Oregon football's Week 8 has them returning home to Autzen Stadium where they'll be hosting Washington State. This is a game that the No. 9 Ducks will be looking to use as a bit of a bounce-back game after their thrilling loss to Washington last week. However, it will likewise be similar for the now unranked Cougars who have dropped their last two games, including last week's blowout against Arizona.
Oregon football had the opportunity to be the talk of all of college football after last weekend if they could have beaten then No. 7 Washington. But three Dan Lanning failed fourth-down calls and a Camden Lewis last-second 43-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide of the upright left the Ducks with their first blemish of the season.
Rightfully so, Oregon still resides in the top 10, currently ranked at nine. This team still has everything in front of them, with a possibility of facing the Huskies in a rematch in the Pac-12 Championship game and maybe even a College Football Playoff berth.
The Ducks can get back on track by facing what seems to be a wounded Cougars team. Being back at home will be welcomed after facing the Husky Stadium crowd last Saturday. However, Oregon will be hoping that this game isn't as close as last year's contest, where the Ducks had to outlast the Cougars 44-41 in Pullman. So, let's get into some Oregon football Week 8 predictions.
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Oregon football takes advantage of slumping Cougars QB Cam Ward
Washington State fell in line with the rest of the Pac-12 and its plethora of talented quarterbacks. The play behind center has been, in large part, what has made this conference so exciting to watch this season. However, Cameron Ward has fallen off a little bit after starting hot. He hasn't thrown a single touchdown pass in two games, where he's thrown all three of his interceptions. In October, he's yet to throw for over 200 yards.
Going back to last year's game against the Ducks, Ward's fourth-quarter pick-six sealed the defeat for the Cougars. This is a Ducks defense that is one of the better ones in the country. They should be able to take advantage of the slumping Ward.
Oregon football holds Washington State football to under 50 yards rushing
Going back to how impressive this Oregon defense is, they held the Huskies to just under 100 yards on the ground last Saturday, which was pretty close to their 92 yards per game. In the Cougars' last two games, they've rushed for 22 carries for 35 yards and 19 carries for 12 yards.
This surely hasn't gone unnoticed by the Oregon football staff, who will look to take advantage of this. They'll be looking to make this Washington State football offense as one-dimensional as possible. They can do that by holding the Cougars to under 50 yards rushing for the day.
Bo Nix throws for three touchdowns and nearly 300 yards
It's doubtful that Dan Lanning will want this to be any more than a team performance, but don't be surprised if the stat sheet might look a little bloated after this game. That could start with Bo Nix, who couldn't have played much better last Saturday against Washington. It's doubtful he cares much more than about winning, but still being up for the Heisman is still significant. Nix just has to play his game and find his talented receivers, which he shouldn't have much of a problem with.
Nix throws for three touchdowns and 280 yards.
Oregon football starts a new winning streak to get to Pac-12 Championship
Oregon was hoping they could pull off a sweep over the Washington teams in the Pac-12, but they'll have to settle for just a victory over the Cougars' football team, with hopes of playing the Huskies again in the conference title game. The Ducks' football team is still playing at a high level, despite the close loss last week. This is still very much a playoff contender team with winnable games ahead of them. They just can't let last week's game cause further damage. The Ducks easily handle the Cougars, 45-20.
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