Oregon Ducks vs. Wyoming Cowboys Complete Game Preview
Fresh off what may be the program's most important victory in three seasons, the Oregon Ducks will host the Wyoming Cowboys at Autzen Stadium in their last tune-up before Pac-12 play begins.
Last Saturday in Eugene, the Ducks took down a very impressive Michigan State team by the score of 46-27. With the win, the Ducks simultaneously proved to themselves and the country that they are no longer the “soft” program that they had been previously labeled as.
The newly minted “tough” Ducks will have to quickly shift their focus to the Cowboys, who come in sporting a 2-0 record of their own.
Here’s what you need to know for this game:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13th
Time: 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Place: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
TV: Pac-12 Network
Spread: Oregon -43 according to oddsshark.com.
Oregon's Keys to Victory
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Get the Running Game Going
Through two games, Wyoming has only allowed 193 total rushing yards against Air Force and Montana. The Cowboys defense has also only allowed a paltry 12.5 points per game.
Oregon, on the other hand, is averaging 54 points per game, including a 46-point performance against one of the best defenses in the entire country in Michigan State.
Oregon has rushed for 466 yards so far this season, 117 of which came in the fourth quarter against the Spartans—around 35 percent more than MSU had allowed on the ground per game in 2013.
Ducks freshman running back Royce Freeman, who scored two touchdowns against Michigan State and has four rushing touchdowns on the season, is every bit the star Oregon's coaches thought he would be coming out of fall camp.
Thomas Tyner, Oregon's "starting" running back, has been serviceable and Byron Marshall has been fantastic as a receiver out of the backfield.
In order to beat the Cowboys in convincing fashion, as many expect, the Ducks are going to need to get the running game going early and often.
The Ducks struggled to establish a ground game against the Spartans in the first half, only gaining 14 yards on 14 carries. That sort of performance won’t get it done for the Ducks, but no one truly expects that to happen again this season, or at least until Stanford comes to Eugene on November 1.
Force Turnovers
The Ducks forced two interceptions last weekend from Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook, while not turning the ball over themselves against a tough opponent. That’s a good sign for the Ducks going forward and a trend they'll need to build on this week.
Wyoming quarterback Colby Kirkegaard is talented, though we don't really know what he's made of yet. Kirkegaard will be making his third career start on Saturday at Autzen Stadium.
The Ducks front seven did a good job of getting pressure on Cook quick decisions and forcing quick decisions against MSU. They’ll need to continue getting pressure in the backfield against the Cowboys.
The Ducks secondary looked shaky from time to time against the Spartans, especially in third-and-long situations.
However, the Ducks also had two beautiful interceptions, one from safety Erick Dargan in the first half and the other a game-changing diving catch from All-American Ifo-Ekpre Olomu.
Turnovers will be key against Wyoming. The ball hawking must continue.
Wyoming's Keys to Victory
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Score Early
The only way the Cowboys have a chance at beating the Ducks on Saturday is to scare the heck out of the fans at Autzen early and zap the energy out of the stadium.
Teams have been known to drop easy wins after program-shifting victories. While no one anticipates a win over Oregon by Wyoming, it wouldn’t be unprecedented.
If the Cowboys are to beat the Ducks, however impossible that seems right now, they’re going to need to score the first two or three touchdowns of the game. They’re going to need control of the momentum and they’re going to need it early.
If Wyoming can't get some early momentum, it’s going to be a long day in Eugene for the Cowboys.
Take on Oregon’s Shaky Offensive Line
Oregon’s offensive line was shaky at best during the first 40 minutes of last week's game against the Spartans. Not only are the Ducks without left tackle Tyler Johnstone for the season, but his replacement on the line, Andre Yruretagoyena, is likely out for the season after injuring his left knee against MSU.
The Ducks had to rely on freshman Tyrell Crosby in the second half against Michigan State, though he played well in place of Yruretagoyena.
If Wyoming has a shot of taking down the Ducks, its defensive front seven is going to need to blow up Oregon’s offensive line, stop the running game, and sack quarterback Marcus Mariota. Without pressure in the backfield, Wyoming simply won’t be able to keep up with the Ducks.
Oregon Ducks Players to Watch
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Royce Freeman
When Oregon’s running game couldn’t get going against Michigan State, the Ducks turned to freshman Royce Freeman. Oregon running backs are usually built more like a Ferrari, but Freeman truly takes on the character of his name. He’s big, bruising and smooth.
He’s a Rolls-Royce.
In two games so far this season, Freeman has racked up 164 yards and four touchdowns on only 23 carries, an average of 7.1 yards per carry. In short, he’s a beast.
