Oregon Ducks Football: A Look at the 5 Biggest Games Left on the Schedule

After the Oregon Ducks play the Missouri State Bears next Saturday, Oregon's Pac-12 play will officially begin and the Ducks will embark on their journey to three-peat as conference champions.

The Ducks pride themselves on getting off to fast starts and that includes the fact that Oregon will be facing one of its toughest opponents right off the bat: the Arizona Wildcats on Sept. 24.

After the conclusion to that game, everyone's attention will turn to the matchup between Oregon and Stanford, the game that will likely determine who represents the northern division in the first Pac-12 Championship game ever.

While the Arizona and Stanford games are certainly the two marquee matchups for Oregon in 2011, it's important to not overlook the rest of the opponents on the schedule. Oregon has the target on its back this year, so it should expect the very best that every team will have to offer.

Here's a look at the five biggest remaining games the Ducks have on their schedule.

At Arizona

When the Arizona Wildcats host the Oregon Ducks in Tuscon, Ariz., they will be in the tail end of the toughest stretch on their schedule. The Wildcats traveled to Stillwater, Okla. last Thursday and lost to the ninth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. The next three opponents on their schedule will be sixth-ranked Stanford, thirteenth-ranked Oregon and USC.

This could mean one of two things for the Ducks. Either the Wildcats will be beaten up and exhausted from the two previous matchups against Oklahoma State and Stanford, or they will be physically and psychologically prepared for Oregon due to the high level of talent they recently played.

Either way, expect an old western shootout when two of the Pac-12's elite play each other. I wouldn't be surprised to see close to 80 total points scored in that game.

Arizona battled resiliently in 2010 when it traveled to Eugene and was actually up 19-14 at halftime. 

While the Wildcats have retained the majority of their high-octane offense from 2010, it is the defense that lost some of its key players on the defensive line. It had trouble containing LaMichael James and the Oregon rushing attack by giving up a jaw-dropping 389 yards on the ground.

Expect more of the same from the Ducks in the upcoming matchup.

Arizona State

If this game was being played in Phoenix, it would be the toughest remaining matchup for the Ducks in 2011. Fortunately for Oregon, the game will be played in the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium, which will give the Ducks the upper hand. 

Either way, Arizona State's defense, led by linebacker Vontaze Burfict, will certainly be primed to stop the high-speed Oregon offense no matter where it plays. 

When these two teams played last year, some might not remember how resiliently the Sun Devils fought down to the last second. They only lost by 11 points to the fifth-ranked Ducks at the time and were only down by four at halftime. The Sun Devils defense bottled up LaMichael James throughout the entirety of the game and forced him to finish with only 94 yards rushing on 28 carries. The majority of those 94 yards came on one 40-yard run.

This will not be an easy game for the Ducks and I'm worried people are overlooking the Sun Devils simply because they are playing in Autzen Stadium. There is no doubting that the home-field advantage will greatly benefit Oregon, but Brock Osweiler—Arizona State's starting quarterback—has played brilliantly thus far in 2011 and led the Sun Devils to a victory over the 21st-ranked Missouri Tigers. He threw for 353 yards and thee touchdowns and also rushed for one. 

I can see Oregon wining this game, but it will certainly will be no a cake walk.

At Stanford

It's the game that has every Pac-12 fan talking.

After Stanford traveled up to Eugene in 2010 and lost to the Ducks in a high-scoring thriller, Andrew Luck and the rest of the Cardinal will be seeking revenge in 2011. Stanford still has had a bitter taste in its mouth from last year since the Ducks personally stole a likely national championship bid right out of its hands. If Stanford had beaten Oregon last year and continued to run the table, it could've been Stanford in the national championship playing the Auburn Tigers.

However, the past is the past and there is no doubting that Stanford has been vigorously preparing for the 2011 rematch in Palo Alto, Calif. on Nov. 12.

Stanford had the correct recipe to defeat the high-speed Ducks last year but eventually ran out of gas and simply couldn't keep up with them. Home-field advantage played a pivotal role in helping the momentum swing back to Oregon in the second half, so it will be interesting to see how the Ducks will adapt to the unfriendly confines of Stanford Stadium.

Luck will get his touchdowns whether the Ducks like it or not. However, the game will come down to whether or not the Ducks offense can keep up and eventually wear out the big and physical Stanford defense.

USC

Oh, how the tides have turned.

The once-crowned team of the Pac-10 conference has struggled—for USC football standards—for the past few years and opened up the door for a new top dog to emerge and take over as the conference's elite.

Oregon seized the opportunity and is now considered to be the best in the Pac-12.

The Ducks have beaten the Trojans for the past two seasons and things are currently shaping up for that recent trend to stay right on track. The Trojans will be traveling up to Eugene on November to take on the Ducks in front of more than 54,000 crazy Duck fans who can't stand anything that has to with USC.

Oregon's offense has scored an average of 50 points in the past two meetings and expect the same in 2011. The Ducks are simply too quick and athletic for the Trojans to keep up, and you know that every single Oregon player will relish every opportunity to prove the Ducks are still the Pac-12's elite.