Washington State Football: Oregon Ducks Scouting Report

Washington State football is now ranked 23rd in the country. They step up in class on Saturday when they host 11th ranked Oregon. Lucas Duncan scouts the Ducks for us.

College game day is finally coming to Pullman as Washington State football hosts an Oregon Ducks team that escaped overtime with a win over the Washington Huskies last weekend. The 23rd ranked WSU Cougars host the 11th ranked Oregon Ducks this Saturday at 430 pm.

Pullman is gonna be jam-packed and loud as ever in this one, as we witness two of the best offenses in the country go toe to toe. As a side note, the over-under on this one is currently 68, look for that number to get crushed. Oregon’s offense currently ranks 11th in the country with 43 ppg, the Cougars rank just behind them with 41.8 ppg.

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Oregon’s Weakness

The Cougars actually match up better on paper against this Ducks team than the Huskies did a week ago. The Cougars have thrown the ball an average of 52 times through six games this season, Oregon has only had a team attempt more than 30 passes against them once in 2018. Oregon’s defense also ranks 89th in the country in passing yards allowed, They haven’t faced an opponent that will challenge their secondary as Washington State will on Saturday.

Although they came away with a huge win over Washington last week, Oregon suffered a major loss along their offensive line. The Ducks lost true freshmen left tackle Penei Sewell for the next six weeks. Sewell came in as a freshman and started immediately, looking like a top tier tackle in the PAC-12 before his injury.

Oregon’s Strengths

Although they may allow a ton of passing yards, that’s not to say Oregon’s defense is all bad. When defending the pass this defense currently ranks first in the PAC-12 with nine interceptions. However, WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew has done an exceptional job of taking care of the football, throwing just four interceptions over six games this season.

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two teams heading into Saturday, the Oregon Ducks are battle tested. UO has played two top 10 teams, taking both to overtime before eventually losing to Stanford and beating Washington. Oregon also has a three-touchdown win over a Cal team that was ranked 24th at the time. Washington State’s best win, on the other hand, came against a Utah team that’s tough, but not ranked.

Summary

This game being played at Pullman is huge for the Cougars if they can take advantage of a less than spectacular Oregon secondary, the Cougars might have a chance to knock off their first ranked team of the season.