Playing mostly in the second half against Michigan State, Freeman ran for 89 yards on 13 carries, while scoring two clutch second-half touchdowns.
Look for Freeman to have another big game as he’s bound to take on more of the offensive load due to his outstanding play so far this season.
Devon Allen
Allen, who also runs track at Oregon, caught three passes for 110 yards against Michigan State. Two of those three catches were touchdowns, and one of those was a 70-yard pass. Needless to say, the run after the catch was spectacular.
The Ducks wide receivers, despite being inexperienced, have played very well this season and Allen looks to be among the best of the bunch.
No one on Wyoming has the speed of Allen. Heck, Allen may be the fastest man in college football. After all, he is the reigning NCAA 110-meter hurdles champion. Look for him to have another big game Saturday.
Wyoming Cowboys Players to Watch
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Colby Kirkegaard
Kirkegaard, who is in his first year as starting quarterback for the Cowboys, led a nine-play, 75-yard drive in the final 3:25 to pull ahead of Air Force last week to secure a victory. While he may be an unknown, that type of drive shows that he has some moxie.
Oregon should provide an excellent test for the young Kirkegaard. We’ll know a lot more about his future after this contest.
Dominic Rufran
Wide receiver Dominic Rufran is Wyoming’s best player, and it’s not really up for debate. Rufran had 75 catches for 960 yards and eight touchdowns in 2013 and so far has 10 catches for 144 yards through two games in 2014.
While it’s likely that Ifo Ekpre-Olomu will be covering Rufran—and likely limiting his production—for most of the game, you should expect Rufran to make some big plays and help the Cowboys score points. He’s too good not to have an impact on the game in some way.
What They're Saying
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Marcus Mariota established himself as the early Heisman favorite due to his performance against Michigan State writes Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated:
"Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Marcus Mariota… Heisman contender. If that sounds familiar, it should. Oregon’s quarterback garnered plenty of Heisman hype in both of the past two seasons, but his struggles against quality defenses eventually spoiled his campaign. Mariota showed Saturday why this season might be a different story. The junior signal-caller and the Ducks stuffed a vaunted Michigan State team in Eugene, the kind of win that will last in a Heisman race. Mariota looked the part of a seasoned veteran as Oregon rallied to sink the Spartans in the second half. Now, the dual-threat passer is our newest leader in the Heisman Watch.
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Michael Weinreb of Rolling Stone says Mariota has redefined the quarterback position on the fly:
"At least for one day, all those questions about the inherent toughness of Oregon's blur of a spread offense seemed entirely irrelevant; at least for one day, the notion of a quarterback as something far different than the quarterbacks of yore seemed to manifest itself on a single key play.
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Mark Helfrich says the Ducks have some things to sort out and improve on against Wyoming, according to Andrew Greif of The Oregonian:
""There are always little things," Helfrich said Sunday. "Marcus Mariota, he actually made a few mistakes in this game believe it or not. Other guys, route spacing, depth, gap control, guys sprinting to the ball. We had a couple mishits in the return game. There is always stuff to improve upon."
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Helfrich also went on to say that he is impressed by Wyoming, but the Ducks need to focus on themselves heading into this week's game, as he told reporters:
"He's already done a great job of kind of instilling their identity and they're very multiple on defense, very sound in special teams and physical in the run game. It's very much from his Nebraska roots and obviously he built the program into a powerhouse at North Dakota State and you've seen what they've done this year already so it's a different challenge in terms of how they line up and the defenses they play but it's very much the same, we have to worry about ourselves.
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Wyoming's head coach Craig Bohl called Oregon's size and athleticism "rare", according to Mike Vorel of the Casper Star-Tribune:
""You see guys who are 6-7 and 280 who can really run. That’s unique," Bohl said. "You just don’t see those kinds of defensive linemen very often. They operate out of a 3-4 front, the same way Air Force deploys their guys out of a 3-4 front. However, it’s an upgrade in talent.”
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Prediction
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While Wyoming is a talented Mountain West team, they simply do not have the speed, athleticism or strength to keep up with the Ducks for 60 minutes.
The Ducks may come out sluggish, due to a hangover of sorts from such a huge win against Michigan State. But we can expect them to run the Cowboys to death, force turnovers, and come away with a solid victory.
This week is more about the Ducks working out the kinks for their upcoming Pac-12 schedule. There should be no problems grabbing an easy victory against an opponent like Wyoming.
Oregon 59 – Wyoming 10
Follow Jason Gold on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.
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