'Gonna be an all-out brawl': Oregon vs. Washington will be a national game on ABC
Oregon doesn’t have a game this Saturday, but the Ducks won’t be taking the week off.
For the first time in the 123-year history of their often-heated rivalry, No. 8 Oregon and No. 7 Washington will both be ranked in the top 10 when they meet in Seattle Oct. 14 for the 115th game in the series.
Now is not the time to be taking days off, coach Dan Lanning said Saturday after the Ducks beat Stanford 42-6 to improve to 5-0.
“We’re not going into a bye week, we’re going into a work week,” Lanning said.
The Pac-12 announced the game between the Ducks and Huskies will be played at 12:30 p.m. and air on ABC.
“We’re about to play a real opponent,” Lanning said. “Those guys play good ball up north.”
Oregon is off to its best start since 2013 and is one of two teams in the nation along with Oklahoma to rank in the top 10 in the FBS in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
The Ducks rank second nationally with an average of 51.6 points per game and are eighth with an average of 11.8 points allowed per game.
Even with their early success and production, there is room for improvement Lanning said.
“Our guys know what our goals are, what we have to accomplish,” he said. “A lot of teams are going to relax this week. We’re going to do better. We have a plan in place. We’ve really got to self-scout ourselves. It’s time to peel back layers.”
Washington (5-0) is also on its bye week, meaning both teams are in the midst of a two-week stretch of self-improvement and game-planning as the hype for their upcoming showdown builds.
“This is a big week for us,” said Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, who threw for four TDs against Stanford Saturday and now has 1,459 yards, 15 touchdowns and just one interception on the season. “Everybody’s gonna be excited. But you’ve got to keep the main thing the main thing.”
Washington has the Pac-12’s most prolific offense and is led by a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, Michael Penix.
The Huskies average 569.4 yards per game and Penix has thrown for 1,999 yards, 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Penix was sensational against Oregon last season in a 37-34 win at Autzen Stadium when he threw for 408 yards and two TDs as the Huskies scored 10 points in the final 3:07 to rally for the win.
Nix threw for 279 and two scores and he rushed for 55 yards for a touchdown that day. He suffered a lower leg injury in the fourth quarter.
“It's a good thing for us that we can have a reset with this off week and can go into it fresh and ready to go, but I believe they're in the same boat,” Nix said. “It's going to be an all-out battle. It’s gonna be an all-out brawl, especially after last year and especially how both teams have started this year. I'm extremely excited about it. I know they are too.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks vs. Washington Huskies kickoff time, TV info set
