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A late-night game in mid-November, with rain in the forecast against Washington State? The only thing that would likely make Oregon Duck fans more nervous about this game is if it was on a Friday night, rather than a Saturday.
That’s how this matchup has felt over the past decade or so. Based on the results in the past handful of years, Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal was driven to say earlier in the week that Washington State is likely more of a rival to the Ducks than Washington is since the Cougars have routinely gotten the better of the Ducks as of late.
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The Cougars have won four of the past six matchups with the Ducks, with a 4-year streak from 2015-2018 where they continually got the better of Oregon. In the series history, the Ducks have a 51-42-7 record, with a win-streak of 8 years from 2007-20014 giving a nice lay of the land for recent dominance.
However, the recent string of misfortunes in the past six years has many Oregon fans cautious about any matchup with the Cougars. The last time Oregon was in a prime position to make a run at the College Football Playoff in 2014, the Ducks’ had to rely on Marcus Mariota to throw for 5 TD passes as the two top offenses in the nation battled it out, with Oregon prevailing, 38-31.
Since then, Oregon has lost a game in double-overtime (2015) and been blown out by multiple scores in the following three years.
The Ducks skated by on the skin of their teeth in 2019, winning 37-35 as the No. 11 ranked team, thanks to a game-winning field goal from Camden Lewis.
So suffice it to say that the Ducks have had some experiences with Washington State, and the thought of a straightforward and relaxing win isn’t quite something that fans are used to.
Will that prove to be true again on Saturday night? Time will tell. On Pac-12 After Dark, with the Cougars in town on a rainy night, anything can happen.
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