Ducks vs Huskies, Who has the Advantage?

[Steven A]

I know this is two weeks early in regard to pre-game articles as Pennsylvania Duck will have a thread available soon, but here goes

 

Mike Farrell has a take on all aspects.  Spoiler alert . . . 

 

MSN

WWW.MSN.COM

 

[DanLduck]

It is premature, and I don't want to jinx us vs Stanford. 

Fairly accurate take though.

Should be very good game.

[FG Lumber]

Huskies

Home field surely helps them all else being pretty much equal

[Log Haulin]

Oregon is different. We can rattle off stats(which are very impressive). We can talk about depth (also impresive). We can talk about elite talent at almost every position group.

 

But starting with the Hawaii game and showing up big in the Colorado game, Oregon seems to have that "IT" factor you see in elite championship calibur teams.

 

It’s early but week to week, Oregon has increased their level of play by huge strides (I don't count the PSU game). The growth has been massive imo. It's a "You know it when you see it" kind of thing and Oregon seems to have it.

 

Like I said, it's early. From where I sit I feel much better about Oregons chances with the gauntlet of games starting Oct. 14th. I feel Oregon has better than a 50/50 shot of coming though the next 8 games unscathed.

 

Again, this just feels, looks and tastes diffent than any other year I can remember. Lanning said it himself, "substance". 

[Haywarduck]

Hard to say, I would never watch, or read about a dawg game unless they are playing the Ducks, and this hasn't happened yet.

 

I will say I like our Ducks and am impressed by their growth and play so far.

[kirklandduck]

My gut tells me that the Fuskies are a step better on offense but OBD are two steps better on defense which will be the difference maker.

[David Marsh]

Offenses are compatible to last year and Oregons offense was doing good until Nix got hurt. 

 

I feel Washington's defense is about the same as it was last year while Oregon's has made leaps and bounds in the improvement category. 

 

As long as the Ducks continue to improve we're in a good place. 

[1Ducker1]

Penix has not been pushed by massive pressure. If the Ducks can put pressure on him the game is ours. 38-27 Ducks win. 

[Jon Joseph]

Ducks SOS to date per SP+ is 99. UW is 97. Push.

 

Too bad that Texas Tech has not met expectations. But winning a gut-check game in Lubbock, especially considering the Tucker firing circumstances, was a better W than was UW winning in E. Lansing. Oregon ended TT's 26-in-a-row opening game win record in Lubbock. UW took down a dysfunctional team in E. Lansing. 

 

In Tucson, I think that AZ could give UW a battle this week. AZ had to turn the ball over 4 times to lose at Mississippi State.

 

Both Oregon and UW will be coming off a road game in which both teams are big favorites and then both have a bye week. 

 

UW and Penix have not faced pressure from a D like that Oregon will bring to Seattle. Lanning's under-the-radar portal plucking and D recruiting is paying off. And the UW run game while better last week versus Cal has not been all that great. The D we hoped to see from Oregon is now on the field. This D completely stymied a CU O that came to Autzen with gaudy stats.

 

Before a B1G future opponent game in Seattle, in Saturday's look-ahead game, I expect Oregon to struggle, at least vs. the spread, at Stanford. Stanford has been a Ducks nemesis and the Cardinal will be going all out in this game which probably means more to Stanford than any game other than the game versus Cal. 

 

Get in Penix grill. Penix is terrific but unlike his counterpart at Wazzu, Cam Ward, he does not have the same quick release or the same quicks when it comes to avoiding a concerted rush. D's have hardly laid a glove on Penix this season and this is not due to an exceptional group of UW OL guys.

 

The Ducks will keep on improving in the back seven. The communication has materially improved during the first third of the regular season. Win the LOS on both sides of the ball in Seattle, as I believe Oregon will do, and come home with the win. Oregon -12.5? The folks in the desert agree with my thoughts. A 1-point W will be fine with me, but not for my supply of Mylanta.

 

UW has been a great story and the media loves lots-of-points teams. But the Oregon roster is superior to that of UW's. I have watched every UW game, and they have been fun to watch, but I have yet to see LBs and DBs getting into the faces of UW WRs off of the line of scrimmage. 

 

Bo Nix is not as flashy as Penix, but Bo has the most starts in CFB and is a coach on the field. Lanning and his staff have upped their game in 2023. I do not expect a rookie play-calling mistake from DL like we saw in 2022 versus UW.

