Final score predictions for Oregon Ducks Pac-12 opener vs. Arizona Wildcats
The college football landscape has produced some interesting results on Saturday of Week 4. No. 7 Clemson was tested by No. 16 Arkansas in overtime; No. 14 Iowa State faced an uphill battle against Baylor, and No. 9 Clemson had all it could handle with North Carolina State. Even No. 23 Auburn struggled against Georgia State.
That’s certainly something to think about for Oregon Duck fans to take note of going into their conference opener against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night. While many betting lines have the Ducks favored by somewhere between 28-32 points, a Pac-12 opponent is never someone that you can look past, especially when we’re talking about Arizona.
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Luckily for Oregon, they are expected to have some of their best players back from injury in time for this game. While we still don’t know the status of star defender Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was labeled as day-to-day earlier this week, the Ducks expect to have QB Anthony Brown, LBs Keith Brown and Mase Funa, and WR Troy Franklin all back for this game. With those players on the field, plus a new confidence in the complete depth of this team after a dominant second half against Stony Brook, Oregon fans should still have great confidence going into this one.
In reality, this game against the Wildcats should theoretically resemble to matchup vs. the Seawolves last week. Arizona is near the bottom of the Pac-12, with 15 straight losses to their name. The Ducks will look to get out on top early in the first half, and coast to the finish while hopefully playing a number of underclassmen and backups in the second half.
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So how will the Ducks try to build a lead? Expect a heavy dose of the ground game early, and don’t be shocked if Brown cuts it loose a little bit through the air for once. We haven’t seen the receiving core in Oregon put up many big numbers yet this season, but it feels like with students back in Autzen Stadium for a night game, they might want to create some highlight plays.
Beyond the offense, it will be on Oregon’s defense to be as dominant as we saw last week, holding the Wildcats’ offense quiet and allowing Joe Moorhead and his squad to build a lead.
As always, though, the main goal is to take care of business, leave with a win, and do whatever you can to stay healthy.
Final Score Prediction: Oregon 49, Arizona 10
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