The Oregon Ducks and North Carolina Tar Heels will meet in sunny San Diego for the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday afternoon, and while each team is dealing with significant attrition – the battle between quarterbacks Drake Maye and Bo Nix could make this an all-time classic.
It might be a ‘first to 50’ situation as both teams are dealing with losses primarily on the defensive end, setting up a fast-paced, exciting game of football.
Of course, in today’s transfer portal era it is always tough to really evaluate performances in these games – and many coaches opt to use these contests as a way to play some younger guys who are in line for bigger roles in the upcoming season.
We will see if the ultra competitive Dan Lanning makes that choice or not, but if they are playing to win we have three keys to a potential Oregon victory lined up:
Attack Through the Air
Bo Nix is reportedly healthy and is expected, at least according to coach Dan Lanning, to play some of his best football of the season on Wednesday.
That’s of course excellent news for the Ducks and very bad news for North Carolina, who is going to be without at least three starters in the secondary in Tony Grimes, Storm Duck, and Cam’Ron Kelly.
For Oregon to win, Nix (and potentially Ty Thompson) will want to attack in the air and make North Carolina’s backup defensive backs prove their mettle in this one.
Kenny Dillingham and his explosive plays aren’t calling the shots anymore, but with Junior Adams and Drew Mehringer taking over it could be a pass-heavy game, and a fun one at that.