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The Pac 12 North is still pretty much a wide open race at the halfway point of the 2014 college football season. Oregon (5-1, 2-1) and Stanford (4-2, 2-1) share the lead with Oregon State (4-1, 1-1), Washington (5-1, 1-1) and Cal (4-2, 2-2) not far behind. We’ll get a better idea of the North race this weekend at Oregon where the Ducks and Washington face off in one of the more interesting match ups of the week.
What immediately comes to mind in this matchup is the Ducks high flying offense against the Huskies opportunistic defense. Marcus Mariota, Byron Marshall, Jake Fisher, Hroniss Grasu and company versus Danny Shelton, Hau’oli Kikaha, Shaq Thompson, Marcus Peters, etc. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be incredible to see elite playmakers go against elite playmakers. What it’s all about. But more than likely it will be the other matchup that will determine the outcome of this game, and that is Washington’s offense versus Oregon’s defense.
Wasington is 95th nationally in total offense. Granted, they’ve put up some points this season (34.8 per game), but against the one good defense they faced all season (Stanford), they were almost completely shut down. 179 total yards at home against a major divisional rival. Last week they were able to right some of their wrongs offensively with 31 points against Cal. Against a defense ranked 121st out of 125 teams nationally. Sorry for not yet being sold on the Huskies offensive capabilities.
Oregon, meanwhile, is 107th nationally in total defense giving up 470 yards per game. They’re 60th in points allowed per game at 24.3. Their last three games alone they’ve given up 85 points, all against Pac 12 foes.
The Huskies need QB Cyler Miles to continue doing a good job limiting turnovers. They need the offensive line, who gave up 4 crucial sacks against Stanford, to keep him upright and buy him time to make the proper reads. Their wide receivers need to be consistent and catch the ball, and Jaydon Mickens can’t be the only target time and time again (where is Kasen Williams this year?). They need to be patient letting the run game get going, and hammer away at the Ducks front seven, who are giving up more than 4.3 yards per rush and just under 175 per game.
The Ducks need their big guns to play to their ability. CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu needs to play like the 1st rounder that many are projecting him to be and shut down half the field. Make Miles stare down primary targets like he’s been doing and exploit accordingly. There’s a ton of talent up front and they need to get up field and pressure Miles out of the pocket like Stanford did, where his accuracy and decision-making plummets.
This game has the makings to be one of the best in the conference all season long. Strengths against strengths and weaknesses against weaknesses. If Oregon wins, they’ll be setup for one heck of a slobberknocker against Stanford in two weeks with the winner becoming an overwhelming favorite to play for the Pac 12 Championship. If Washington wins, they’ll be tied for the divisional lead and will need Stanford to drop two games to control their own destiny.
Final Prediction: Oregon 31, Washington 21.
Rick Stavig is an NFL Draft Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickstavig or add him to your network on Google+.
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