It is the start of the Big Ten season for Oregon and Northwestern as they face off on Saturday. Oregon has been dominant so far this year and is a massive favorite in this game. The team could be looking forward to their next two games, as the Ducks face rival Oregon State and then visit Penn State. Oregon is staying focused on the task at hand this week. While they are heavy favorites against Northwestern, there are still bold predictions to be made.
At 2-0, Oregon is one of the top teams in the Big Ten. In Week 1, the team dispatched of Montana State 59-13. Last week was more domination. The Ducks hosted Oklahoma State. The team had a 41-3 lead going into the halftime break and would continue to keep the pedal to the metal in the second half. It was a 69-3 victory for Oregon.
Meanwhile, Northwestern took its first win of the year in Week 2. After a Week 1 loss to Tulane on the road, the team faced Western Illinois in Week 2. Preston Stone was great in the game, completing 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. That led the Wildcats to a 42-7 victory.
Dante Moore dominates again
Oregon turned to sophomore Dante Moore to lead the way for the offense this year. The Ducks have a long history of solid quarterback play. In recent years, Dillion Gabriel, Bo Nix, and Justin Herbert have led the way. The long run of quality quarterbacks goes well into the team's history, with players such as Norm Van Brocklin and Dan Fouts once sitting under center for the team.
Moore looks to be the next star quarterback for Oregon. He has been amazing so far this year. On the season, he has completed 34 of 44 passes for 479 yards and six touchdowns. Against Oklahoma State, he threw for 266 yards and three scores.
The Northwestern defense has yet to face a top-quality quarterback this year. They struggled with Jake Retzlaff in Week 1. The Tulane quarterback completed 18 of 31 passes for 152 yards with a touchdown. He also ran for 113 yards and a score. Moore is going to dominate this Northwestern defense. Expect the Ducks quarterback to throw for over 250 yards and multiple touchdowns against the Wildcats' defense.
The loss of Cam Porter stifles the Northwestern offense
Northwestern running back Cam Porter decided to return for a sixth year at Northwestern. In his career, he has run for 1,908 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also had 425 yards receiving and a score. He was off to a great start this season. In two games, he has just 18 carries, but for 137 yards, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. He also had three receptions for 23 yards. Porter suffered an injury against Western Illinois and will now be out for the year.
This is going to lead to Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II leading the backfield. Komolafe has just 97 yards on 20 carries and struggled heavily against Tulane. Meanwhile, Himon has just 78 yards on 16 carries. Neither has scored this year.
This will also put pressure on Preston Stone. He has been solid, but not great, this year. Stone has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 406 yards and three scores. Still, he has been intercepted four times. He struggled heavily against Tulane, though. In that game, he passed for just 161 yards and threw four interceptions without a touchdown.
Without Porter to take pressure off of Stone and a lack of experience in the backfield, the Northwestern offense is going to struggle in this game against a strong Oregon defense.
The Oregon defense scores again
In Week 2 against Oklahoma State, the Oregon defense was dominant. The defense gave up just 211 yards of offense. Meanwhile, the team gave up just 67 yards passing. With Porter now out for the year, Northwestern will be focusing more on the passing game this week. Oregon is going to dominate that. Oklahoma State was sacked on nearly ten percent of their drop-backs, but quarterback Zane Flores was under constant pressure.
Meanwhile, Flores threw two interceptions in the game. Peyton Woodyard has one of them, and he returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Jerry Mixon had the other, and he returned it 26 yards for a score. This year, the defense has scored nearly as many points as it has given up.
Moreover, the Oregon run defense has also been stellar this year. The defense already has six tackles for a loss in the run game this year, and will be sure to get more in this one. At the time of writing, the odds according to FanDuel have the Northwestern team total set at 10.5 points. Unless there is an uncharacteristic turnover from the Ducks, Northwestern is not going to get there. It is possible that the Ducks completely shut them out. This is a look-ahead spot for Oregon, but Dan Lanning has them focused, and they will have complete control in this Week 3 match-up.
