#2 Oregon 38 At Washington State 31

    Oregon traveled to Pullman on Saturday to be out-played by a ready Washington State offense. For most of the game it was a shootout, back and forth, between a touchdown by Oregon and a touchdown by Washington State. We knew that WSU would be a passing team coming into this game, and they did.  And by the way, Oregon was not the only team with a close call last night.  Florida State won 23-17 in overtime against Clemson.  Alabama coming off a close call.  Oklahoma scraping by West Virginia.  LSU was not so lucky, losing to Mississippi State for the first time since 1991.  Not a good week for top ranked teams.

    Next week the Ducks will have their first and much needed "bye" week. They will need to fix some things, including their awful looking offensive line that gave up 7 sacks.  Their next game is going to be on a Thursday against a undefeated Arizona team, that if you remember, humiliated us last year as one of our two losses. The Duck's season does not get any easier after that, when we play #12 UCLA in the Rose Bowl. But there's something that Duck fans have got to remember: A win's a win.

   Here is a look at the top 4 rankings at the end of week 4.

   1. Florida State

   2. Oregon

   3. Alabama

   4. Oklahoma

- Go Ducks!

#2 Oregon At Washington State: Preview

    Oregon travels to Pullman, Washington on Saturday to take on the 1-2 Cougars.  Last year the Cougars threw for 557 passing yards. This year, in just three games, the Cougars have thrown for 1465 yards.  Now you may think that we perhaps should worry about them, but what you need to understand is - they throw.  And that's it.  Only 86 rushing yards in three games. This will be Oregon's first away game for the season, and it will be a test to see how they will do on the road for the rest of the season.  I think it could be a shootout for the first quarter, but with the Ducks defense will start to click after the first, and we will shut them down.

    Now here is how to watch the game tomorrow:  Kickoff is at 7:30 PM PT on ESPN. On radio it is KUGN (590).  On a side note, check out Florida State vs Clemson at 5:00 PM PT, on ABC.  Florida State could loose that, which will boost Oregon into the number one spot, assuming we beat Washington State. In the Heisman race, Marcus Mariota is number one so far, after Florida States Jamis Winston got banned for the first half of the Clemson game. 

    My prediction for this game is going to be a high scoring game because of Oregon's high scoring offense, and Washington State's passing game.

    Oregon 63 - WSU 31

- Go Ducks!

#2 Oregon 48 - Wyoming 14

    The Ducks entered this game with a little "big game hangover" from last week's game. In the first quarter, the ducks were blown out by the Cowboys, 7-0.  But Marcus Mariota would not let that last forever. The #2 Ducks acted like the #2 Ducks, and came back to score two more touchdowns to make it 13-7 in the second. Marcus Mariota already had a running touchdown this game, but when he flew over (somersaulted) one defender and wide receiver Keanon Lowe to score a Heisman touchdown. After that the Ducks went on to control the rest of the game with a 48-14 win in Autzen.


    The next game Oregon will play will against Washington State in Pullman, which will be Oregon's first road game of this season. The Ducks remain at the # 2 spot and are, of course, still in the playoff picture. Mariota doing his thing and getting out of the pocket to make plays could be the factor to win the Championship. Let's cross our fingers and hope that he does not get hurt.


    Now, lets take a look at what the top 5 is now:

5: Auburn
4: Oklahoma
3: Alabama
2: Oregon
1: Florida State



- Go Ducks

#2 Oregon Vs Wyoming: Preview

    This will be Oregon's third game in the 2014 season, and by the way, they have faced all undefeated teams so far this year.  Wyoming is 2-0 coming into Autzen, and with a very impressive defense. Oregon faced Michigan State last week and held up very well against another kind of strong defense.  A big question is this:  Can Oregon rebound from a huge win to face a smaller team in Wyoming?


    Now here are some things you need to know before the game:
    It will be on the PAC-12 Network, and kickoff is scheduled to be at 11 AM.  If you want to listen to it on the radio, tune into KUGN-AM (590) and KZEL-FM (96.1).  Make sure to wear green for the game tomorrow, if you are going to Autzen.  After this game, Oregon will start playing conference games beginning with Washington State next Saturday.


     This will be another game where the Ducks will be flying high, so here is my prediction:

     Oregon 63 - Wyoming 17

     See you on Sunday for a review.



- Go Ducks!

#3 Oregon 46 Vs #7 Michigan State 27

    A statement was made last night.  It made sure, and it silenced all who wondered if, we could handle tough teams like Stanford. All that ended last night as Oregon made an amazing come back to win the game and become a real playoff contender. Oregon attacked on defense, holding MSU to only 3 points in the second half.  I don't know what Mark Helfrich said in the locker room during half time, but whatever he said must have been awe-inspiring.  Oregon jumped up in the polls to the number 2 rank, ahead of Alabama. MSU was pushed back to number 13.


    Oregon still does have big tests vs UCLA, Stanford, and Arizona, but I'm sure that the team will go into those games with a little more confidence, now that they beat a tougher and more physical team. Oregon plays Wyoming next weekend at 11 AM, so get up early for that game.

This is what the top 5 looks like after week 2.

1. Florida State
2. Oregon
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Auburn



- Go Ducks!

#3 Oregon Vs #7 Michigan State: Preview

    Possibly the biggest non-conference game this season will take off in Autzen Stadium on Saturday. The Spartans are, of course, hoping to get to the first playoffs, as are the Oregon Ducks.  Let's look at the play makers on both teams.

    Play Makers For Oregon:

    Oregon's running back Royce Freeman is able to hold up to the big defense of MSU, and that may be one of the biggest factors of the game.  In the past, Oregon could not hold up to big teams, for example, Stanford.  But this year they will.  Freeman, may just be able to run over defenders instead of trying to run past them . Last game vs South Dakota, Freeman rushed for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns. Look out for Freeman as a huge play maker in this game.

    Marcus Mariota. No real surprise here, because Mariota is favored to win the Heisman, but this week Mariota will be on the money. With all the great receivers such as, Byron Marshall, Darren Carrington, and Johnathan Loyd he will find someone to pass to on Saturday.

   Charles Nelson and Byron Marshall. Charles Nelson may not be the new De'Anthony Thomas, he does share the same numbe, but look out for #6 on the field.  Byron Marshall is a duel threat as receiver and running back and will be running past the MSU defense Saturday.

    Play Makers For Michigan State:

    Conner Cook. He is the quarterback who has a lot of receivers that will find a way to get open and he will find them. He does however have a brace on his right knee that might stop him from running past the line of scrimmage or stopping him from scrabbling out of the pocket.

    Defense:

    Michigan State is known for their defense, and they are very good at stopping the pass. The big question here is how they will fare vs Oregon's passing attack. If the passing attack does not work, I guarantee that they will hand it off to Royce Freeman up the middle to gain a few yards.

    The game on Saturday will be at 3:30 PM PT and on Fox Sports 1. ESPN College Gameday will be at the Oregon campus. If you want to catch it on TV it is at 6 AM on ESPN. The Spread is in Oregon's favor with 13 points.

    Prediction:

   (These are my mom and dads predictions as well as mine.)

    Mom: Oregon 27 - MSU 14
    Dad:   Oregon 17 - MSU 13
    Me:    Oregon 38 - MSU 21

In my opinion this will be a offense game with very little defense. Make sure that if you have any questions about the game contact me at duckseason2014@gmail.com



- Go Ducks