Washington State travels down to Eugene this weekend to face the Oregon Ducks. This game has many different factors for both schools. For Oregon, they are riding a big win over rival Washington, they also have playoff hopes. Not just for them but the Pac-12. For Washington State, they’ll need a victory to help give themselves an opportunity at making a bowl game.
Last season, Oregon came in with high hopes when they traveled to play Washington State. But Washington State showed up, with College Gameday coming to Pullman, Washington for the first time in the Gameday history. Oregon was unable to tune out the noise of Washington State fans. Both teams had hype, Oregon beating Washington the week before and Justin Herbert playing like a Heisman candidate. While Washington State had a quarterback of their own in Gardner Minshew and that’s when we were exposed to Minshew Mania on a national level.
Oregon has looked good since losing a heart-breaking loss to Auburn to start the season. Washington looked like their toughest challenge since that loss. Now Oregon looks like they are in the driver’s seat and know they still have a chance at the playoffs with Washington State being one of their last obstacles.
Washington State had a big victory for themselves last week after losing the last three games, after starting the season 3-0. They are now 4-3 and now just need 2 victories to make a bowl game. This could be the game that could either make or break them for the rest of the season.
Justin Herbert is still playing like a top 5 pick. Silencing people who questioned why he came back to Oregon instead of declaring for the draft; myself included. This could be his redemption game and why he wanted to come back.
For Washington State to win they need to slow down Oregon’s offense, with Oregon’s offense having the 26th rank offense in nation in scoring. Washington state will also have to find creative ways to score on Oregon. With Oregon having the 7th best defense in the nation, holding opponents to a staggering 12 points a game. Knowing Mike Leach, he probably has some hidden tricks up his sleeve. This game could come down to one play.
Hopefully, Washington State has put their past behind them and looked at last week as a new fresh start.
It’s truly a disappointment this game has to be on at 7:30 P.M Pacific Standard Time. With many people on the East Coast not staying up late for these late-night games and seeing how good Pac-12 football actually is.
