Oregon Ducks Look To Lock Up BCS Title Game Apperance Against Hated Rival
Civil War week. When Oregon Duck fans and players hear those words, no more motivation is needed. This is truly a game in which Oregon has everything to lose and Oregon State can deliver a loss that Duck fans will never be able to live down or forget.
This week, the Ducks and Beavers will take the field and Oregon will be playing for their schools first appearance in the National Title game. While the Beavers are also playing to become bowl eligible, they know a win on Saturday would mean so much more.
Early this year, I did a preseason prediction slideshow on how the Oregon Ducks season would go. The good news, I had picked Oregon to be 11-0 heading to Corvallis for the Civil War, the bad news is I predicted they would lose this game.
Early in the year, my prediction was based on a healthy Rodgers brothers duo and a chance of Darron Thomas struggling through growing pains. Since neither will be happening, time to talk about why Oregon will win on Saturday and punch their ticket to Arizona.
Darron Thomas
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Going on the road is often a challenge for a young quarterback but with the exception of the Cal game, Darron Thomas has been playing beyond his years.
Thomas has been cool and collected under pressure and has managed the high powered Ducks offense extremely well on the road. Look for Kelly to try to establish the running game early to open up throwing lanes for Thomas.
Only One Rodgers Brother
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The reason the Rodgers brothers are so effective is because they can beat you either with the run or pass. When James Rodgers went down this year, the Beavers have had to lean on Jacquizz. Since losing James, Jacquizz has only broke the 100 yards mark once in the past four games.
With James out of the lineup, the Ducks will be able to key in on the run game and will look to make the Beavers offense one dimensional.
Ducks Defense
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The most underrated defense in the nation may reside in Eugene. This year, the Ducks defense currently ranks 15th in points against and scoring against them in the second half. More specifically, the fourth quarter has been near impossible.
If the Beavers are unable to get a balanced attack started, the Ducks defense will keep coming after them until win number twelve is secured.
A stat to note is that the Ducks starting defense has given up one fourth quarter touchdown. As a team, the Ducks have only given up 14 points all year in the final frame.
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Win The Day Motto
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When Chip Kelly took over as head coach last year, he brought with him a mantra of "Win the Day."
While many have doubted that a team can just look at the practice in front of them instead of the big picture—Kelly and company have proved their focus all year.
With the ability to focus on the task at hand, Oregon will continue to prepare for "faceless opponents" and get themselves ready for a battle on Saturday. So far this year, no challenge has been too much for this team and their is no reason to believe this will be any different.
The X Factor Jeff Maehl
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When Jeff Maehl came to Oregon, he came in on the defensive side of the ball, playing in the secondary. When injuries depleted the Oregon receiving core, Maehl switched sides and never looked back.
Going into his fourth Civil War, Maehl has caught a touchdown in each and every game. In fact, Maehl comes into this game riding a streak of nine consecutive games with a touchdown. Look for that trend to continue as Maehl will find the endzone once again in this rivalry.
Special Teams
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Whenever you have a team looking for a big upset, two things can be a factor, home field advantage and special teams. While the Beavers are playing at home, the clear advantage in special teams goes to the Ducks.
When kicking to the Ducks, either on kickoffs or punts, they are a threat to take it back for six. Cliff Harris has developed into a special teams threat and for the past few weeks, freshman Josh Huff has stepped into the kick return role and has been electric as well.
If the Beavers find themselves punting deep in their own territory and give Harris a chance for a return, look out because he will take it the distance.
LaMichael James
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Whenever breaking down a game for the Oregon Ducks, a key contributor to a Ducks victory is LaMichael James. So far this year, James has only been held under 120 yards twice and has scored eight touchdowns in his past four games.
James is electric in the open field and will be the main workhorse this Saturday against the Beavers. The Ducks running game will again wear down a team in the second half, allowing James to break a couple of big runs and take him over 150 yards for the game.
The Pace Will Be Too Much For The Beavers
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So far this year only one team has been able to keep up with the pace of the Oregon Ducks and that was Cal. The trend this year is Oregon will run you all over the field and by the time the second half arrives, they kick it into overdrive and score at will.
With the amount of talent and speed Oregon has on the field, the Ducks will likely begin to wear down the Beavers and have things wrapped up midway through the third quarter.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
