The Game of the Year. Again.
After a nerve-wracking, nail-biting overtime victory over Washington last week, the Oregon Ducks hit the road to take on the pesky Washington State Cougars today. The Cougs are flying high with a shiny new Top 25 ranking of their own this week, and are finally hosting ESPN's College GameDay for the first time, after decades of having their team flag on display during every broadcast. Mike Leach's "air raid" offense usually gets all of the attention (much of it deserved), but this time around it's the defense that's turning heads.
On the Ducks side, the team suffered a huge loss last week when true freshman beast Penei Sewell suffered a high ankle sprain. The offensive line has been one of the keys to Oregon's success this season, so this is a big blow that they'll have to deal with for the rest of the regular season. The Ducks leaned heavily on the running game to eventually overtake the Huskies last week, which seems to be a big focus of Mario Cristobal's offensive philosophy, himself a former lineman.
Will Oregon be able to sustain their success as they hit the road for just the second time? Pullman is a crazy place to play. Will the Cougar students be able to continue their GameDay party all night? If there's any place that could pull it off, it's probably Pullman.
Link time:
- The Cougars have the nation's 15th ranked defense, but it's the penalties they draw that are killing opponents.
- This week is the fourth straight time Oregon has faced a ranked opponent, but supposedly the Pac-12 is subpar. That doesn't add up. Predictions seem to be mixed for this one.
- Herbert Heisman Temperature Level: Still mild. Still gaining acceptance.
- Know Your Opponent: With the party starting so early up in the Palouse, the Ducks can only hope everyone has turned into Popcorn Guy by the 4th quarter.
- The Unis!: All white with chrome helmets, same as the Cal game. Announcers still continue to talk about their endless uniform combinations, despite the evidence that they've been whittled down to just four.
You have to go back to 2014 to get to Oregon's last win over the Cougars. It was a squeaker.
At this point in the season that's pretty much every week! Good luck again to your Ducks.
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