by Michelle Richardson

DALLAS–If you asked me last week who was going to win Monday night’s championship between Oregon and Ohio State I would have picked Oregon but a lot has changed since last week. Oregon has had their wide receiver Darren Carrington suspended for Marijuana use and he didn’t make this trip to Dallas with the team. Carrington failed a drug test, also suspended for failing a drug test is running back Ayele Forde who also didn’t travel with the team.

Carrington is the guy who lit up Florida State’s secondary so he was a very vital weapon in the Rose Bowl, right now for Monday’s game I’m giving the slightest edge to Oregon to defeat Ohio State. If the Buckeyes offense catch the Ducks sleeping you know it can be anyone’s ball game. It’s funny how this boils down to this last weekend and something as small as one player being missed and being gone like Carrington will effect you winning the national championship.

Carrington has been crucial to the offense to quarterback Marcus Mariota’s passing game for the entire season and now when your going into the most important game of the season you now don’t have that player to lean on. So like former ABC play by play announcer Keith Jackson would say “this is going to be a barn burner.” People have been arguing for Carrington that marijuana is legal in Oregon. Yes it is legal in Oregon but he also a member of the NCAA and so is Oregon University.

The NCAA considers marijuana use as a street drug like cocaine or heroine and therefore it is illegal to use it while playing for the NCAA. Which as this turns out to be a very sad situation, this is the biggest game of the season and Carrington and Forde failed the test and their suspended by the league. Carrington is now out and not eligible and he is a freshman and this not the way he would want to go into the combine with this hanging over his head after such a super season. Carrington is going to have to do a lot of work and answer some of the scouts at the combine or pro day “why is it that you let your team down at it’s most crucial point?”

Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones is a bit of a mystery because he was a third string quarterback, he was the guy who came in last week to play in the first semi final game for the second string quarterback who was replacing the first string quarterback at the beginning of the season who was injured. So there is very little to know about Jones who has not seen too much action and has a 113.5 quarterback rating coming into Monday night’s game.

What the media knows about Jones is what he did last week in Ohio’s win over Alabama 42-35, Jones threw for 243 yards, 18-35, and one touchdown and was sacked three times. He did a great job against Alabama. We know a lot about the Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota the Heisman Trophy winner and he was the Pac 12 passing leader and won a few more awards. In this match up I give the edge to Jones because the Buckeyes like the Crimson Tide last week didn’t know a lot about him.

Its very hard for the offensive unit you have to get the offensive coordinator to plan on how to cover when Jones is throwing, under that situation he’s got one week of information about him. Many, many things can change about him in a week when it comes to putting a game plan together. Mariota needs to throw accurately and he’s missing a weapon his running back Carrington.

Michelle Richardson does weekly commentary on the NCAA hear the podcast below on http://www.sportsradioservice.com