Oregon Ducks Football: Previewing the Arizona Game

After two blowout wins following their opening season lost to LSU, Oregon is back in the AP Top 10 at 10th in the poll.

The Ducks now begin conference play and hope to keep their momentum going and get off to a good start in their quest for their third straight conference title.

The Ducks return to Tuscon to take on the Arizona Wildcats. The last time the Ducks played at Arizona, they squeaked away with an exciting 44-41 double-overtime win.

Will Darron Thomas Continue His Success?

The answer is yes.

The Wildcats are coming off two straight losses against Top 10 teams. In those games, Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State and Andrew Luck of Stanford went 62-of-84 for 722 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

The Wildcats just have a bad pass defense due to the lost of top pass-rushers Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore.

Thomas will equal his success during the past two games and will throw all over the Wildcats.

Lavasier Tuinei Will Have 150+ Yards Receiving

Because of Thomas' success in this game, Lavaiser Tunei will have a career performance and will the factor for the Ducks in this game.

Tuinei is the Ducks top receiver and will capitalize off  Arizona's poor secondary like Justin Blackmon did.

Cliff Harris Will Start

ESPN Pac-12 blogger Ted Miller has my back on this one.

While Arizona has a horrible pass defense, their pass offense is the exact opposite.

Nick Foles and Juron Criner are the best quarterback-wide receiver combo in the Pac-12 and are one of the top in the nation.

The Ducks will need Cliff Harris with major playing time and will need John Boyett to get healthy for the game.

The Offensive Line Won't Give Up a Sack

Like I said earlier, the Wildcats lost their top two pass-rushers from a year ago and have been struggling to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

While Oregon doesn't have the greatest offensive line in the conference, they'll be able to take on Arizona and will go the entire game without giving up a sack.

I bet Darron Thomas is happy about that.

De'Anthony Thomas Returns One to the House

With Kenjon Barner still uncertain with an injury, Thomas is still the Ducks top kick returner and has improved dramatically from Week 1 to Week 3 and will have a good game against Arizona.

Prediciton

The Ducks come into the game with a purpose and will play hard. Thomas and James will run wild over the Wildcats, but Criner and Foles will keep the game close.

In the end, however, the Ducks continue to improve after their Week 1 loss.

Final Score: Oregon 43, Arizona 31