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No. 9 Oregon (5-1, 2-1) vs. Washington State (4-2, 1-2)
- When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Autzen Stadium
- How to watch: TV — ABC. Radio — KUJZ-FM (95.3) | Sirius: 133 | XM: 197
- Odds: Oregon is a 20-point favorite
What's at stake for Oregon football?
Oregon is back home for its first game at Autzen Stadium in four weeks and looking to get back on track after a tough weekend in Seattle.That loss to Washington last Saturday has put the Ducks in a position where they have no room for error over the next six weeks if they want any chance of playing in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas, or be one of the four teams to make the College Football Playoffs — a long shot, for sure, but not yet out of the question.
In other words, every game from here on out is a must-win for Oregon to achieve those goals.
"We are certainly excited about this week going against Washington State," Lanning said. "A good team that's been really explosive on offense. It took everything we had last year to be able to go battle and compete against these guys. I know that they'll put a great product on the field Saturday."
Oregon Ducks air attack led by lethal combo
Last week's loss to Washington did little to take the shine off the sensational seasons underway by quarterback Bo Nix or wide receiver Troy Franklin.- Nix, the fifth-year senior, is the most experienced quarterback in college football and his start on Saturday will set the NCAA all-time record for games started by a quarterback at 54.
- His 12,640 career passing yards is ranked No. 3 among active players. He also ranks 15th in NCAA history in career total yards (14,120), is tied for 19th in completions (1,086), and is tied for 29th in total touchdowns (119).
- Nix has completed 164-of-207 passes for 1,796 yards, 17 touchdowns and one interception this season. He is the FBS leader with a completion percentage of 79.2%, and ranks fifth in passing efficiency (184.7), is tied for sixth in TD passes and is 10th in yards per game at 299.3.
- Franklin has been Nix's favorite target this season. The junior pass catcher has 40 receptions for 689 yards and eight touchdowns. Against the Huskies, he had eight catches for a career-high 154 yards and one score.
- Franklin enters Saturday with at least one reception in 23 consecutive games, and multiple catches in 19 of his last 20 game. He also has at least one touchdown catch in nine of his last 10 games and 12 total during that stretch.
- He is five TD catches away from the Oregon career record of 24 held by Josh Huff, Keenan Howry, Jeff Maehl and Cristin McLemore.
- Franklin is also closing in on the program record for career 100-yard receiving games. He has eight and the record of 11 is held by Demetrius Williams.
Oregon's pass defense best in Pac-12
The Ducks lead the conference in passing yards allowed per game (180.7) and yards allowed per pass attempt (5.5). They performed well against two of the nation's premier QBs, or at least, better than most.
Last week they held the Huskies — who were averaging an NCAA-leading 446.4 passing yards per game — to 316 passing yards. Last month Oregon held Colorado's Shedeur Sanders to 159 passing yards — 258yards below his 417 average at the time.- "We've certainly affected the quarterback a lot more this year," Lanning said. "And again, it's twofold. It's what we're doing better schematically, it's what we have from a personnel standpoint on our team, and it's our players embracing improvement."
