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Oregon football dominance and 2 more bold predictions vs. Purdue

By Connor Muldowney

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) makes a catch for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) makes a catch for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images
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Oregon football opens the second half of the season on Friday night against a pesky Purdue team that might be just 1-5 on the season in Ryan Walters' second year, but it nearly pulled off a road upset against a ranked Illinois team in Week 7.

Oregon is a much different beast than what the Boilermakers have seen so far this year and they've been blown out by the likes of Wisconsin (52-6) and Notre Dame (66-7).

I'm feeling a similar result on Friday night despite the "Spoilermakers" nickname being thrown around quite a bit. I think this game will be convincingly won by the Ducks.

And here are some bold predictions for the big game.

1. Evan Stewart, Tez Johnson each surpass 100 yards

Evan Stewart is fresh off his best game as a Duck, catching seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown and I think an encore performance less than a week later is in order. All the momentum is on Stewart's side and he's been playing up-and-down so far this season but it's about time he strings two straight 100-yard games together. He'll have six catches for 102 yards and a score.

As for Tez Johnson, he hasn't had over 100 yards in a game since UCLA back on Sept. 28 and he's more than due. He'll take advantage of the porous Purdue defense and catch eight passes for 133 yards and a score of his own.

Two 100-yard receivers may be bold, but it feels right in my bones.

2. Jordan James rushes for 200 yards

This one might seem like a shocking number but if you look at how bad Purdue's run defense has been this year, it would make more sense.

In fact, the Boilermakers rank dead-last in the Big Ten and are the second-worst in the Power Four in terms of run defense. They allow 253.8 yards per game on the ground which is actually impressively bad. Jordan James is going to have himself a field day against the Boilermakers to the tune of 200 yards and two scores.

3. Oregon drops a 50-burger

With how good Oregon's offense has been this year, it's kind of surprising it hasn't dropped 50 points in a single game yet. The Ducks were close against Oregon State, scoring 49 in a blowout win in Week 3, but that was actually the only game in which they broke 40 points this season.

Oregon is going to fire on all cylinders and play its most complete offensive game of the season on Friday night in West Lafayette, breaking the 50-point plateau to win by 30-plus.

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