Game Preview: Washington at Oregon

Who: UW at Oregon

Where: Autzen Stadium,Eugene, OR

When: Saturday, October, 2012, at 7:30 pm Pacific Time

Tune in to ESPN to catch all the action ... you get to listen to Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen and Lewis Johnson

History

Oregon has a long and storied history which begins in 1988, as Duck fans don't have any good memories of the Huskies before that season. In fact, history is irrelevant to this series, as anyone with a memory longer than 8 years is not allowed to talk about it unless that person is talking about a particular interception by some kid named Kenny Wheaton. At least Markus had the forethought to go to Oregon State ... but I digress.

The series stands at 58-41-5, with the Huskies leading the series. The Huskies are 31-17-2 at home, and 27-24-3 when visiting. As Duck fans continue to remind us, out of the kindness of their hearts I'm sure, the Dawgs are in the middle of an 8 year drought. The biggest point swing over a two year span came in 1973 and 1974. In '73, the Huskies went to Eugene and got stomped 58-0. The very next year, the Duckies came to Seattle where they were shot out of the sky by a score of 66-0 ... that's all I have to say about that.

Last Week

Both teams are coming off victories last week. We all know what the Dawgs did. Oregon played three quarters of good ball, and one really terrible one, beating Wazzu 51-26, but they failed to cover the 30.5 point spread, which I was really upset about. I could've gone 4-0 straight up and 4-0 against the spread last week if not for this game. Marcus Mariota was 21-32, with 169 yards passing, 1TD and 2 interceptions; he also rushed 9 times for 56 yards and 1TD. Oregon had yet another pick-6.

Numbers

0 - the sum total of both teams' score in the inaugural game in 1916

1 - the number of Rose Bowls the Ducks have won in the past 95 years

2 - the total number of Rose Bowls the Ducks have won, 1917 and 2012

3 - the total number of points the Ducks scored against the Huskies in 1992, 1986, 1983, 1981, 1968, 1938, and 1922 ... the 80's were a rough decade for the Ducks.

4 - the number of times these 2 teams have tied each other: 1962 (21-21), 1932 (0-0), 1922 (3-3), 1916 (0-0)

5 - the number of times Oregon has gotten a first down because of a penalty this season

6 - the number of interceptions the Ducks have thrown this season

7 - the number of yards per attempt Oregon has per pass this season (actually ... its 7.4)

8 - the number of consecutive times the Ducks have currently spanked the Huskies

10 - the number of QB hurries Oregon has this year

16 - the number of sacks the Ducks have this year

32 - the number of passes the Ducks have broken up this year

277 - the difference between Oregon's total rushing and total passing yards this season, rushing yards in the lead

426 - Oregon's average yards on offense this year

1515 - Oregon's total rushing yards this season

3,260 - the number of days since the Dawgs beat the Ducks ...

Questions Needing Answers

Offense: How long will Kieth Price have in the pocket? Will there even be a pocket? How many yards will Bishop Sankey have this week? What will the run game actually look like? Will KW and ASJ have HUGE games? Will the offense be able to score more than 20 points?

Defense: Is the defense deep enough to last 4 quarters with Oregon? How will Justin Wilcox keep his kids fresh? Can the D take advantage of Mariota's youth? When will Danny Shelton eat the center? Will 6 seconds of hell payoff this weekend? Can the D capitalize on turnovers, turning them into defensive points?

Miscellaneous: Will beating Oregon actually get them to shut up? Can Travis Coons punt with any other parts of his body? What will the score be at the end of the first half? Does Willie Lyles have season tickets in Autzen? When will the Duck do real pushups?

The Ducks are at the top, and if we are going to keep them from eating our souls, we will need to play the best game in the world. BRING IT!!!!