After a 41-24 win at Colorado last Saturday, Oregon comes into this week a 20-point favorite against a 2-2 Washington State team, according to OddsShark. But when considering the threats the Cougars pose on offense, this game has all the ingredients to be a matchup nightmare for the Ducks.
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk is averaging over 50 pass attempts per game this season, and his 72.6 completion percentage indicates that he’s not just heaving the ball at will. He’s also averaging 364.8 passing yards per game.
For an Oregon secondary still trying to find its footing, this presents a legitimate concern.
On the other side of the ball, Oregon’s situation at quarterback only seems to be getting more unstable. The Ducks featured virtually no threat throwing the ball downfield on Saturday, and by night’s end, the team had rushed the ball on 60 of their 81 plays.
While the oddsmakers may have written off this game as a convincing win for Oregon, there still exists too many question marks on both sides of the ball to agree with them.
Here’s how Oregon and Washington State stack up:
Oregon offense vs. Washington State defense:
Head coach Mark Helfrich said he’d be comfortable using a two-quarterback rotation again, and offensive coordinator Scott Frost said Monday that a quarterback depth chart doesn’t quite exist at the moment. The lack of a depth chart shows where the state of the position is right now, as Vernon Adams Jr. recovers from his broken index finger, and Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie try to find a rhythm guiding the offense.
Washington State’s defense isn’t exactly stout, though. The team is allowing 26.5 points per game on defense and ranks 112th in passing efficiency. But, it likely won’t be the passing attack that the Cougars will have to contain. With quarterback play the issue that it is now, the Ducks turned to the ground game against Colorado. Royce Freeman carried the ball 27 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, true freshman Taj Griffin showed off his speed, rushing for 110 yards on 11 carries.
Washington State offense vs. Oregon defense:
Oregon allowed just seven points in the second half and forced three turnovers in its contest last weekend. It may have been the best performance by the defense this season. But Washington State’s offense will be an entirely different beast for this inexperienced secondary. Defensive backs coach John Neal told reporters Monday that Cougars head coach Mike Leach invented the type of air-raid offense they run “to create nightmares for people like me.” Despite the fact that Washington State lost to FCS Portland State in its opener, the Cougars have the strengths to match the Ducks’ weaknesses.
Falk passed for 389 yards last week in the team’s 34-28 loss to No. 23 Cal – a game that was tightly contested until the end of regulation. Oregon’s cornerbacks should also pay close attention to wide receiver Gabe Marks this week. The junior has 35 receptions for 414 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.
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