Week 6 of College Football belonged to the underdogs as eight teams in the Associated Press Top-25 fell to lower or unranked teams. One of those ‘dogs are set to play again this week. The Ole Miss Rebels are taking on the Texas A&M Aggies (preview here) after knocking off the No.2 Alabama Crimson Tide. Meanwhile, the Oregon Ducks and the UCLA Bruins, who were upset as the No. 2 and No. 8 teams respectively, will meet in a pivotal Pac-12 matchup.
Which team will rebound from their devastating losses? Set your sights here as we break down this high-stakes game.
The Oregon Ducks were shocked as they were handed their first loss of the season by the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday. The Ducks have now failed to cover the spread in four of their five games this season.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Marcus Mariota threw 20-for-32 for 276 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a 26-yard TD pass from running back Royce Freeman for Oregon’s first score of the game. Still, Mariota was far from perfect as he was strip-sacked twice.
Part of Mariota’s struggle was due to an inexperienced, banged-up offensive line which allowed a total of five sacks on the quarterback. The Heisman candidate was also sacked seven times by Washington State on September 20. Still, if the offensive line can buy Mariota enough time, then he can exploit UCLA’s pass defense, which allows 271 yards per game.
Wide receiver Devon Allen will be instrumental against UCLA. Allen has connected well with Mariota in the past four games, catching six touchdown passes.
Against a Bruins team that has struggled against the run (242 allowed yards against Utah), the Ducks will likely make plays designed for Freeman and Mariota to rush the ball. The two average over five yards per carry and have eight touchdowns between them.
And while the Ducks’ defense hasn’t looked solid – they’re allowing 453.8 yards per game, second-worst in the conference – it’s still capable of making plays. Reggie Daniels had his first interception of the season, while DeForest Buckner and T.J. Daniel each had a sack against Arizona QB Anu Solomon. Tony Washington had two sacks but was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after bowing to the home crowd in celebration of his second sack.
The total has gone under in Oregon’s two Pac-12 games this season
The UCLA Bruins’ offense was sputtering for much of their game against the Utah Utes on Saturday, and they paid for it with a big 30-28 loss.
Down 17-7 entering the second half, quarterback Brett Hundley passed for 187 yards and two scores on just eight completions. Hundley’s 93 and 40-yard touchdown passes to Devin Fuller and Eldridge Massington, respectively, kept the Bruins alive in the fourth quarter. But despite Hundley’s heroics, it was too little too late for the Bruins.
Hundley and his offensive line were at fault for the offense’s failure to launch much earlier. The O-line failed to provide Hundley enough time to pass. On the other hand, when Hundley did have enough time to pass, he held on to the ball far too long, ultimately taking 10 sacks on the night.
If the Bruins don’t make the adjustments necessary to cover the holes exploited by Utah, they may be in for another rough night against Oregon’s pass rushers. UCLA will need a relatively clean pocket for Hundley if they are to fully exploit Oregon’s paltry pass defense, which is allowing 309.6 yards per game (10th in the Pac-12).
The Bruins are 6-2 when playing at home since 2013, while failing to cover in their last two home games.
Writer’s Prediction
With both offensive lines failing to defend against the pass rush, expect the two teams to trade punts for most of the game. Still, Oregon should be able to pull out the win here.