 

But first, TCB in Big Stick.

 

Thanks for the take Stevan A.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Jon Joseph

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

Washington hasn’t been tested yet this season and likely won’t be until the Ducks come to town. Their preseason schedule looked good on paper, but we’re finding out how underwhelming the BSU and MSU programs are. We both have what should be tune-up games this week. However, weird things can happen in Tucson and Palo Alto. At least they do when we show up.
 

While uw has the advantage of their home field and the hype of College Gameday, Oregon has already been tested on the road in a hostile environment as well as having a huge hyped up week leading up to Colorado. My guess is uw opens up as a 2.5 point favorite.

[Chuck Duck]

The Huskies offense is absolutely insane this year. As much as it pains me, I’ve already mentally prepared myself for this game to be a lose. I’m not comfortable in our ability to play on the road and I still feel our DB’s and safeties have to show me a little more growth before I can let go of my concerns. I’m really hoping I’m wrong about this one. Go Ducks!!!

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

I was telling somebody earlier this week that this year’s fuskie team reminds me of the 2010 Ducks team because of how they seem to score at will. However, the 2010 Ducks offense was foiled by none other than…..Tosh Lupoi.

[Log Haulin]

Lets not forget what many of us were saying pre-season. Many of us thought the Ducks would be Pac champs and play-off bound if the D could get to a mid 30ish ranking. 

 

Currently the Ducks sit at #11. We will see if this holds as competition gets tougher. My guess is that the tougher the competion the better this D will perform.

 

You could hear the collective hard swallow as the rest of the Pac OC's witnessed what Duck D did to Buffs last weekend 

[Dr Hilarius]

On 9/27/2023 at 4:47 PM, Haywarduck said:

I would never watch, or read about a dawg game unless they are playing the Ducks

 

The only reason I know anything about UW is bc they get mentioned in the same articles.

[Jon Joseph]

On 9/27/2023 at 8:42 PM, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Washington hasn’t been tested yet this season and likely won’t be until the Ducks come to town. Their preseason schedule looked good on paper, but we’re finding out how underwhelming the BSU and MSU programs are. We both have what should be tune-up games this week. However, weird things can happen in Tucson and Palo Alto. At least they do when we show up.
 

While uw has the advantage of their home field and the hype of College Gameday, Oregon has already been tested on the road in a hostile environment as well as having a huge hyped up week leading up to Colorado. My guess is uw opens up as a 2.5 point favorite.

Doctor, the line today is Oregon -12.5. People in Vegas are not fooled by the UW long ball O against bad competition. 

[Jon Joseph]

Friend, Chuck Duck, when you are playing against escapees from the asylum it is easy to go insane. 

 

What is UW's best win to date? On the road at a Michigan State team that just fired its coach. 

 

Compare this win to Oregon ending a 26-game home opener winning streak in Lubbock. Oregon has been punched in the mouth. Oregon came from behind on the road to win a tough game. And the Oregon back 7 is playing far better than it did at TT. With all of the newbies on the field this was hoped for but not necessarily expected. 

 

It may have come against an overrated team but Oregon gave up 6 points to a Top 25 ranked team. UW just gave up 32 points at home against Cal.

 

Oregon is -12.5 at UW, too high IMO, for a reason. And the reason is not just to balance the book. 

 

The one position UW is better than UW on paper is at WR. I'm not giving the nod to Penix versus NIx. No better QB to lead Oregon into Seattle than a guy with the most starting experience in CFB and with the best completion percentage in CFB.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Jon Joseph

[mikethehiker]

I said at the time that Oregon was blessed with a tough road win against TT when they easily could have lost.

 

As others have stated above, Washington hasn't been tested.  When you finally play a team at your level, the same running lanes aren't there, the passing windows shrink, you have less time for routes to develop and throw the ball, your extra defender in the box needs to stay in coverage, and uncharacteristic penalties can pile up.

 

Both coaches and players are forced to think, learn, and make adjustments on the fly.  Oregon has had the luxury of this experience already in game (which they survived) and continue to make improvements based on those learnings in the following weeks.

 

It certainly doesn't guarantee success, but the experience will make a difference.  Go Ducks!

