Oregon Football(4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) faces a big challenge with Washington State(5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) with Quarterback Luke Falk hitting 75 percent of his passes on the season.
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The Oregon Defense has proved that hard work pays dividends. Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt has turned this team around from the last two seasons and has the Defensive Line playing with fire. Jalen Jelks is a prime example. He had three sacks and five tackles for loss two weeks ago against Arizona State. Along with Troy Dye, who moved from outside to inside, the two are key to the Ducks up front vs Washington State.
Offensively Oregon is young. The strength is clearly the run game led by Running Back Royce Freeman who left the Cal game with an injury. He is likely to return on Saturday and is listed as the Starter on the Depth Chart. Freeman worked out in Practice this week. Kani Benoit and Tony Brooks-James showed they are totally capable of picking up the slack if Freeman is unable to play.
The big question is who will start at Quarterback. After watching practice this week I believe it will Freshman Braxton Burmeister. His passes from short and midrange were very clean and quick. I think who starts the game at QB is irrelevant. I expect both Burmeister and Taylor Alie will see time on the field against Washington State.
Washington State Quarterback Luke Falk has drawn the attention of the NFL. Four NFL scouts are here for the game, as well as a scout from the BC Lions. Of course they may also be here to see what Royce Freeman has to offer.
One area that Oregon needs to clean up is penalties. The Ducks are one of the top penalized teams in the Pac-12 with nearly 100 yards per game coming back by way of the yellow flag. A good start up front with the Eugene crowd could give Oregon Football a big boost and some early needed momentum. Earlier this week Washington State Head Coach Mike Leach commented on Autzen Stadium and the noise level, admitting the noise level is tops in the Pac-12, but not the loudest in the country. I’m sure that fans will disagree.
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In speaking with Dave Bartoo from College Football Matrix earlier this week, the Cougars are less efficient on Offense than Oregon, in part because of their run game, or lack of it. Of course, Mike Leach knows this and also knows how to disquise run plays in key spots. WSU is averaging just 80 yards per game on the ground in 2017.
On the other side, Oregon Football is humming along with the 7th most efficient Offense in the nation and the 63rd most efficient Defense. Washington State Defensively comes in at 72nd. So for the Ducks it should be more about consistency, getting off the line, limiting penalties and taking care of the ball.
WSU has won the last four meetings against Oregon, and Willie Taggart wants to end the streak tonight. Oregon and Washington State kickoff at 5 pm Pacific Time on FOX.