Bryce Boettcher couldn’t have imagined he would one day take the field for the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl. The stadium felt enormous to the seven-year-old from Eugene when he and his family visited in 2010,

The Rose Bowl will be a battle between the Big Ten establishment (Ohio State) and a new-era bully (Oregon), with conference supremacy and a path toward a national championship at stake.

When Ohio State plays Oregon on New Year’s Day, it will be only the seventh time the Buckeyes have played the same team more than once in a season.