Good Luck Ducks, Week 11: Turtle Power

 

Oregon hosts an unfamiliar foe as the season officially enters the stretch run. 

 

It's been quite a season! While it still feels like it was just summer around here, especially coming off of a week with a string of 60+ degree sunny days, time is winding down on the 2024 college football regular season. The Ducks enter this weekend with an unblemished record at the top of the class, but there are still a few tests awaiting them before a potentially huge B1G championship game battle.

Next up on the schedule is a home game against Maryland. The Terps were coming off of a decent 2023 season that saw them win big in a bowl game and lose by just one score against the eventual national champs. They started off 2024 decently enough, but have been up-and-down for pretty much the whole schedule. Still, Maryland was 3-1 at one point and are coming off of a bye week, so it would be dangerous thinking to take them lightly right now.

Fortunately, the Ducks are still firing on all cylinders (I need to come up with another metaphor) despite losing their #1 option at wideout in Tez Johnson last week to an apparent shoulder injury. I was pretty convinced that Tez had broken his collarbone during the Michigan game, which was tough because he's the most exciting Oregon player this season in my eyes. (No offense to Dillon Gabriel, who is kind of... boring... because he's incredibly accurate and dare I say robotic in his efficiency at this point.)

I'm guessing we won't see Tez anymore this month unless he happens to make a surprise pop-up appearance against Washington somehow, but there are plenty of other reasons to be excited about the Ducks on both sides of the ball. Jordan James and Noah Whittington make a fearsome rushing tandem while still feeling like they've been underutilized. Having fresh ball carriers in November is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Terrance Ferguson is back wreaking havoc alongside newcomer Kenyon Sadiq, making a pair of tight ends that might not be rivaled. And Gabriel still has a plethora of talented targets on the field while we wait for Tez to return. Yes, it's a great time to be a Duck right now. There's still plenty of work to be done this season, however.

Notes and such:

• Maryland is trying to get in on that uniform game. There's only so much you can do with traditionally white road unis, so I respect this a lot. At least it's a lot better than some of their flag-based uniform designs.
• Do they have any history at all? Nope! This will be their first meeting.
• Ducks ranking this week: 1. The first CFP rankings came out this week at a very unfortunate time. Oregon is on top. No further questions.
• Dillon Gabriel Heisman Watch: I think it's down to Gabriel vs. Cam Ward depending on how the rest of the season schedule plays out. Both have been playing college football for approximately 34 years. If Miami wins out, well, people seem to be more excited about Ward despite Oregon probably being a better team at this point, at least based on their strength of schedule. I don't see the Colorado guy or Ashton Jeanty winning this because of how heavily weighted this usually is towards QBs for top ranked teams.
• Game time is 4:00 PM PST on the B1G Network in Eugene. Go Ducks!

Good Luck Ducks, Week 10: Quack in The Big House

Oregon heads to Ann Arbor to take on the defending champs. 

 

The Ducks bolstered their #1 standing with an impressive takedown of Illinois last Saturday, but there is plenty of work left to do. Next up: the defending champion Michigan Wolverines. Now, of course, Michigan enters today's game with a new head coach, a new quarterback and three losses. But they have excelled at something that should at least give most Ducks fans pause: keeping the scoring down. Oregon has put up a decent amount of points in most games this season, but that's because the opportunities have mostly been there. If you match up against an opponent that limits those opportunities, that should give you some pause.

There's plenty of good news, though. The Ducks could see the return of two key players in defensive monster Jordan Burch and gigantic tight end Terrance Ferguson. These are both two skilled players who should thrive in the massive Michigan stadium no matter what the situation.

A shoutout is due to Dennis of Too Many Verlanders this week. In addition to constantly supplying me with cool cards for my collection, he's often shown support for my Ducks over the years. Once the latest conference realignment moves were put into place, we knew the day would come when his Wolverines were going to start butting heads with Oregon on a regular basis. It doesn't seem like they're play each other every season to be so annoying as to become serious rivals, but a conference foe is what it is. At least I can still be happy when Michigan takes down Washington, like they did in January.

There's only a few games scheduled after this. It has been a whirlwind of a season. In some ways I'm still getting used to it not being summer anymore. Here's to hoping Oregon can hold steady in November to get a decent shot at the new playoff system.

Notes and such: 

• The Wolverines will reportedly be without one of their top defensive players today. Will Johnson has already racked up a couple of pick-sixes this season. Dillon Gabriel has been extremely accurate so far, but this should lessen some pressure.
• Do they have any history at all? Michigan holds a 3-2 edge, including three straight shutouts during early times. Their last meeting was in 2007, which reminds me...
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• Ducks ranking this week: 1 (AP). They gained some votes.
• Dillon Gabriel Heisman Watch: Considering how few mistakes the "veteran" college guy makes, it seems like the team's record is going to dictate how well he does in this race more than anything.
• Game time is 12:30 PM PDT on CBS in Ann Arbor. Go Ducks!