[OhioDuck]

Just watched the replay of the Cal UW game. I'm actually not that impressed. Outside of a few big plays to start the game (both of which should have been called back) spotting the pups a 14-0 lead it was a fairly close game. If the Cal QB hadn't had a propensity to throw the ball to Washington defenders Cal may have won.

[Nevada Dawg]

I've enjoyed what I read in this thread and there is indeed reason to be optimistic. But OBD have not yet played a very good team and it is hard for me to be over the moon at this point. The "meat" of the schedule is ahead of us folks!

 

I am almost certain what Lanning is telling his charges don't look beyond the next challenge, in this case Stanford. You have to keep chopping away every week and take nothing for granted. If he can keep hem focused week to week in this way, they have, in my opinion, a far better chance of being able to get to the point where the big goals actually become realistic. . 

[Steven A]

On 9/27/2023 at 7:15 PM, Jon Joseph said:

I'm not giving the nod to Penix versus NIx.

I think Penix is a better passer, darts and the long ball over Bo.  But Bo's wheels make him more complete.  Bo's int last week was a TD if he floated the ball to 

Franklin and he has missed at least two other deep sure TDs.

 

D will win this CShip and I like ours over theirs.  But darn it, the ball ain't round.

[Just Ducky]

 When Bo is on and our D plays like they did against Col. I see the Ducks winning this game. Being on the road this time of year in the Puget Sound area however could bring a whole new meaning to home field advantage. 
 

 Go s beat ‘‘em all one at a time.

[Jon Sousa]

To me, it doesn't matter who has the edge right now.

 

I want to see the Oregon D be just as sharp and as tight at Stanford as they were last week. Improvement every week.

 

Even if UW is ahead by a nose right now, they may still be behind by a length by game day.

 

I expect to see Oregon in the winners' circle in two weeks.

[Mic]

Dangerous to be looking ahead past Stanford who has surprised us before in years past.  However, the UW game is #2 of 3 games I thought Oregon might lose this year, the first being the TT game.  They got thru that tough road game by the skin of their teeth.  It will take a near-prefect effort by the Ducks to defeat Penix on his home field.   Till then, there's Stanford to be dealt with first.   Go Ducks.

[Steven A]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:56 PM, Mic said:

Dangerous to be looking ahead past Stanford who has surprised us before in years past.

Yes, but last time it was Mari's team.

 

Dan has never lost to Stanford and this is his team.

[Jon Joseph]

On 9/28/2023 at 4:05 PM, Steven A said:

Yes, but last time it was Mari's team.

 

Dan has never lost to Stanford and this is his team.

Let's just hope we have a different crew of Pac-12 zebras than the bozos who called the game in 2021.

[Mic]

On 9/28/2023 at 1:05 PM, Steven A said:

Yes, but last time it was Mari's team.

 

Dan has never lost to Stanford and this is his team.

Agreed. This is also no longer David Shaw's Stanford team - the last to beat Oregon.  He was always one coach to respect.

[David Marsh]

On 9/27/2023 at 10:39 PM, Steven A said:

I think Penix is a better passer, darts and the long ball over Bo.  But Bo's wheels make him more complete.  Bo's int last week was a TD if he floated the ball to 

Franklin and he has missed at least two other deep sure TDs.

 

D will win this CShip and I like ours over theirs.  But darn it, the ball ain't round.

I feel Nix is a better leader. He knows when he needs to put the team on his shoulders. Against Stanford on Oregon's third possession he runs on 3rd and 5 and gets the first down. 

 

He did some similar things against Texas Tech as well. He knows when he needs to lead for the team to win. 

[chrisjenn99]

I love everything about this...except the fact that two people he touted are hurt.  Khyree & Noah.  The former scares me more than the latter being out.  Hoping for some healing these two weeks.

[Mudslide]

On 10/1/2023 at 10:22 PM, chrisjenn99 said:

I love everything about this...except the fact that two people he touted are hurt.  Khyree & Noah.  The former scares me more than the latter being out.  Hoping for some healing these two weeks.

I thought Reed subbed in admirably when Khyree went down.

[chrisjenn99]

On 10/2/2023 at 1:02 AM, Mudslide said:

Reed subbed in admirably

Agreed.  Manning & Florence were good at CB also, and Evan Willams is playing a monster at Safety.  I really like this D.