Oregon Ducks vs. Washington State Cougars Complete Game Preview

The Oregon Ducks (3-0) finished off their nonconference schedule against Wyoming last Saturday with a solid 48-14 victory.

Now the real season begins. 

The Ducks will hit the road to open Pac-12 conference play against the Washington State Cougars in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars (1-2) opened the season with losses to Rutgers and Nevada before thoroughly destroying Portland State and setting a Pac-12 record for passing yards in a single game with 630 yards. 

The last time these two teams met the Cougars threw for 557 yards in a 62-38 loss at Autzen Stadium. You may remember Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday threw the ball a total of 89 times in that game, establishing a new NCAA record in the process. On the night, Halliday was 58-of-89 for 557 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw four interceptions. 

While Halliday may not throw 89 times again this weekend, expect the Cougars and head coach Mike Leach to throw the kitchen sink at the Ducks. 

It might not be close, but it's going to be entertaining. 

Here's what you need to know:  

Date: Saturday, Sept. 20th

Time: 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time

Place: Martin Stadium (Pullman, Wash.)

TV: ESPN

Spread: Oregon -23.5, according to OddsShark.com.

Oregon Keys to Victory

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Third-Down Defense

While Oregon's defense has only allowed 54 points so far this season, 24 of which came in one miserable quarter against Michigan State, it's been spotty at best in third-down situations, especially early on in games. 

On the season, Oregon's opponents have converted on third down 43 percent of the time. While that isn't terrible, the numbers are a bit deceiving. The Ducks have played a bit soft against the pass in third-down situations, allowing for multiple 3rd-and-long conversions. It's a trend that will need to be reversed against Washington State. 

The Ducks defense is going to need to get pressure on Connor Halliday, who will spend most of the day throwing the ball around the field. The Ducks can afford to be a little more aggressive, and defensive coordinator Don Pellum would be wise to send more exotic blitzes at Halliday, especially in third-down situations. 

Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich believes the Ducks defense is going to have to change up its looks and pressure Halliday in order to be successful.

"You have to change up your looks and yet be versatile enough to play soundly versus anything," Helfrich said, according to Andrew Greif of The Oregonian. "They're going to take a million shots with their guys on the edges. So you have to pressure the passer and mix up the amount of pressures."

If the Ducks can hold the Cougars to a third-down conversion percentage of under 40, it would be considered a win for the defense. 

Force Turnovers

To this point, the Ducks are ranked No. 31 nationally in forcing turnovers, having forced six so far this season, and eighth in turnover margin. 

During last year's contest against Washington State in Eugene, the Ducks defense managed to turn over the Cougars five times. 

If Connor Halliday and Mike Leach plan on throwing the ball upward of 70 or 80 times again this year against Oregon, the Ducks defense is going to have to come up with some timely turnovers.

While the Ducks usually win high-scoring affairs, they would prefer to keep the Cougars away from the end zone. The best way to do that is to force Washington State into 3rd-and-long situations, prevent third-down conversions and take the ball away from Leach's potent offense. 

Look for Erick Dargan, who has three interceptions on the season, and All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu to be more aggressive at attacking the ball in the air. The Ducks defense would be wise to risk some pass-interference penalties in order to come away with the ball more often and hand it off to Marcus Mariota. 

Washington State Keys to Victory

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Be Efficient and Win the Third-Down Battle

Despite the fact that the Cougars threw for 557 yards and scored 38 points against the Ducks last season, they were inefficient in doing so, which allowed Oregon to have too many offensive possessions. In order to beat the Ducks, the Cougars are going to have to hang on to the ball and milk the clock. 

Last season at Autzen the Cougars were 5-of-15 in third-down conversions. That's not going to work this weekend against Oregon. Washington State has one of the finest passing attacks in the nation, and Connor Halliday completed 65 percent of his passes against the Ducks last season.

There's no reason to think he can't do that again, especially when the Ducks secondary has played relatively soft so far in 2014. 

If the Cougars are going to have any chance at beating Oregon they're going to need to beat the Ducks offensively and defensively in third-down situations. If they don't it's going to be a long night in Pullman for the Cougars. 

Make Mariota Work

According to ESPN, Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota is considered an early Heisman Trophy favorite and for good reason. He's one of the best players in the entire country and has been ridiculously effective so far this season. 

If Washington State has any chance at beating Oregon it is going to need to bring pressure and a lot of it. The game plan for taking down the Ducks is to force Mariota into 3rd-and-long, shut down the running game and take away Mariota's ability to improvise, which is probably his best quality.

If the Cougars make Mariota work for every first down and eliminate the Ducks' ability to strike quickly, they'll have a shot at the upset.

