Oregon seeks redemption as it hosts Washington
In the same way the number 12 will never be forgotten in the long history of the border rivalry between Washington and Oregon — as in 12 straight wins by the Ducks — so will the number 70.
As in 70 points. That's the number of points Washington scored the last time it stepped foot inside Oregon's Autzen Stadium in a 70-21 rout that won't be soon forgotten in the upper left corner of the country.
The Ducks are a far better team than they were two years ago when the Huskies emphatically ended 12 years of misery. And there would be no better way for No. 17-ranked Oregon to shake up the Pac-12 race than knocking off No. 7 Washington on Saturday.
Oregon (3-1, 1-1 Pac-12) already faltered once when it blew a 17-point halftime lead at home and lost 38-31 to Stanford in overtime last month. If the Ducks want to stay in the conference title race come November, a victory over the Huskies (5-1, 3-0) is a must.
Almost everything is working in favor of the Ducks. They're at home where they've won 10 of the past 14 games against top 10 ranked teams. They're coming off a bye week after winning at California two weeks ago. They're motivated after being outscored 108-24 in the past two meetings against Washington.
And the Huskies are coming off a lackluster performance in a 31-24 win over UCLA last week that raised concerns about the state of their defense. Oregon's offense is averaging more than 42 points with quarterback Justin Herbert as the starter. Washington allowed 422 yards and 6.49 yards per play against UCLA, most of those coming in the second half.
Star QBs share stage for Missouri-Alabama
It's the Southeastern Conference's top young gun versus the elder statesman.
No. 1 Alabama's quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the high-flying sophomore star, takes on Missouri and its own prolific passer Drew Lock Saturday night.
It's an intriguing matchup of talented quarterbacks in a game where the so far unchallenged Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 SEC) is favored by four touchdowns.
Lock is the reigning All-SEC passer with 10,000-plus career yards for the Tigers (3-2, 0-2).
He is coming off subpar performances in losses to South Carolina and No. 2 Georgia. He completed less than half his passes in both games with three interceptions and no touchdowns.
Tagovailoa is leading the nation in passing efficiency and has emerged as possibly the Heisman Trophy front-runner.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said Tagovailoa has a sprained knee and wore a protective brace but wasn't limited in practice during the week "so that's not an issue."
Missouri is still missing deep threat Emanuel Hall and coach Barry Odom also said receiver Nate Brown remains limited by an injury. Both missed the South Carolina game.
Alabama will face Lock without starting cornerback Trevon Diggs, who broke his foot in the Mississippi State game.
Diggs, the brother of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs, may be out for the season.