Washington Huskies: Scouting November 6th Opponent Oregon
Herb Nightengale
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After a last-minute 20-13 over Stanford last week, the Washington Huskies host Oregon for an important Pac-12 North clash.
It’s another border war as Oregon comes to Seattle for their annual game against the Washington Huskies. Coming into this week’s game, Oregon Ducks is ranked seventh in the country. They also sit atop the Pac-12 North with a 4-1 conference record and are 7-1 overall. So you can see the odds are against the Huskies in their quest for a division title.
Last week UO throttled hapless Colorado by a lopsided 52-29 score. The Ducks rushed for 256 yards and threw for another 312. True freshman Byron Cardwell led Oregon with 127 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. He had 40 yards on 9 carries in the previous six contests.
Oregon offense
As evidenced by last week’s performance, the Ducks bring a potent running attack. This year, their leading rushers are juniors Travis Dye (109 carries for 609 yards, 10 touchdowns) and CJ Verdell (78 rushes for 406 yards, 6 touchdowns). The Huskies also have to watch for quarterback Anthony Brown to run with the ball as well. In 2021, he has 80 carries for 365 yards and six touchdowns.
Brown also makes it happen with his arm. He’s completed 143 of 221 passes for 1797 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Sophomore Devon Williams is Oregon’s top receiver with 18 catches for 290 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, senior Johnny Johnson has 21 receptions for 255 yards and one touchdown.
Dye has the most catches for Oregon this year with 24 for 264 yards and one touchdown. The Ducks have four other wide receivers with at least ten receptions in sophomore Mycah Pittman, senior Jaylon Redd, freshmen Kris Hudson and Troy Franklin. Tight end Terrance Ferguson has 9 catches for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Spencer Webb pulled in 10 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Without two of their best defensive players Ryan Bowman and Eddie Ulofoshio, the Washington Huskies have their work cut out for them.
Oregon defense
On the defensive side of the ball, Oregon gives up 131.6 yards and 9 TDs on the ground and 261 yards with 14 scores through the air. Linebacker Noah Sewell leads the Ducks in tackles with 69 tackles along with 3 sacks and a forced fumble. Sophomore cornerback Mykael Wright is next in tackles with 49, one interception, and a forced fumble.
Safety Verone McKinley leads the team with four interceptions (he also has 45 tackles. Kayvon Thibodeaux leads Oregon in sacks (four) and forced fumbles (two).
History
Over the last twenty years, Oregon has dominated the Washington Huskies with a 16-4 record. That includes the last two meetings, October 2018 at Eugene 30-27 (overtime) and in October 2019 at Husky Stadium 35-31. The Huskies and Ducks didn’t play last year because of covid-19.
Oregon won 14 games straight in the series before Washington reversed their fortunes in 2016 and 2017. The Huskies were highly ranked both years; however, so were the Ducks. There were years, however, when the shoe was on the other foot. Washington leads the series 60-47-5.
The Washington Huskies have to play their best game of the season to win. They will need to run for over 200 yards like they did last week against Stanford. Controlling the clock will help UW to shut down the mighty Oregon offense. Go Dawgs!
Related Story: Takeaways from 20-13 win over Stanford
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