Oregon Ducks Players to Watch

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Erick Dargan

As we mentioned, strong safety Erick Dargan has three interceptions in the last two games, including two in a victory last week over Wyoming. He is quickly establishing himself as Oregon's best turnover threat as teams are more hesitant to throw at Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, though Connor Halliday likely won't be afraid to go in that direction this week. 

Dargan will be important this week because of the sheer amount of passes Oregon's secondary will be facing. Again, the Cougars threw the ball 89 times against the Ducks last season. The Ducks are going to face at least 65 passes against Washington State. Oregon is going to need to take advantage of the Cougars offense and intercept a couple passes in order scare off Mike Leach and Connor Halliday. 

Who is Oregon's best ball hawk again? It's Dargan. He's going to make a difference against Washington State.

Matt Pierson and Tyrell Crosby

Oregon's offensive line has been decimated by injuries. The Ducks lost starting left tackle Tyler Johnstone before the season, starting right tackle Andre Yruretagoyena against Michigan State and new starting left tackle Jake Fisher against Wyoming. 

What that means for the Ducks is that redshirt junior Matt Pierson will be starting at left tackle and true freshman Tyrell Crosby will be starting at right tackle.

The good news for the offensive line is that it has a mobile quarterback in Mariota who is elusive and will inevitably hide a lot of its mistakes and inexperience. However, the young offensive linemen need to step up and play well in place of their fallen position mates.

Washington State's defense isn't exactly Stanford's, but it still has a number of talented players and should present a nice test for the Ducks. Pierson and Crosby need to use this game as a stepping stone, as the team needs them to be competent for Pac-12 conference play.  

Washington State Cougars Players to Watch

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Connor Halliday

There's is no denying the fact that Halliday is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the country and is in a system that accentuates his abilities. 

Halliday leads the NCAA in overall passing yards with 1,465, per-game passing yards with 488.3, completions with 39.7 per game and in passing touchdowns with 12. He's also No. 24 nationally in completion percentage.

As we mentioned, Halliday threw the ball 89 times against Oregon last year for 557 yards and four touchdowns. He's going to need to match that performance and then some to beat the Ducks this season. Halliday is also going to have to eliminate the turnovers. He threw four interceptions last year against the Ducks. 

Isiah Myers

Myers, a senior, is Washington State's best receiver this season and has improved significantly since last year. In fact, Myers had 425 yards all of last season. He already has 423 receiving yards this season on 26 receptions. He also has scored five touchdowns. 

Myers is going to be featured a lot against the Ducks, and Halliday will likely try to target him whenever he's facing a cornerback not named Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. 

It would come as no surprise if Myers has double-digit catches against Oregon. The Ducks are just going to try and keep him out of the end zone. 

What They’re Saying

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When asked about Cougars quarter Connor Halliday's passing numbers through the first three games of the season, Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich responded by saying the stats were video game-like, according to Rob Moseley of GoDucks.com: “That’s like PlayStation numbers, what he did.” 

When asked about the number of true freshmen playing for the Ducks, 10 at last count, Helfrich said that at this point years of experience don't matter, via Andrew Greif of The Oregonian.

"

We're at the point now where there's not freshmen and sophomores and juniors and seniors. If you're in there you're our No. 1 guy period. We expect those guys to play like it and play great if they've been here for three games or three years.

"

Marcus Mariota is in the driver's seat of the Heisman race, writes Chris Huston of the Heisman Pundit.

"

Mariota checks almost all the Heisman boxes. He the third-year starting quarterback for a national title contending team. He has excellent name recognition and he plays in an offense that allows him to put up big numbers. He's considered an elite football talent with a bright future and he'll play high profile games against Michigan State, UCLA and Stanford. The main obstacles to Mariota's candidacy are the expectation levels placed on him and his team. Those can be tricky to navigate, which explains why Mariota failed to finish in the top 10 of last year's vote despite a stellar season. If he can help his team get over the hump and avoid that yearly letdown, voters will reward him accordingly.

"

Prediction

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The Ducks know how important it is for them to perform well on a national stage. They've already proved they're one of the best teams in the country by beating Michigan State by 19 points. 

Now, with another nationally televised game, the Ducks have another opportunity to flex their muscles. Oregon is also fully aware this is the first game that has Pac-12 conference ramifications. I highly doubt the Ducks start as slowly or look as sleepy as they did in the first quarter against Wyoming. 

While the Cougars may throw the ball 80 times and gain upward of 400 or 500 yards against the Ducks defense, Oregon's offense will carry the load and prevent Washington State from ever getting close. 

Look for Oregon to win in a big way with Marcus Mariota once again leading the charge. 

Oregon 53, Washington State 20

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.