Oregon's Jeremiah McClellan still probable as Ducks head to Ohio State

Jeremiah McClellan's status did not change on Oregon's last availability report before Saturday's trip to Columbus. The junior receiver was again listed as probable, and he remains on track to play for the first time since mid-September when the No. 23 Ducks visit No. 12 Ohio State, according to Oregon Ducks On SI.

That matches what CBS Sports insider Matt Zenitz reported Friday, as relayed by Heavy: sources told him McClellan, who has missed six straight games, is set to return. McClellan broke his foot during warmups before the Sept. 18 game against Portland State. At that point he led the Ducks in receiving yards, helped by a six-catch, 151-yard, one-touchdown opener against Boise State, ESPN reported. Coach Dan Lanning said Monday that McClellan had been doing some work in practice and called his progress "certainly promising," per Oregon Ducks On SI.

The rest of Friday's report was much less encouraging for Oregon. Nine players are out, among them quarterback Dante Moore, running back Jordon Davison, receiver Messiah Hampton and tight end Andrew Olesh, plus offensive linemen Trent Ferguson and Dave Iuli. With Moore sidelined, Dylan Raiola gets the start. Raiola is coming off his best game of the season, 336 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-31 passing against Northwestern. Getting back a receiver who can stretch the field gives him a target the Buckeyes have to account for, at a time when the rest of the skill group is thin.

What it means for Saturday

Oregon (5-3) needed McClellan most during the stretch it just went through. Before scoring 34 points against Northwestern, the Ducks had been held under 20 in three straight games: a 17-15 loss to UCLA, a 17-14 win over Nebraska and a 21-10 loss at Illinois. All three of their losses came by eight points or fewer. Ohio State (6-2) is also missing its starting quarterback. Julian Sayin is out, and freshman Luke Fahey makes his second start after an 18-30 loss at USC. Even so, the Buckeyes' defense held a ranked Indiana team to 15 points and gave up a total of 30 in its two previous games, against Maryland and Iowa.

The board has Ohio State favored, -270 to win outright on Novig and 7.5 points on the spread. Oregon is +264 on Novig, and the best price on the Ducks anywhere is +265 at BetRivers, so the 12 venues agree closely on the moneyline. The spread shows more variation: Novig has Oregon +7.5 at -100, while BetMGM offers a full eight points at -110. The total is 44.5 on Novig and as high as 45.5 at Hard Rock Bet. With both starting quarterbacks out, a total in the mid-40s points to a lower-scoring game. Sportsbook hold ranges from 3.4% to 7.0% across the spread market. Full prices are on our game page.

This is Oregon's first game in Columbus since its 35-28 win there in 2021. Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS. Season breakdowns are on the Oregon and Ohio State team pages.