In the days leading up to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, the Emerald will take a unit-by-unit look at Oregon and Ohio State, determining which team has the edge going into the showdown on Jan. 12 in Dallas. Today, we’ll look at each team’s defensive lines.

Oregon

The Ducks three-man front of Arik Armstead, Alex Balducci and DeForest Buckner is big. Really big. Balducci weighs over 300 pounds and both Buckner and Armstead stand above 6-foot-8.

Getting to the quarterback hasn’t been their forte on the year. Combined, the three defensive lineman have 7.5 sacks.

On the ground, the Ducks are giving up an average of 4.2 yards per carry and 156.1 yards per game. Buckner leads Oregon in tackles-for-loss with 12.5 on the season.

Bucker was named a second-team All-Pac-12 representative while Armstead was named honorable mention.

Ohio State

Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa was named the Big Ten conference’s defensive player of the year as he led Ohio State in sacks (13.5) and tackles-for-loss (20).

Other than Bosa, the Ohio State defensive line is made up of fellow defensive end Steve Miller and defensive tackles Adolphus Washington and Michael Bennett. The group of four hasn’t missed a game this season for Ohio State.

Bennett, a 6-foot-2, 288 pound senior, is third on the team in both tackles-for-loss (14) and sacks (7).

The Buckeyes defensive line is part of an overall defense that allows 3.9 yards per rush and 142 yards per game.

Advantage – Ohio State

Oregon center Hroniss Grasu said on Monday that Ohio State would be the best defense they played this year. Specifically, he highlighted the ability of the defensive line.

They’re big on the interior and fast on the outside, showing their ability to get to the quarterback and stop the run.

Keeping the combo of Bosa and Miller away from Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota will be a concern for the Oregon offensive line.

Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt