NCAA football preview: The Oregon Ducks aim to keep their No. 1 ranking
Oregon appears headed for a date with destiny. Should the number-one Ducks (9-0, 6-0 Pac-10) win their three remaining regular-season games, they will more than likely get the invite to play for this year’s BCS (Bowl Championship Series) title in Glendale,
Arizona.
First, Oregon, who averages a staggering 54.7 points per game (tops in college football), will have to get past the California Golden Bears (5-4, 3-3 Pac-10), who own the Pac-10’s stingiest defence, when the team’s face-off on Saturday 13 November.
Although they got off to a slow start last week, the Ducks eventually got going, winning 53-16 over the Washington Huskies. However, Oregon will have to compete against a hostile crowd at Cal’s Memorial Stadium this weekend, where the Golden Bears are undefeated
thus far this season (4-0). They’ll also have to battle their recent history on California’s home turf, as the Ducks have lost the last three meetings on the road against the Golden Bears.
It might be a tall task to ask the California defence to contain an Oregon offence that is also averaging 567.2 yards of total offence per contest thus far this season. However, the Golden Bears seem to be up to the challenge. “Clearly that is a lot of speed
coming over here and I am excited to see what their offensive line can handle,” Cal defensive lineman Cameron Jordan told the media earlier this week. “They are number one. I’d like to put them to the test.”
However, it remains to be seen whether or not a suffocating California defence that is allowing just 299.6 yards per game (best in the conference) will show up against the “quack attack.” The Golden Bears have been inconsistent on the defensive end at times
this season, giving up 52 and 48 points, respectively, in losses to Nevada and Southern California.
Meanwhile, the confident but cautious Ducks are eager get past the Golden Bears, aware that as college football’s top squad, they’ve got a bulls-eye on their chest. “Some teams are going to come out and play hard just like we do,” said Oregon’s sophomore quarterback,
Darron Thomas. “We feel the pressure a little bit, but coach [Chip] Kelly puts us in the right places to make plays.”
Although they’ve knocked off every opponent they’ve faced this season, the Ducks haven’t exactly played championship-calibre football on a consistent basis. Had they not been up against Washington’s defence last week (the conference’s second-worst), their 10
penalties for 107 yards might have doomed Oregon. That’s a bit uncharacteristic for a team in the thick of a national championship hunt, especially this late in the season, and the players know it.
“We have to eliminate the mistakes,” sophomore running back Kenjon Barner said. “We just have to come out and play Oregon football and not make petty and minor mistakes.”
Still, as bad as things might have seemed, the Ducks continued to roll with little resistance. And Jeff Tedford knows that it’s going to take an extraordinary effort to dethrone the nation’s best. “They’re an excellent, excellent football team. There’s no question
about it,” the Cal coach said. “They’re deserving of the number-one ranking. They’ve proven that.”
And, with an all-time record of 0-10 against the nation’s number one, the Golden Bears can only hope to keep it close.
Prediction: Oregon 45, California 17
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