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Keys to the Game: Oregon

This week the Huskies must corral the Ducks' Heisman hopeful, not help the Oregon offense, and play a complete game from beginning to end.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Here are three keys to the game that the Huskies must accomplish to be victorious on Saturday:

Contain Marcus Mariota.

He hasn't run a lot this year, but when he has, he has been deadly. The Huskies have to keep him contained and not let him run wild into their secondary. Force him to make tough throws and make Oregon's running backs gain yardage on the ground. If the Huskies can't stop that recipe, then they never were going to stop Oregon anyway, but if they let Mariota use his legs as a weapon the Ducks add a dimension that gives them a combination that maybe no team in the country can stop.

Don't beat yourself.

Last season the Dawgs gave the Ducks a ton of help to let them run away with the game early in the form of a fumbled punt return and an interception returned for a touchdown. The Huskies have taken good care of the ball throughout their first five games of the year, but need to do better to beat the Ducks. No turnovers would be a good start, but they've also got to force Oregon to cough up the ball a time or two and win the turnover battle to help slow down the Duck attack. If they start gifting Oregon points, the Huskies have no shot.

Play both halves.

The Huskies have been a second half team all year. It has served them well, against teams that they could slow down or stop altogether in the first half. The Ducks are not like those teams. If the Huskies have a sluggish first half they will likely find themselves in a hole that they cannot dig themselves out of. They need to start fast -- preferably playing from a lead early -- and maintain that intensity throughout the game.

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