The ESPN College GameDay crew is ready for another big game and on Saturday the team will be in Eugene for the Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins game that will air on the network at 7:00 pm and the Pac-12 game will feature a big preview with Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit starting up at 9:00 AM on Watch ESPN streaming online.
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The matchup in the Pac-12 could have huge implications for the season, as Oregon is leading their division with a 4-0 record and is tied with Oregon State, who will play Stanford on Saturday night and with the Cardinal 4-1, there could be a big pileup at the top over the weekend. The Bruins are a game back in the division but are even in losses with Arizona State and a win over the Ducks would be huge for national implications as well with the BCS standings coming out for the second week and with Oregon third behind Florida State, they cannot afford a slip up at this point.
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The Ducks have one of the most explosive offenses in the country and the Bruins are one team that might be able to keep up with them for a bit, even if the game is in Eugene, where Oregon usually dominates. The Bruins have Brett Hundley at quarterback and while he is very dynamic, Marcus Mariota is having a heck of a season for Oregon and he has played himself into the Heisman race with over 2,000 yards passing and 19 touchdowns and zero interceptions and he also has rushed for nearly 500 yards and has added another nine touchdowns. The team is coming off of a win over the Washington Cougars and while Mariota was out-passed on the day, the Ducks pulled off another big win and scored over 60 points for the second time this season and they have now scored over 50 points in every game this season apart from the win two weeks ago against the Washington Huskies. The Ducks come into the game 7-0 and 4-0 in the conference, while the Bruins are 5-1 on the year and are 2-1 in the Pac-12 this season.
Oregon has been moving the ball as good as anyone this season and the defense has played its part as well, ranking 12th in the nation with less than 18 points per game and now they will face their biggest test of the season in a potential BCS team in the UCLA. The Ducks are averaging well over 600 yards per game this season and they are ranked second in the nation in rushing yards per game with over 330 yards per contest and that is where the Bruins will try to focus. Mariota has plenty of weapons and one of his best is Josh Huff, who is leading the team with 32 catches for 627 yards and six touchdowns and he likely will be the top target on Saturday night in Autzen Stadium.
GameDay has been to Oregon a number of times in the past with the crew coming to Eugene almost 10 times and they now have been there in each of the five seasons, including in 2012 when the Ducks lost to Stanford in a huge Pac-12 conference matchup. The GameDay boys have been to the Pac-12 this season already after the Ducks were at Washington and beat the Huskies and if the Bruins fall on Saturday that would be two losses in a row after falling to the Cardinal last week. After playing the Bruins the Ducks will travel to Stanford for a huge matchup and these two games could be what decides the Pac-12.
