The Oregon Ducks and South Dakota Coyotes are opening the 2014 NCAA college football season and the matchup is from Autzen Stadium on the Pac-12 Network starting at 10:30 pm ET from the Pac-12 Network and online with a live stream from the conference website and the Ducks are ranked in the top three in the nation and Marcus Mariota is a Heisman candidate this year.
Oregon has been one of the best offensive teams in the nation and while they are losing Josh Huff to the NFL, the team has Mariota returning after his fantastic season. Mariota led the team in passing yards with 3665 yards and he also had 30 touchdowns and now many think he could be one of the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy in this high powered offense. Last season the team was one of the best in the Pac-12 and this year the conference is looking very strong and the north has a deep division this year.
The Ducks could be the top offensive team in the conference and the nation and they come in after going 11-2 and they were 7-2 in the conference and they were 4-1 against their division. The team was 2-1 against the top 25 in the nation and this year they have a tough middle part of the schedule after a big early test against Michigan State. The game with the Spartans is one of the best matchups of the season already and that is next Saturday and is a major test for the two teams.
MSU comes into the game as the eighth ranked team and they won the Rose Bowl last year and that game is sandwiched in between South Dakota and Wyoming. Washington State is next on the schedule and that is on the road and they are also a tough offensive team to deal with and that comes ahead of another tough game with Arizona and that is at home. That starts a stretch of four games with three ranked teams in the mix and that includes a road matchup with the UCLA Bruins.
Oregon then has Wahsington at home and they came into the season ranked, while Cal is next on the road before a home game against Stanford, who came into the season ranked in the top 15. The back stretch of the schedule is not very hard with Utah, Colorado and Oregon State on the road and while playing away at the rivals is tough, the team should be able to manage that back end of games.
Check here for the Oregon Ducks and South Dakota Coyotes live coverage from the Pac-12.