The Oregon Ducks are sliding down the Pac-12 standings, losing three games in a row. Now comes their toughest test yet against a top-5 Washington team, and a win would get Oregon's season back on track. Here are three reasons why the Ducks will pull the upset on Saturday:
3) History
Winning 12 games in a row against a team means something. The Huskies have had plenty of other good teams during that time (though none as good as this), yet they've been unable to get it done. As is the case with long streaks like this, it often gets in the head of the team trying to end it. They start pressing and are simply hoping to win, instead of expecting to. That leads to turnovers and late-game collapses, which the Ducks would love to exploit on Sunday.
2) Washington's let-down game
The Huskies made a huge deal about their Stanford game - it was at home, against the team that has owned the conference for the past few years, and it was on national TV. Naturally, they won't be able to play with that same level of emotion two weeks around, and that could lead to a slow or sluggish game from the Huskies - which plays right into Oregon's hands.
1) Oregon's dominant running game
Washington's defense is among the best in the country, but they have yet to face a dynamic rushing attack with as much speed as Oregon. The Ducks rank 11th in the country in rushing yards per game (263.4 yards per game), and they've done that without having star Royce Freeman 100 percent healthy for most of the season. Five players have at least 22 carries this season, and four of them average at least five yards per carry.
Without having a singular back to focus on like they did with Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, Oregon has a good chance to solve the Washington riddle.
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