On Friday evening, the Oregon Ducks will kick things off against the Oregon State Beavers in the final week of the college football regular season. If Oregon wins, they’ll play themselves into the conference championship game, where a win would give them a chance at the College Football Playoff.
The Ducks found themselves in a similar situation last year ahead of their game against Oregon State. There was no chance for Oregon to make the Playoff, but if they won they would’ve gone to the Pac-12 championship and had a chance at a New Year’s Six bowl game. But after going up by three touchdowns, the Ducks allowed a 28-3 scoring run from the Beavers and lost the game 38-34.
Below, are my three keys to victory for the Ducks this year against the Beavers, so that they can advance to the Pac-12 Championship.
Stop the run
Execute through all four quarters
The Ducks had this game wrapped up last year, and they gave it away due to improper execution down the stretch. Dan Lanning has emphasized all year the importance of playing complete games. That means playing penalty-free, which has been a tremendous challenge for Oregon. When mistakes have happened this season, they haven’t usually come back to haunt the Ducks, but if Oregon gives Oregon State too many chances on Friday, the Beavers won’t let them go unpunished.
Win the turnover battle
A huge part of controlling the flow of any football game is turnovers. Failing to protect the ball on offense and stealing the ball on defense create massive shifts in a game’s momentum. So, if Oregon can protect the ball — as they’ve done all year — and take the ball out of the Beavers’s hands once or twice, they’ll be in a position to win their last game of the 2023 regular season.
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