Oregon vs. Washington named among biggest ‘revenge games’ in 2023
By all means, the first year for Dan Lanning as head coach of the Oregon Ducks went pretty well. He finished with a 10-3 record, a bowl game victory, and a recruiting class that ranked inside the top 10 nationally.
However, he did commit one unforgivable sin in the eyes of college football fans — he lost to both of the Ducks’ biggest rivals: Oregon State and Washington.
While both games were close, and the Ducks arguably should have won each contest, it will be a black mark on Lanning’s record until he is able to right the ship and hand both the Huskies and Beavers a loss in return.
Fortunately, Oregon will have a chance at revenge this season, facing of against Washington on October 14th, and Oregon State on November 24th.
The Week 7 game against Washington has been named one of the biggest revenge games by USA TODAY’s College Football Wire, mainly due to how last year’s game ended:
For the first time since 2017, the Ducks lost this matchup of the two powers in the Pacific Northwest. This game also featured two quarterbacks in the Heisman Trophy race that was ultimately won by another Pac-12 passer. Oregon was in the hunt for the conference title but this loss along with the one against their in-state rivals ended things. Bo Nix and the Ducks hope to get the upper hand in 2023.
Washington won this matchup last season and is looking to get a second straight victory in the series for the first time since 2017. Michael Penix Jr will be among the Heisman favorites again this year with his trio of weapons at receiver. The winner of this matchup could be one half of the Pac-12 title game or we could even see a rematch if the cards fall just right.
This game comes relatively early in the season, so both teams should likely be undefeated entering the matchup. They also both have a bye week before the game, assuring that both squads will be relatively close to full health and rested for the big showdown.
In the last year of the Pac-12 before heading off to the Big Ten, there will certainly be a lot riding on this game.
