Injury update and what's on the line for No. 8 Oregon football against No. 7 Washington
No. 8 Oregon (5-0, 2-0) vs. No. 7 Washington (5-0, 2-0)
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Husky Stadium in Seattle
How to watch: TV — ABC. Radio — KUJZ-FM (95.3) | Sirius: 133 | XM: 197
What's at stake?
This game will set the tone for the final six weeks of the season for both teams.
The winner will be the presumptive favorite to claim the Pac-12's regular season title and will remain with Southern California as the only other team with an undefeated conference record.
The loser will certainly drop out of the top 10 in the national polls and join a formidable group of one-loss teams in the Pac-12 fighting to remain in the hunt for a berth in the conference championship game.
A win would also make Oregon 6-0 for the first time since 2013.
"Obviously, a big game," Oregon's Dan Lanning said Monday night. "And no game is bigger than the next one, right? It's the next game. That's why it's a big game for us, but I think it's great that their team's put themselves in a position to create this environment and what our team's done to create the same environment. So it'll be exciting. Certainly appreciate this rivalry, and it'll be fun for us out there."
Bo Nix vs. Michael Penix Jr. — who lives up to the Heisman hype?
Saturday's game will feature two of the best quarterbacks in college football and whomever wins will cement their status as a Heisman Trophy contender.
Here's how the two QBs compare:
Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix
The fifth-year senior is the most experienced quarterback in college football and his start on Saturday will tie the NCAA all-time record for games started by a quarterback at 53 held by Jake Browning (Washington) and Clayton Thorson (Northwestern).
His 12,303 career passing yards is ranked No. 3 among active players and he is 13 completions away from 1,066 in his career, which would move hims inside the top-20 all-time.
Nix has completed 131-of-163 passes for 1,459 yards, 15 touchdowns and one interception this season. He is the FBS leader with a completion percentage of 80.4%, and ranks fifth in passing efficiency (184.7), is tied for eighth in TD passes and is 14th in yards per game at 291.8.
Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Penix has completed 133-of-178 passes for 1,999 yards, 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season.
He is the FBS leader in passing yards per game (399.8), is second in total passing yards, tied for third in passing TDs, third in passing efficiency (196.47) and fifth in completion percentage (74.7%).
He also has as trio of NFL prospects at receiver in Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk. Odunze has 32 catches for 608 yards, four touchdowns and averages 121.6 yards per game, Polk has 26 catches for 468 yards, four TDs and averages 93.6 yards per game, and McMillan has 20 catches for 311 yards, three scores and averages 103.1 yards per game.
Injury updates
Despite the potential loss of key reserve running back Noah Whittington for the season, the Ducks appear to be heading to Seattle for their first game in October relatively healthy.
Two weeks ago against Stanford, starting cornerback Khyree Jackson left before halftime with an apparent lower body injury and starting safety Bryan Addison didn't play at all.
On Monday, Lanning simply answered "yes" when asked if he expected both defensive backs to be available against the Huskies.
Oregon defense
The Ducks' wins haven't come solely on the proficiency of their offense.
Oregon is the only team besides No. 1 Georgia to rank in the top 10 nationally for both scoring offense (51.6 points per game) and scoring defense (11.8 points allowed per game), ranking No. 2 and No. 5, respectively.
The Ducks are also one of two teams in the top 10 nationally for both total offense (557.8 yards) and total defense (255.6 yards allowed), ranking second and sixth, respectively.
Here are some superlatives for the Oregon defense:
The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in passing yards allowed per game (153.6) and are tied for the national lead in yards allowed per pass attempt (4.8).
Oregon has yet to allow a 300-yard game to an opposing quarterback this season and held Colorado's Shedeur Sanders to 159 yards on Sept. 23
The Ducks are allowing 11.8 points per game this year, tied for fifth among FBS programs. Oregon and Michigan are the only two teams in the nation to hold opponents to 10-or-fewer points at least four times this season.
After not recording a sack in the season-opener, Oregon has 18 sacks in the last four games, including 12 in its two Pac-12 games.
Oregon's last game vs. Washington
No. 6 Oregon was headed for its ninth straight win last season when No. 25 Washington scored 10 points in the final 3:07 to rally for a 37-34 win at Autzen Stadium on a cold November day that will also be remembered for an ankle injury suffered by Nix that limited him the rest of the season.
Oregon was driving to a potential game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter when Nix was injured on a run play in the red zone. The Ducks settled for a field goal and 34-27 lead with 3:54 to play that they couldn't hold.
The Huskies scored a touchdown on a 62-yard pass from Penix to Taj Davis with 3:07 to play and then kicked the game-winning field goal with 51 seconds left.
Lanning said, with so much on the line Saturday, there hasn't been any talk this week of avenging that loss or needing to rehash last season's game for extra motivation.
"I don't think it's necessary," he said. "I mean, I think every one of our players knows exactly what this game means to them, you know, personally in that room, and then also just to everybody that's a Duck fan. They want to win. When they step on the field it doesn't matter who we're playing. They want to go out there, and they want to go compete at a high level."
Per game statistical comparison
Scoring offense: Oregon, 51.6 points per game; Washington, 46.0
Scoring defense: Oregon, 11.8 points allowed per game; Washington, 18.4
Total offense: Oregon, 557.8 yards per game; Washington, 569.4
Total defense: Oregon, 255.6 yards allowed per game; Washington, 365.0
Rushing offense: Oregon, 227.2 yards per game; Washington, 123
Rushing defense: Oregon, 102 yards allowed per game; Washington 121.6
Pass offense: Oregon 330.6 yards per game; Washington, 446.4
Pass defense: Oregon, 153.6 yards allowed per game; Washington, 243.4
Turnover margin: Oregon, plus-5; Washington, plus-3
Third-down conversion: Oregon, 50.9%; Washington, 47.9%
Opponent's third-down conversion: Oregon, 32.9%; Washington, 41.8%
Penalties: Oregon, 7.2 per game; Washington, 8.8
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Injury update and what to know for Oregon football vs. Washington
