spots on the Buckeyes' rivalry totem pole.

Oregon made its Big Ten debut this season, and it has already made multiple major splashes, beating Ohio State in Eugene back in Week 7 and finishing the regular season undefeated.

The Ducks will also be facing the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten championship game, leaving the Buckeyes out in the cold.

To add insult to injury, Oregon was able to flip one of Ohio State's top commitments, as five-star cornerback Na'eem Offord spurned the Buckeyes in favor of the Ducks on national early signing day.

Oregon has been besting Ohio State in every single capacity in 2024, and it's unquestionably a rather scary thought for the future.

The Big Ten was already loaded enough. Now, the Buckeyes will not only have to worry about Michigan, Penn State and the like, but they will also have to contend with the Ducks.

It goes beyond just facing Oregon every season, too. Ohio State will have to right the Ducks for recruits. It will have to battle them in the transfer portal. The Buckeyes will now be locking horns with Oregon for Big Ten supremacy for the foreseeable future.

The Ducks struck a major blow by stealing Offord away from Columbus on Wednesday. Ohio State thought it had a shutdown corner on his way. Instead, he decided to head to an Oregon squad that has not lost a single game this year.

Things were already difficult for a Buckeyes team that has not won a national championship in a decade. Now, thanks to the introduction of the Ducks into the conference, Ohio State's journey has gotten even tougher.