The Outcome on Saturday vs Washington will be determined by who starts behind center for Oregon.
Oregon Football has been reminded of one game more than once over the last year. The Ducks being dismantled last season at Autzen Stadium was the worst loss in Program History. The players that were there, including Troy Dye have become more mature players and better leaders on the field this season. The teaching from their coaches is different. They are more fundamentally sound and the Huskies will test the Mentality of the Oregon Defense on Saturday night.
The key for Oregon against Washington is not the Defense, but who is running the Offense. While Royce Freeman has added to his list of career accomplishments so far in 2017, Quarterback play over the last month has not been up to par from what it was to start the season. The injury to Justin Herbert has added some bumps to the 2017 road for Oregon Football, but they have appeared to turn the corner with Freshman Braxton Burmeister gaining more confidence over the last few weeks.
The Ducks are coming off a big win over Utah, but now face a bigger opponent on the road with the Washington Huskies.
Jake Browning has thrown for over 1700 yards for the 7-1 Huskies, but a loss at Arizona State has shown they are vulnerable. The Oregon Defense has shown major improvement over a year ago under Jim Leavitt. Dante Pettis is a key player for the Huskies and adds his talent at both Wide Receiver and on Special Teams in the return game. Tackling will be key. The Offense has the same players as last season and is run the same way, but it is efficient. Very efficient.
The Oregon Ducks have also found a very efficient Offense early in the season under Justin Herbert. If the Sophomore plays on Saturday, Willie Taggart may have an opportunity to make Oregon Fans very happy in his first season as Head Coach.
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Oregon and Washington kickoff Saturday at 7 pm Pacific Time on Fox Sports 1.