ESPN picking Washington over Oregon
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Fixed. We're screwed.HeretoBeatmyChest said:Its from the same guy I posted last week. I hope everything he says comes true.
This is Oregon's last shot at beating Washington for maybe a decade, as these two programs are headed in starkly different directions. One just hired a Hall of Fame coach who's the Pac-12's best hope to produce the league's first national title since Pete Carroll; the other is sinking under the league's greenest coaching staff.
Superstar Marcus Mariota is carrying the Ducks, both on the field and in terms of the unusually heavy leadership burden placed on the captain of a team with only a handful of proven veterans and more than a third of its players in their first year with the program. The offensive line has thus far been unable to protect Mariota, and if he gets hurt, this team could lose every remaining game on the schedule. With Mariota, the offense is still humming pretty well, but the defense ranks among the nation's bottom 20 in allowing total yards, first downs, passing yards and third-down conversions. We projected an unranked finish for Oregon in February, and that still looks about right. Can the Ducks pull off one more win in a series they've dominated for years? It's a toss-up, even at home against an opponent still learning how to play winning football.
Washington is a rising power that already looks like it can compete with anyone in the Pac-12 despite showing few signs of playing like a Chris Petersen team just yet. The Huskies are inefficient offensively, and have generated few explosive plays. Penalties have piled up, execution is inconsistent and ball security remains an issue. The Huskies lead the nation in turnover margin, but that's thanks to star linebacker Shaq Thompson and a ball-hawking defense that's been torturing the offense since the beginning of camp. The Huskies have put the ball on the ground 11 times -- third worst in the Pac-12 -- and have enjoyed the unsustainable good fortune of recovering all but one of those fumbles. This is a shell of the team it will be next year and beyond, yet it's fast-improving and it's already pretty good.
Pick: Washington
Score: Washington 35, Oregon 31
Sincerely,
arizona123
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Well I'm not gonna go that far. But I do think the 21 point spread is absurd
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Goddamnit.
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Does Jood picking Orryguhn offset at all?
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/huskyfootball/2014/10/17/pac-12-predictions-can-the-uw-defense-finally-take-down-mariota-and-the-oregon-offense/ -
brb, joAZDuck said:
Seems appropriate here -
And the Game Day tards picked UCLA last week....
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ESPN is totally transparent. It's all about the money with them. They picked the Huskies because the Seattle market is way bigger than Eugene, hell the whole state of Oregon. The Ducks, at home, have too much this year. Now next year in Seattle with no Mariota? Totally different deal.
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Actually, each of the ESPN PAC12 writers picked OR to win. It is only one guy, Will Harris, who wrote that and believes it. I am trying not to be bias when I say this, but that piece really sounds like sour grapes / an axe to grind. Both UW and OR will be taking large steps back next year due to attrition. The question becomes more about recent recruiting and the ability of coaching staffs to develop kids.Vegasdawg said:34-31
In a nutshell, they view the two programs as going in opposite directions and that if Oregon wins, it is the last shot they have of a win over Washington into the foreseeable future. I can hear the butt's puckering in Eugene, all the way down here in Southern Nevada. -
Yeah. But stillQuack_Addict said:
Actually, each of the ESPN PAC12 writers picked OR to win. It is only one guy, Will Harris, who wrote that and believes it. I am trying not to be bias when I say this, but that piece really sounds like sour grapes / an axe to grind. Both UW and OR will be taking large steps back next year due to attrition. The question becomes more about recent recruiting and the ability of coaching staffs to develop kids.Vegasdawg said:34-31
In a nutshell, they view the two programs as going in opposite directions and that if Oregon wins, it is the last shot they have of a win over Washington into the foreseeable future. I can hear the butt's puckering in Eugene, all the way down here in Southern Nevada.
UW won't be taking a huge step back next year. That's wishful thinking on your part. HTH.
