The last week in November brings two things: Thanksgiving and the Oregon Ducks taking on the Washington Huskies. Duck fans had a lot to be thankful for last season with a 49-21 beatdown of the Huskies at Autzen Stadium — but this season, the venue changes to Husky Stadium in Seattle, a stadium Oregon has held a 7-3 record in since 2000. 

The Huskies are in much better shape than the team that gave up seven touchdowns to the Ducks last year. Going into the 116th matchup between the two in 2024, Washington was sitting at 6-6; this season they’ve improved tremendously to 8-3 after beating UCLA in Week 13. 

Washington has solid options in both the run and pass game. On the run, the Huskies are going to often turn to senior running back Jonah Coleman. Coleman has just under 651 rushing yards on the season on 135 carries, making him the rock of the Huskies offense with his 14 touchdowns. Backing him up is sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (2721 passing yards, 568 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 19 passing touchdowns), who can make an impact on the game either through the air or with his legs, and sophomore running back Adam Mohammed (412 yards, five touchdowns).

The Huskies are very good at getting reads, breaking through the offensive line and getting to the sideline very quickly. Bryce Boettcher, Teitum Tuioti and the rest of the Oregon defensive line is going to have their work cut out for them with the Huskies running game. 

In their lone loss of the 2025 season so far, against Indiana, the Ducks struggled to keep the Hoosiers’ strong run game from getting big breaks, often breaking down in the middle of the field. Washington, despite Coleman, does not have a strong rushing attack. The Huskies are middle of the pack, ranked No. 8 of 18 Big Ten teams in rushing yards per attempt. Though, they are tied with Oregon for second in the number of rushing touchdowns with 29. Oregon is going to have to work to keep Coleman and the Huskies at bay when they are in the red zone. If the Ducks can do that, they can turn their attention to the air. 

The Huskies, though, can flat out play with the best when it comes to the passing game. With a completion rate of 72.34%, they rank No. 3 in the nation. Washington’s weapons include junior wide receiver Denzel Boston with 730 yards and eight touchdowns and freshman Dezmen Roebuck with 527 yards and six touchdowns. 

Dillon Thieneman and Brandon Finney Jr. are going to have battles on the deep ball. The Ducks were 50/50 when they competed against larger receivers. USC’s Ja’Kobi  Lane ripped off 108 total yards and had some great catches over the heads of Oregon secondaries. Indiana’s Elijah Sarratt did the same. The Ducks fought well against Rutgers, keeping KJ Duff to under 50 yards and no touchdowns. The Huskies’ Boston fits the mold, standing at 6-foot-4, 209 pounds, and could be a battle for Thieneman and Finney. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Huskies have some decent numbers against the run –– however, so do the Ducks. With Oregon averaging 6.1 yards per rush, No. 1 in the nation, and the Huskies holding their opponents to 4.5 yards per rush, the trenches are going to be on full display again.

Oregon may have an easier time than what the numbers suggest. Washington has not played a lot of solid rushing offenses this year. Against ranked opponents, Washington gave up 149 rushing yards to Ohio State, 187 rushing yards to Michigan and 138 rushing yards to Illinois. 

Oregon has only failed to break 100 rushing yards in a game once this year, rushing only  81 yards against Indiana. The Ducks rush offense this season has already surpassed the total yards of the 2024 team. With the Huskies weak defensive line against stronger rushing offenses, the Ducks’ attack of true freshmen Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., and sixth-year Noah Whittington look to have no issue following suit in dismantling the Huskies defensive line.

Washington does not cover the air attack well either. The Huskies rank top 25 in the nation in only one category: opponent yards per pass, which they allow 5.9 (ranked No. 11). The Ducks, joining their great running numbers, have a strong receiving room. 

Oregon, despite being without three scholarship receivers (Dakorien Moore, Gary Bryant Jr. and Evan Stewart) for the previous three games, still has a rugged receiving core. Kenyon Sadiq, Malik Benson and Jamari Johnson have continued to be threats: each has had 20+ receptions and Sadiq has been finding the endzone multiple times in the last few games. Oregon should have no issue breaking out on the Washington secondaries. 

Looking toward the playoffs, this matchup can be a last chance for Oregon to get everything they need settled before moving into the College Football Playoff. Given Washington’s lackluster performance against strong rushing teams and Oregon’s revamped running back room, the Huskies linebackers Xe’ree Alexander and Deven Bryant are going to have a tough matchup against Hill Jr., Davison and Whittington. The Ducks are poised to break off another 200+ rushing yard game.