Oregon Ducks vs. Eastern Washington Eagles Score Predictions
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The Oregon Ducks (0-1, 0-0 Pac-12) return to Eugene to welcome the Eastern Washington Eagles (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky) this weekend in their home opener.
The Georgia Bulldogs exposed all of Oregon's weaknesses and the Ducks have plenty of areas they'll be working on this weekend.
Like we do every week, our staff of writers got together to give our final score predictions.
Mark Wang
Prediction: Oregon 56 Eastern Washington 20
Oregon plays mad, beats up on Eastern Washington. Bo gets his confidence back, throws two touchdowns at least. Running backs get another two or three. Oregon offense shows what it can do but could get really conservative If they think it’s working.
EWU exposes weak spots for Oregon defense and scores some. That secondary is still a liability. And if they can’t contain the Eagles they’re in for a rough awakening come BYU and conference play. I think they shake off the rust, and play mad after they got exposed last week. They’ll make some big stops. This is the game they have to show they won’t get walked all over.
READ MORE: Oregon vs. Eastern Washington betting odds
Graham Metzker
Prediction: Oregon 35 Eastern Washington 21
Eastern Washington is the only FCS opponent the Ducks face this season, but don’t let that fool you. The Eagles are coming to play.
EWU is currently ranked as the No. 11 team in the latest FCS Coaches’ Poll after a thrilling week one victory over Tennessee State 36-29. EWU quarterback Gunner Talkington was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after putting up more than 400 total yards of offense and five touchdowns last week.
Eastern Washington is more of a challenge than they may seem, but this game should still be an easy win for Oregon. I’m expecting the Ducks’ offense to finally find the end zone in the first half – and with frequency. But I'm not expecting the Ducks to cover the 20-point spread laid in front of them for a few reasons.
First, I think it’s likely that Oregon rolls out two, maybe even three, different quarterbacks throughout the game. There won’t be an easier match for such an experiment.
Second, the Eagles showed last week that they have some late fight in them with Talkington’s 11-play, 75-yard game winning touchdown drive. I say Oregon gets a little too comfortable, but scores late to maintain a two-score lead.
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Josh Parker
Prediction: Oregon 42 Eastern Washington 14
This game will show fans the sense of urgency that this team feels now after being dominated on both sides of the ball last week. Both sides of this Ducks team need improvement based off of what we saw Saturday and Lanning stated that his team is taking that accountability this week to improve at those spots where the Ducks looked a bit sluggish.
Even if Eastern Washington is an FCS level school, they can still give the Ducks some trouble in certain areas especially through the air as this has been an on-going defensive issue last season and showed itself again in week one. The Eagles are more pass heavy, so I’d expect them to open that up and test the young Oregon secondary more than Georgia did.
The defense will be improved and build off of this game to lead into another ranked matchup with BYU. The Oregon offense will be lights out and more sound when it comes to execution, specifically Bo Nix and his receivers. Oregon will need to be a new and improved team for this game if they want to be a true Pac-12 title competitor to redeem themselves from week one.
READ MORE: Don't judge Dan Lanning and the Ducks just yet
Max Torres
Prediction: Oregon 45 Eastern Washington 24
This is a prove it game for the Ducks and there's no two ways about it.
After getting tossed around the field by Georgia, this is the game where the Ducks make a statement and claim their identity on both sides of the ball. Oregon's offense will have a much easier time moving the ball against Eastern Washington, especially with the physical advantage they have in the trenches.
Defensively is where I see this being more of a test, as Gunner Talkington is a bit of a dual-threat guy. We know the Eagles like to pass a lot, so this will be a decent test for a young Ducks secondary.
I'm expecting some big plays from both the offense and defense. For Duck fans you want to see some turnovers and some pass rush generated more than anything from Lanning and Lupoi's unit. I see this being a close game in the the first half, but a cleaner game from Nix and the Ducks' depth allow them to put this one away and come away with the win.
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