Huskies eye home upset of Ducks
Saturday’s matchup between Oregon and Washington could have a big impact on the Pac-12 North race. The Ducks are 4-1 in conference play (and 7-1 overall), but three of the other four teams in the division currently have two losses in the Pac-12, including Washington, which has won two straight to move to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
Keys for Oregon
Get another effective performance from QB. Anthony Brown was 25-for-31 for 307 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win over Colorado. While he probably won’t be that effective passing against the Huskies, the Ducks could certainly use a performance somewhere close to that.
Keep running the ball effectively. Oregon shredded Colorado on the ground to the tune of 256 yards, 127 of which came from Byron Cardwell on just seven carries. The Ducks averaged 7.1 yards per carry. Anything close to that will likely be too much for Washington to overcome.
Put pressure on Washington QB. Kayvon Thibodeaux had three quarterback hits last week. If Thibodeaux and his teammates can consistently put pressure on the Huskies’ Dylan Morris, it could be a long game for Washington.
Keys for Washington
Get into the end zone. While this may seem obvious for any team, the Huskies scored 12 of their 20 points in the win over Stanford last week on field goals. They will need to get some touchdowns to have the chance for an upset.
Continue to step up on defense. Washington limited Stanford to one touchdown and two field goals in its win last week, and held Arizona to 16 points on Oct. 22. Stanford had just 67 rushing yards and 194 passing yards. Slowing Oregon will be a lot tougher, but would boost the Huskies’ chances.
Run the ball effectively. Washington is at its best when it is running the ball effectively, like it did last week with 229 yards on 42 attempts. The Huskies only attempted 25 passes.
Prediction
The Huskies are playing much better over the past couple of weeks and are at home, so they definitely have a chance at the upset. The Ducks are just a better team, however.
Oregon 31, Washington 20