3 keys to victory for No. 8 Oregon football in big matchup vs. No. 7 Washington
With both teams fresh off a bye, the No. 8 Oregon Ducks and No. 7 Washington Huskies will meet in the premier matchup of the week across college football at Husky Stadium Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ABC.
The Huskies (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) scraped past Arizona their last time out, 31-24, while the Ducks (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) beat Stanford two weeks ago in Palo Alto, 42-6.
The Ducks are looking to avenge a loss to the Huskies at Autzen Stadium a year ago, losing a back-and-forth affair, 37-34.
“Every one of our players knows exactly what this game means to them, you know, personally in that room, and then you know also just to everybody that’s a Duck fan,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “And they want to win. When they step on the field it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. They want to go out there, and they want to compete at a high level.”
Here are three keys to an Oregon victory in the Ducks' biggest game of the season so far.
Limit the Washington downfield passing game
Easier said than done, but most teams that have had success defensively against Washington’s nation-leading passing attack have limited the downfield passing threat.
UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. ranks first in all of college football in passing yards per attempt at 11.2, and three of his receivers in Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’lynn Polk average over 15 yards per catch.
Odunze has been lethal down the field, with four 100-yard receiving games in five games, and a 19-yard-per-catch average. The senior leads the Pac-12 in receiving yards with 608 and has six touchdowns and a punt return for a score.
Oregon, meanwhile, might be one of the few Pac-12 programs capable of limiting Washington’s passing attack if its numbers hold up. The Ducks are fifth in college football, allowing just 153.6 passing yards per game, and a nation-leading 4.8 passing yards per attempt. Oregon has been able to limit big plays all year, allowing just seven passing plays over 20 yards, tied for first in the nation.
The Ducks have yet to allow a pass play over 40 yards on defense.
Lanning also said Penix’s ability to fend off pressure and get passes off makes the Huskies dangerous.
“They probably give the biggest variety of pre-snap motions and shifts of any team that we played so far this year,” Lanning said. “They have a great deep passing attack, but I think (Penix) also has the ability to get rid of the ball when he does have pressure on him. I think he knows if somebody’s free, he knows where it’s coming from. He does a good job of alluding that pressure.”
Score, score, and score some more
Through five games, the Oregon offense has yet to truly be slowed down. Even when it has struggled for a series or two, it came back to score at least 38 points in every game this season.
The Ducks are currently one of two programs (USC) to average more than 50 points per game at 51.6 and are one of the most balanced offenses in college football, totaling 557.8 per game, good for second in the country.
The challenge should rise this week against one of the better defenses the Ducks have seen this year, but if the Ducks want to win, they’ll have to put up a lot of points.
“You’ve gotta just take it day by day and treat it for what it’s worth,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said. “It’s going to be a top-10 matchup, it’s gonna be a lot of noise, a lot of hype. But at the same time, you got to strap it up and go play football and do what we do and they’re going to do the same.
“It just turns into a football game and that’s exactly what it is each and every week. You can’t make it too big, can’t let the moment get too high. You’ve got to stay focused on the main thing and that’s just going out and executing.”
Washington’s defensive ranks don’t nearly matchup with Oregon’s, giving up 365 yards per game (good for 64th in the nation), but ranking 27th in points allowed at 18.4.
Weather any storms
Washington will undoubtedly look to throw haymakers early and often on offense. The Huskies rank sixth in the nation in 20+ yard plays with 43, good for 8.6 per game, and rank second in 30+ yard plays with 24, good for 4.8 per game.
With a sellout crowd, College GameDay and ESPN stopping by, and the hype that will follow both teams as the game gets closer, the Ducks will need to continue to weather any storms they face come Saturday.
That’s also been a talking point for Lanning and his team.
“The calmest place is the middle of the storm, and that’s where we’re going to be Saturday,” Oregon defensive lineman Taki Taimani said.
Lanning has pushed that message since Monday. The Ducks weren’t thrilled with their tight, 38-30 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock in their first road game and want to weather those storms better in another hostile environment in Seattle.
“Hostile can be fun,” Lanning said. “I think this one will be one of those environments where there’s gonna be a lot of distractions, a lot of pieces going on outside the puzzle, but we really focused on being the eye of the storm, the calm within the storm. I think our guys will handle that well.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Keys to victory for Oregon football in Seattle showdown vs. Washington
