National Championship report

Backups better off on bench

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2015, file photo, the University of Oregon Duck mascot reets parade-goers on Colorado Boulevard during the 126th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. In the days leading up to the Rose Bowl, Oregon sent customized football jerseys to some of its famous fans, including guitarist Tommy Thayer of Kiss, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and retired boxer Lennox Lewis. The jerseys were part of a social media campaign to draw non-football fans to the Ducks. The attention-grabbing promotion was the latest for an athletic department that is known for innovative marketing. Now the school's academic side is joining in. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2015, file photo, the University of Oregon Duck mascot reets parade-goers on Colorado Boulevard during the 126th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. In the days leading up to the Rose Bowl, Oregon sent customized football jerseys to some of its famous fans, including guitarist Tommy Thayer of Kiss, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and retired boxer Lennox Lewis. The jerseys were part of a social media campaign to draw non-football fans to the Ducks. The attention-grabbing promotion was the latest for an athletic department that is known for innovative marketing. Now the school's academic side is joining in. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)

Ohio State has already lost two quarterbacks to season-ending injuries. What happens if Cardale Jones goes down in the College Football Playoff National Championship game?

The Buckeyes' next option is Jalin Marshall, who doesn't have anything close to Jones' passing ability. Marshall has thrown two passes this season -- both were incomplete -- and the team would likely run a lot from the Wildcat formation if he's in the game.

"It's kind of difficult and hard for him because he's a receiver," Jones said. "We don't expect him to get in and do things that a quarterback would do, but he should be able to get in and manage the game."

Marshall was a quarterback in high school. Asked if Marshall could be relied upon to throw a fair amount of passes in a game, co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner smiled and said: "He's going to be efficient at whatever we need him to do."

Ohio State's other option is freshman Stephen Collier. He's been working with the scout team, portraying Oregon's Heisman-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, and has no desire to get on the field tonight.

"The plan is for me not to play," Collier said.

Big boys

Ohio State offensive linemen take being called a bunch of slobs as a compliment.

"People always think like offensive linemen are sloppy, fat guys who want to eat pizza all the time, which we do," tackle Taylor Decker said. "We just thought it was kind of funny. We just started calling each other that. And it just kind of became our label."

The Slobs usually convene at Decker and guard Pat Elflein's place.

"We've got two big recliners that are awesome right there," Elflein said. "The kitchen is huge, huge kitchen, steaks and grill, all that stuff. We've got a fenced-in backyard. I've got big speakers. Yeah, it's fun."

Elflein said all the Buckeyes are welcome but all those big guys in one place can be a problem. Especially when several try to walk up the stairs from the backyard to the porch.

"It broke because there was so much weight on it," Elflein said.

The same five linemen have started all 14 games this season for Ohio State. The five -- Decker, Elflein, Jacoby Boren, Darryl Baldwin and Bill Price -- average more than 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds.

Elflein said the landlord had to reinforce the porch.

"Luckily, nobody got hurt," Elflein said.

In his shadow

Oregon Coach Mark Helfrich led the Ducks to the first College Football Playoff title game. But it seems in every interview, people want to know about his predecessor.

On Sunday, Helfrich said that he and former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, text a lot, but it's not about football.

"I would say zero on the topic of football," he said. "Just personal stuff."

Oregon linebacker Tony Washington, a senior, was asked when Helfrich might get out of Kelly's shadow.

"Who knows?" Washington said after a pause. "Maybe win five national championships or something."

Ohio Ducks?

It turns out that the birthplace of the Oregon Ducks' mascot is Ohio of all places.

A Cincinnati company designed and created the costume worn by the Ducks mascot three decades ago after being contacted by the University of Oregon.

Randy Kent has been in the mascot making business since the 1970s.

He says the Ducks costume evolved during the design and that he had to make its head bigger.

His company called Stagecraft has created mascots for hundreds of schools across the country including North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, LSU and UConn.

He told WKRC-TV in Cincinnati that it's the person inside the costume who really gives life to the mascot.

Let's do it again

In a sense, the most important day for the 2014 Oregon football team was Dec. 3, 2013.

That was the day Oregon announced Marcus Mariota would return to school instead of making himself available for the NFL draft. That same day, Mariota's buddy, star center Hroniss Grasu, also announced he was coming back to school.

There was no drama. The deadline to decide was still more than a month away. There was little fanfare. No news conference with the school band.

"Yeah, at the time it was very Marcus-like," Oregon Coach Mark Helfrich said. "He's like, 'Hey, coach, I think I'm going to come back."

Good choice. Mariota won the Heisman Trophy and has led Oregon (14-1) to the College Football Playoff national championship game against Ohio State (14-1).

"My family and I, we took Thanksgiving weekend and kind of flesh it out," Mariota recalled. "When we talked about it and discussed it, we felt that it was best that I come back for another year."

And what did Helfrich say?

"He just shook my hand and said, 'Let's do it again,'" Mariota said. "For me, that says a lot about him and what he means to the program. He's done so much for us as players. I was excited to come back for another year."

Grasu, who earned second-team All-America honors, said he didn't think Helfrich was even surprised by their decision.

"He knows better than anyone that we are all about the team and anything for the team and it didn't surprise him one bit. I was really happy with the decision and really happy with his reaction because it didn't surprise him."

The third key player to give Oregon another season was cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. He chose to return for his senior season last Jan. 6. Ekpre-Olomu was an All-American this season, but suffered a season-ending knee during practice in December before the Rose Bowl.

What's a Heisman?

Two down, one to go for Ohio State's defense.

When the Buckeyes take on Oregon in tonight's College Football Playoff National Championship game, they'll be facing their third Heisman Trophy finalist in as many games. And this time they take on the winner, the Ducks' Marcus Mariota.

Yet the Buckeyes aren't dreading the showdown with the owner of the bronze statue. After all, they're 2-0 in the meetings with the other two guys invited to New York for the ceremony.

"It's brings more excitement, I guess," safety Vonn Bell says. "It steps up the games, it steps up the dedication, the preparation -- it's special in every way. What more could you ask for?"

The Buckeyes lambasted Wisconsin and tailback Melvin Gordon, No. 3 in the Heisman balloting, 59-0 in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 6 in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes held Gordon to a meager 76 yards on 26 carries.

They then took on top-ranked Alabama and wide receiver Amari Cooper in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State trailed 21-6 early but ended up winning 42-35. Cooper, the runner-up to Mariota, was largely ineffectual with nine catches for 71 yards.

Sports on 01/12/2015

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