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Oregon Ducks @ Arizona Wildcats Preview

@ Arizona - Saturday, 8 ET, ABC

Once again, College GameDay is paying a visit to an Oregon game site. Once again, the Ducks will need to bring their best brand of ball to a Pac-10 stadium. It's the kind of moment that reveals - and defines - a champion, and this team needs to seize it with two-fisted totality.

Oregon is so close to winning the Pac-10 title, and yet so far away, entering this weekend's visit to Tucson, Ariz. As Chip Kelly's crew gets ready for a date with coach Mike Stoops's Wildcats, the calculus for the Ducks is as clear as can be: Win two games, punch a ticket to Pasadena on New Year's Day against the Buckeyes of Ohio State. However, the actual process of bagging two more Pac-10 scalps, and reserving a spot in the Granddaddy against Jim Tressel's team, will prove to be far more complicated.

Arizona, coming off its loss to Cal, might have lost the ability to make the first Rose Bowl in the program's generally snake-bitten history, but the Wildcats will draw strength from the knowledge that ESPN's signature pregame show will originate from their corner of the Desert Southwest. Arizona will be energized by the presence of Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit on a campus that normally welcomes the biggest names in basketball broadcasting. Bob Stoops's brother still has a chance to register a nine-win regular season and - with this win - stay in the running for the Holiday Bowl, which would represent one of the better postseason prizes still waiting to be attained by the Pac-10's collection of bowl-eligible teams.

Oregon does figure to receive Arizona's best shot, and if the Ducks are unsure of this, they need to remember that in 2007, their last trip to Tucson ended in defeat.

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Two years ago, UO marched into Arizona with the Pac-10 lead in the middle of November, but when Heisman Trophy leader Dennis Dixon got injured - and knocked out for the season - in the first half of play, the Ducks lost their heart and soul. They also lost to the Wildcats and fell out of the running for the national championship. When Oregon then lost at UCLA later in November, USC was able to leapfrog the Ducks despite the fact that Oregon toppled Troy earlier in that '07 season. The Ducks are in no position to underestimate Arizona this time around, and Kelly needs to make sure his players fully embrace the urgency of that reality.

The key to this game is, in a word, defense. Last year's Wildcat-Duck donnybrook - staged in Autzen Stadium - turned into a classic Wild West shootout. Oregon rolled to a 48-17 lead late in the third quarter before Arizona responded with 28 straight points to trim the UO advantage to a scant three points, at 48-45. LeGarrette Blount - yeah, remember him? - rode to the rescue for the Ducks by ripping off a 40-yard touchdown run with 3:38 remaining, giving Oregon breathing room and an eventual 55-45 triumph.

With each of the quarterbacks on these teams - UO veteran Jeremiah Masoli and Arizona newcomer Nick Foles - executing at a very high level, the first defense to knock a signal caller in the mouth will make a very significant statement. If either front seven can find a way to disrupt the timing and rhythm of the offense on the other side of the line, the pendulum will swing in this pigskin passion play. The ability to find a consistent pass rush will carry a considerable amount of value in this desert duel at Arizona Stadium.

The Ducks, and defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, need to make sure that they're the ones throwing the first, last and best punches. If not, visions of Roses will fade away into a not-so-gentle Arizona night.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer