Ohio State-Oregon football rivalry has been ‘growing’ for 66 years

The gifted tree was a result of a bet between the governors of each state, according to the University of Oregon’s Athletics Archivist Lauren Goss (h/t WCMH).

“The Oregon governor Robert Holmes bet a Douglas fir tree, and the Ohio governor William O’Neill bet a Buckeye tree,” Goss said.

Since Ohio State won, Holmes sent the fir tree to Columbus, but O’Neill, impressed by the upheld promise, decided to return the favor by sending a Buckeye tree.

“The Oregon governor, he went to the University of Oregon, and so he decided to honor his school, honor the football team for their performance, and sent that Buckeye tree down here to the university campus,” Goss said.

If future governors had decided to continue the wager, there would be a lot more Buckeye trees on campus in Eugene.

In 10 total meetings, Ohio State has beaten Oregon nine times — four of which were part of national championship seasons for the Buckeyes (1957, 1961, 1968 and 2014).

Most notably, Ohio State upset Oregon in the 2015 National Championship Game 42-20, coincidentally the last time it won in the rivalry.

In 2021, the most recent meeting, the Ducks left Columbus 35-28 upset victors. Saturday night will be the 11th all-time meeting and only the second time Ohio State has traveled to Eugene.

The Buckeyes will be the 15th Big Ten team to travel at least two time zones for a game this season, with the visitors only winning two of the 12 completed games. (Washington at Iowa and Penn State at USC are scheduled to play before Ohio State.)

“Now we are in the same conference and it’s kind of just interesting to see that legacy and that history of this competition between these two schools,” Goss said.