The Oregon Ducks have a short week after their historic win against the Ohio State Buckeyes on October 12th. The Ducks are going on the road to West Lafayette, Indiana, where they’ll take on the Purdue Boilermakers this Friday evening.
Purdue has looked like the worst team in the 18-team Big Ten for most of the season, but last Saturday, they looked like a new team against Illinois, losing to the Fighting Illini in overtime, 50-49.
The major change for the Boilermakers was at quarterback. Ryan Browne started in place of former Texas QB Hudson Card who was injured. Browne threw for 297 yards and 3 touchdowns while completing 69.2 percent of his passes, accenting Purdue’s best offensive day of the year.
Below are my three keys to victory for Oregon this weekend. If the Ducks can do these three things, I think they’ll be in great shape to move to 7-0.
Neutralize Ryan Browne
Purdue found something last week with Ryan Browne at quarterback instead of Hudson Card — who was in the concussion protocol. Browne is starting again this week even though Card may have medical clearance. It will be up to Oregon’s defense to decide if Browne’s success from the pocket is temporary or Purdue’s new normal. If the Boilermakers passing game is successful, Oregon may be in for a dogfight.
A jump-started offense
Purdue isn’t close to Oregon in terms of skill, but they still have upset potential, especially as the home team. The best well to quell a Boilermakers’ upset bid? A hot start. If the Ducks can drive down the field quickly on their first possession and punch in seven or eight points, it should take the wind out of Purdue’s sails and put Oregon in firm control of the game.
Dominance in the Middle 8
The “Middle 8” (the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half) has been a big focus for Dan Lanning in his time at Oregon, but it hasn’t been a strength for the 2024 Ducks. In games like this with lopsided opponents, the Middle 8 is often where the better team takes control, and if they don’t — as we saw with Alabama and Vanderbilt earlier this year — it can mean bad news for the favorite.