No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) continues its reign as the top-ranked team in the nation despite offensive troubles last Saturday against the Terrapins. The Ducks take their final road trip of the regular season to Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten).
Oregon is coming off arguably its shakiest performance since it played Boise State in the second game of the season. The Ducks defeated Maryland 38-19 at home last Saturday, but the game was closer than the final score indicated.
“Adversity is real,” Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel said postgame. “You’ve got to find ways to win when things aren’t always going your way. We definitely made it tougher on ourselves, but Maryland played really well.”
The Terrapins didn’t play like the 17th-ranked team in the Big Ten. They picked up 289 total yards and many of their drives got within field goal range.
Oregon ended up being bailed out by its defense — which forced three turnovers and scored its first defensive touchdown of the season — and by clever coaching from Dan Lanning. A fake punt in the third quarter led to a touchdown and a two-point conversion to put the score at 28-10. Both of the plays into the end zone featured unexpected recipients: offensive linemen Gernorris Wilson and Josh Conerly Jr.
Lanning and his squad are certainly looking to clean things up before they head to Wisconsin.
“We got to go back and look at the film and figure out how we can eliminate [penalties],” Lanning said postgame about the 12 infractions his team committed. “We didn’t play clean. I don’t know, we were distracted and we weren’t focused.”
On the other side of this weekend’s matchup, the Badgers come in with a week off to reset following their 42-10 loss at Iowa. Wisconsin will face a Top-25 team for the fourth time this season. The first three matchups accounted for its first three defeats of the season.
The rushing attack is something to look out for against the Ducks. The Badgers rank sixth in the Big Ten in total rushing yards (1563), fifth in rushing touchdowns (19) and fifth in rushing yards per game (173.7). Oregon, on the other hand, is 38th in the nation in defensive rushing yards per game (121.4) which is 10th in the conference.
Tawee Walker is the leading running back for Wisconsin. Walker has 676 yards on 142 carries and is second in the conference in rushing touchdowns with 10.
The Badgers are ranked first in the Big Ten in fumbles, which could prove to be a major weakness against the Ducks. Oregon is second in the conference in forced fumbles — which includes the fumble defensive end Jordan Burch forced to lead to a recovery and a 62-yard Brandon Johnson defensive touchdown last weekend.
Wisconsin lost at home twice this season, with both coming against teams that were in the top-5 at the time. This will be the seventh meeting between the two, but Oregon has won the last three, including the 2020 Rose Bowl. Wisconsin has won both of the two matchups at home, but those were in the 1970s.
Oregon and Ohio State continue to separate themselves from the rest of the nation. The University of Georgia and the University of Miami, then-ranked No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, both lost their matchups last weekend. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, defeated Purdue 45-0 while the Ducks began their season 10-0 for the third time in program history.
The Cheese State is Oregon’s last stop on the road before a potential appearance in the Big Ten Championship. It’ll look to keep its record unblemished for its rivalry matchup in the regular season finale against Washington the weekend of Thanksgiving.
