Oregon, Ohio, clarifying its allegiance before championship

"To change the name of Oregon just seemed wrong for us," Seferian said.

UPDATE: According to the Toledo Free Press, Oregon, Ohio, will change the name of the city for the national championship game on January 12.

The Oregon city council is expeceted to issue a proclamation Jan. 5 announcing a name change.

What the city's new name will be has not yet been decided.

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Oregon is Buckeye country.

No, not the state of Oregon, but the city of Oregon, Ohio, is Buckeye country and the folks who live there want to make that perfectly clear.

Two Oregon natives, Matt Squibb and Mark Rabbitt, started a petition on Friday to temporarily change the name of their city located east of Toledo to "Buckeye Town."

So far, the cause has over 600 supporters and has gained the attention of the city's mayor.

"We're having a lot of fun with it," Mayor Mike Seferian told the Toledo Blade. "We've got some very dedicated sports fans."

Although Mayor Seferian said the city won't necessarily change the name, so they do not upset the fans of other teams who live in Oregon, there will be a proclamation made stating the city has no allegiance with the Ducks facing off against the Buckeyes.

Both Rabbitt and Squibb are teachers at Whitmer High School, and while neither of them are OSU fans, they didn't want there to be any confusion on which team the town will be supporting come January 12.

"I don't want people to be confused [about] who we're rooting for that day," said Squibb, whose father is a Buckeyes fan.

Rabbitt, who happens to be a fan of That Team Up North, told the Blade that he will be rooting for the Buckeyes because of their affiliation with the Big Ten.

"Any success at Ohio State not only helps Michigan but anyone else who plays them," Rabbitt said.

The petition also calls for a temporary change of Clay High School's colors of green and yellow.

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