Oregon Ducks vs Washington Huskies: Three Things I’ll Be Watching

The Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies tonight at Autzen Stadium. It is one of the biggest rivalries in the Pac-12 Conference and tonight has some added significance in being the twentieth anniversary of a play that has since defined Oregon Ducks Football, The Pick. Kenny Wheaton will be on hand tonight at Autzen and the crowd will be ready for this one. The bigger question is, will the Oregon Ducks.

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Here are a few of the things I will be watching tonight:

Oregon Ducks Need To Take Contol on the Offensive Line

This game, similiar to Arizona a few weeks ago, will be won or lost in the trenches. The Oregon Ducks Offensive Line issues have been well documented all season and the team welcomed back Jake Fisher last weekend, along with some stability which allowed Running Back Royce Freeman to run for one-hundred twenty one yards and a score last weekend in the win against UCLA on the road. Washington brings one of the best Defensive Lines in the Pac-12 into Autzen on Saturday night.

Washington’s Defensive Line Will Play Physical

As mentioned above, two key players to watch tonight for the Washington Huskies are Tackle Danny Shelton who is one of the leaders this season in tackles for loss and defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha who leads the nation in sacks with ten. With the Oregon Ducks high powered offense balanced on both the run and the pass, Arizona showed how to beat Oregon by making them one dimensional a few weeks ago.

"They’re very athletic, they have guys that can move around, you know Shaq(Thompson) guys that can really make plays on Defense. For us, we have to be aggressive and physical and move the line of scrimmage a little bit and get going.Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota on facing the Washington Defense"

If Oregon Can Get Into a Rhythm, A Win Is More Likely

Three and outs and a sputtering Offense are never a good sign and last weekend against UCLA the Offense was able to make plays. Oregon Ducks Center Hroniss Grasu even caught a pass off a deflection. Oregon will have to be more athletic tonight against a solid Washington Defense. The game could come down to a play on Special Teams or even a pick from the Oregon Defense.

Both teams enter with 5-1 records and we know it will be loud tonight at Autzen. Kickoff is set for 5pm Pacific Time on Fox Sports 1.

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