Arizona @ Oregon preview
Autzen Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2009 ) Oregon 44, Arizona 41
Two more teams stand between Oregon and a chance at its first national championship. Neither will be easy.
Oregon hosts No. 20 Arizona in a Pac-10 contest Friday night. The Ducks are ranked No. 1 in the nation and are on top the crucial BCS standings.
Oregon also knows all that could fall apart with a loss on Friday.
The Ducks survived a bit of a scare in their last outing when California shut down the nation’s top-ranked offense in a 15-13 nail-biter.
Cal took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Shane Vereen’s 1-yard run. While falling behind is nothing new to Oregon, failing to respond in a heartbeat surely was.
Oregon took an 8-7 lead late in the second quarter when Cliff Harris returned a Cal punt 64 yards for a touchdown. The Ducks opted for the two-point conversion and got one on a run by Dion Jordan.
It appeared the rout was on but the Ducks’ star-studded backfield of LaMichael James and Darron Thomas never got on track. James finished with 91 yards on 29 carries and Thomas, the sleek quarterback finished 15 of 29 passing for 155 yards.
James is listed as probable for Friday’s game with a nagging leg injury.
He did throw a crucial touchdown pass to Jeffrey Maehl in the third quarter. The 29-yard strike was the last score of the game for Oregon, which actually put the ball in the freeze at the end of the game.
Cal got a fumble recovery in the end zone to cut the lead to 15-13 and went for the tying conversion but a pass failed.
While many figured the Ducks were due for a lethargic performance, the close call didn’t hurt them in the polls or the BCS standings.
Oregon (10-0 7-0 Pac-10) can rest assured that if it runs the table it will earn a berth in the BCS championship game even though there are four undefeated teams in the country.
Arizona (7-3, 4-3) has slipped from its once lofty perch in the Pac-10. After moving into the top 10 in the national polls with a suffocating defense, the Wildcats were humbled by Stanford 42-17 before losing to USC 24-21 at home.
Arizona is currently projected to meet Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl if it can maintain its third spot in the Pac-10. That won’t be easy as the Wildcats will be tested Friday and again in its season finale against a desperate Arizona State team.
The Wildcats hope to have running back Nic Grigsby back in the lineup. Grigsby missed last game will an ankle injury. Backup quarterback Matt Scott is out with a wrist injury.
Arizona has won the last two meetings between the two teams in high-scoring affairs, including a 44-41 victory last year.