Arizona Football heads to Eugene for a Duel with the Ducks
Arizona Football (7-3, 5-2) travels to Eugene, OR to take on the Oregon Ducks (5-5, 2-5) in another key, conference showdown.
The end of the 2017 regular season is quickly approaching, and the Arizona Football team is hoping to finish strong. With just two games left, the Wildcats will first face the Oregon Ducks before facing rival ASU next week.
Fresh off their win over Oregon State last weekend, it seems momentum may perhaps be back on Arizona’s side. This weekend against the Ducks, will be an even tougher challenge, but I’m sure the Wildcats will be prepared.
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Oregon has been inconsistent this year to say the least. Battling a bevy of injuries, the Ducks may finally be pretty healthy heading into their game with the Wildcats. At 5-5 (2-5), Oregon needs just one more win to become bowl eligible, and what better way to become eligible than beating Arizona?
The Ducks are coming off a bye week, and likely return sophomore quarterback, Justin Herbert, fresh off injury. Herbert has been out for several weeks, after having broken his collarbone against Cal in week five of the season.
With him more than likely playing, this gives the Ducks a much better opportunity in knocking off the Wildcats. I’m sure he will also be anxious in getting back out there as well!
Since his injury, the Ducks’ offense led by former Arizona commit, Braxton Burmeister, has been averaging just 15 points per game, and were just 1-4 during that span. With Herbert out there, the Ducks were 4-1, averaging nearly 50 points per game.
Granted, the tougher part of their schedule has been as of recent, but we are sure that newly hired head coach Willie Taggart, will just be happy to have his veteran QB back.
Know Thy Foe:
Team: Oregon Ducks (5-5, 2-5); coming off a bye week
Conference: Pac-12
2016 Record: 4-8 (2-7); Lost to rival Oregon State 34-32 in the ‘Civil War’ in the final game last season.
Last Meeting vs Arizona: The last time these two teams met, Oregon won 51-13 in the 2014 Pac-12 Championship game.
Head Coach: Willie Taggart is 45-50 overall as head coach, previously he was the head coach at South Florida, before joining the Ducks last off-season. Taggart guided the USF Bulls to a 10-2 record in 2016 (didn’t coach in the Birmingham Bowl versus South Carolina).
Key Returners/ Starters: QB Justin Herbert, RB’s Royce Freeman, Tony Brooks-James and Kani Benoit, WR’s Charles Nelson, Dillon Mitchell, Brendan Schooler (yes, brother to Arizona’s Colin), and TE Jacob Breeland.
Defensively, the Ducks are pretty stout, limiting teams to just 129 yards rushing per game. They are led by; LB’s Troy Dye, Justin Hollins and Jimmie Swain. DB’s Ugo Amadi, Thomas Graham Jr., Arrion Springs and Tyree Robinson also do a great job in the Ducks’ secondary.
Their solid defensive line is also anchored by Jalen Jelks, Henry Mondeaux and Jordon Scott.
Key Injuries: LB’s A.J. Hotchkins and Kaulana Apelu. Dye and Herbert are “questionable”, but both are likely to play Saturday.
Game Information:
When: Saturday, November 18th, 2017
Time: 5:00 PM MST/ 4:00 PM PST
Where: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Spread: TBD
Overall Series Record: 26-15 Oregon. The Ducks have certainly had the advantage over the Wildcats, especially the last 10-plus years, which has been the height of the Ducks’ program. Oregon has won six of the last eight meetings.
Our Prediction: Arizona 47 Oregon 38. We see Arizona scoring quite a bit in this one. It is worth noting, that Oregon has faired well against the run, but they also haven’t quite seen a running team like Arizona. The closest has been Stanford, and the Cardinal run a completely different style of offense, heavily utilizing star RB, Bryce Love. The Cardinal ran for 248 yards, and scored 49 points in that matchup earlier this year!
A lot will be contingent on both defenses. Offensively, the Ducks will score, but with Herbert coming off injury, can they score enough and more than Arizona?
As long as Arizona sticks to its strengths, and Khalil Tate plays a relatively mistake-free football game, the Cats should win in this high scoring duel!
Listen to the team as they talk about last weeks performance, and the upcoming match-up versus Oregon!
Must Read: More on Arizona Football
At Zona Zealots, we’re excited for Saturday’s action versus the Ducks, and hope the Wildcats can prevail once again! Bear Down, Arizona!