The Huskies Will be Out for Revenge Against the Ducks on Saturday
On third and goal from the Washington six-yard line, trailing by three points to the No. 7 ranked team in the nation, the No. 17 Oregon Ducks called a surprising play.
Everyone in the stadium was looking for the coaches to put the ball in the hands of their veteran quarterback, Justin Herbert, and have him win the game in Eugene. Instead, they handed it off up the middle to CJ Verdell, the freshman running back. He scampered into the endzone and completed the 30-27 upset, knocking the Huskies out of the Top-10 and out of the College Football Playoff contention.
The roles are nearly reversed this season, as the 12th-ranked Ducks will travel to Seattle on Saturday to take on the No. 25 Huskies. In order to avoid the upset, the Ducks are looking at the past and trying to keep it different from the future.
For offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, the anticipation of a rivalry game between UW and UO is palpable, but it can often distract from preparation if a team isn't careful. This week, the Ducks have focused on staying mentally tough and worked to cover the basics and keep their fundamentals while pumping crowd noise into their practices in order to simulate a raucous environment in Husky Stadium.
For Verdell, who is coming off of a season-high 171 yards rushing against Colorado last week, the glory of last year is fun to remember, but it won't help them stay undefeated in conference play this weekend.
The top-25 matchup will be the talk of the Pac-12 this weekend, as Oregon enters a tough part of their schedule and hopes to finish the year unscathed in order to keep their CFP hopes alive. For Washington, there is little more to play for other than revenge, and after their dreams were crushed in Eugene a year ago, you can bet they'll be looking to return the favor on Saturday.
