BYU makes first trip to Oregon since 1990
A look at this week’s game that likely will have the greatest impact on the road to the College Football Playoff semifinal game Dec. 31 in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
No. 12 BYU at No. 25 Oregon
Time/TV: 12:30 p.m. Saturday/Fox
Line: Oregon by 31⁄2
Best in show: If not for Oregon and No. 24 Texas A&M squeezing into the bottom of the AP Top 25 there would be no matchups of ranked teams this week, as the bulk of college football reaches the end of non-conference play. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a great deal at stake when BYU heads to Eugene to take on the Ducks.
It’s the second straight game against a ranked opponent for the Cougars, who beat Baylor last week in double overtime. Win this one and there is a path for BYU to make some noise nationally in October with back-to-back games against Notre Dame and No. 10 Arkansas. As for the Ducks, let’s see if the Georgia game was an anomaly.
FCS tonic for Ducks: After allowing Georgia 439 passing yards in its opener, Oregon held FCS Eastern Washington to 87 in its 70-14 win. It was the first time the Ducks had allowed fewer than 100 yards through the air since a win at Wyoming in 2017. Running on empty? BYU had just 83 rushing yards on 33 carries against Baylor. That could be a problem against the Ducks’ defense, which has held opponents to an average of 116 total rushing yards a game. “We just need to do a better job at starting and sustaining our combo blocks because Oregon has great defense. They’re fast, they flow, so it’s going to be another challenge this week to run the football, and we need to be really consistent in our technique,” offensive lineman Connor Pay said.
History lesson: Oregon and BYU have split their series 3-3. The last meeting between the two was in 2006 at the Las Vegas Bowl, a 38-8 victory for the Cougars. This is the first game at Autzen Stadium between the two teams since 1990. The Ducks upset No. 4 BYU 32-16 in a meeting that featured two big-name quarterbacks: Oregon’s Bill Musgrave threw three touchdowns and ran for another. BYU’s Ty Detmer was sacked five times. It was one of just three losses for the Cougars that season.
BYU 28-27.