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Oregon Game Preview: Washington

For the Oregon Ducks, a bye week came at the best possible point in their season. As a result, coach Chip Kelly's team might be able to go into battle with its foremost field general, a needed plus considering the opponent that will stare down the Quack Attack this weekend.

Yes, before Oregon faces USC in the looming Pac-10 game of the year, the Ducks have to get by Washington, UO's foremost rival outside the state of Oregon. The Civil War is nasty, and ranks as "Rivalry Number One" in Eugene, but the dust-up between the Ducks and the salty squad from Seattle rates as "Rivalry 1-A" for UO partisans. While it's true that pot-stirring Rick Neuheisel is no longer UW's troublemaking and hell-raising coach (he and UO coach-turned-athletic director Mike Bellotti didn't exactly enjoy Sunday afternoon tea parties together...), the fires of this Pacific Northwest passion play burn as brightly as they ever have. Now that Washington has rebounded following its humiliating 2008 season, the spice in this matchup should return at full force when UO comes to Husky Stadium this weekend.

It's a good thing, then, that the Ducks are riding into Seattle on the heels of an off week, because the break has allowed Jeremiah Masoli--out of action on Oct. 10 against UCLA due to a knee injury--a chance to get back into the lineup. Oregon's offense flailed and floundered with backup Nate Costa under center at UCLA. Oregon's offense scored 10 points, but gave back seven of them on a pick-six thrown by Costa. It was only because of coordinator Nick Aliotti's defense and a Kenjon Barner kickoff return that the Ducks escaped Pasadena with a win over the Bruins and the aforementioned Mr. Neuheisel.

Why is the return of Masoli (if it indeed occurs) so essential for Oregon's fortunes in this fierce and rousing regional rivalry game? Plainly put, Oregon can't expect to dominate on defense the way it did against UCLA.

The Bruins might be scrappy, but they're also offensively challenged. UCLA could mount no credible threat against UO's defense, which has been carrying Kelly's club all year long. That dynamic will change against Washington, because the Huskies--with a healthy quarterback and a first-year head coach who knows how to call plays in the Pac-10--should pressure Aliotti's athletes to a considerable extent.

Jake Locker did play against Oregon last season in Autzen Stadium, but only because that game occurred in the 2008 opener. By early October of last year, Locker--the Huskies' star quarterback and a multi-sport star who's been drafted by the Los Angeles Angels--was shelved for the season with an injury. This year, under the guidance of former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, Locker has flourished in the Emerald City and has guided UW to a place of respectability in the college football world. Much as Washington is Oregon's foremost out-of-state rival in the Pac-10, the Ducks represent the Huskies' most hated adversary outside the state of Washington. Locker--who lost a shootout to Dennis Dixon as a freshman two years ago (the last time Oregon came to Seattle to contest this rivalry)--will possibly get a chance to match skills with Masoli in an attractive matchup that's earned ESPN's attention. This game isn't being played in a low-value time slot on a niche cable network (Versus, cough, cough); it's featured in one of the prime viewing windows on a college football Saturday. Such is the star power of the two quarterbacks on display.

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Naturally, then, the key to this collision concerns the ability of Masoli and Locker to combine explosive playmaking with not just a minimal amount of mistakes, but more specifically, mistakes that will be minimally damaging. The burdens placed on the shoulders of the two signal callers in this game are considerable; everyone in Husky Stadium--whether rooting for the Green and Gold or the Purple People--will expect Masoli and Locker to light up the scoreboard in thrilling fashion. Inevitably, the large workloads involved in this game will cause both men to misfire on at least a few occasions. With that point in mind, it will be important for each player to make mistakes that aren't supremely damaging.

Taking a sack, for instance--while perhaps avoidable in an immediate sense--is not as big a mistake as throwing an interception. Similarly, throwing an interception on a long third-down pass near midfield isn't as glaring a gaffe as is a first-down interception surrendered in the opposing team's red zone. Nobody's perfect, so as Masoli and Locker try to limit their mistakes, it's essential for these stellar quarterbacks to ensure that they pick their spots and force the issue only when they can afford to do so. This game figures to be exciting, but also a little ragged around the edges. Mistakes aren't likely to be avoided in full; Masoli and Locker need to make the small mistakes their coaches can live with.

Oregon. Washington. Masoli. Locker. Time for a Northwestern headknocker filled with fireworks, fun, and the fierceness of an old territorial feud that never fails to stir the spirit in the upper left-hand corner of the United States.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer