The Oregon Ducks have leaped to fourth in the AP Poll following their dismantling of Oklahoma State last week, which resulted in a 69-3 victory. They will now travel to take on the Northwestern Wildcats, who hold a 1-1 record on the season and are coming off a 42-7 victory over Western Illinois.
This matchup will take place in Northwestern. This is just the second matchup between these programs, with the last taking place back in 1974. For what it is worth, Northwestern produced a 14-10 victory, but both programs look quite different since that point.
Looking at the odds, Oregon is favored by 27.5 points and holds -6500 odds on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. Northwestern holds +2000 odds of an outright victory with the game total set at 48.5 points.
This article will take a brief preview of both teams and a pick for the Week 3 matchup.
Oregon at Northwestern prediction, preview
Oregon Preview
Oregon is smooth sailing out of the gates this year with a 2-0 record and outscoring opponents by a combined 128-16 margin. Its recent 69-3 victory over Oklahoma State is especially impressive, with the Cowboys just one year removed from a 10-win season and expected to be solid. Dante Moore has impressed to start the season, completing 34 of his 44 pass attempts for 479 yards and six touchdowns without throwing an interception thus far. He has had plenty of time to throw and has picked opponents apart all over the field. Malik Benson has led the wide receiver unit with 99 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Oregon’s rushing attack has also been strong with 10 total touchdowns to its name. Noah Whittington headlines the effort with 159 yards and a pair of scores.
Defensively, Oregon has an intimidating front seven with five quarterback sacks already on the year. Matayo Uiagalelei has two of these after making the shift from defensive end to linebacker this season. The Ducks have tallied two interceptions, each of which was taken back for a touchdown. They have limited opponents to just 132.0 passing yards and 95.0 rushing yards per game, with the opponents’ average score of 8.0 per game ranking 12th in the country.
Northwestern Preview
It has been more of a mixed bag of results for Northwestern to start the season. It suffered a 23-3 opening week loss against Tulane in which it turned the ball over five times and allowed almost 200 additional yards to the Green Wave. Quarterback Preston Stone had four interceptions as well as a pair of fumbles, but Northwestern was able to maintain control for one of these. Things looked better in the second game when the Wildcats defeated Western Illinois 42-7 and put up 527 yards of total offense. Stone was sharper, completing 21 of his 29 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns without recording a turnover. Griffin Wilde headlines the wide receiver production with 11 catches for 158 yards on the season, while Cam Porter has 137 rushing yards at the RB spot.
Defensively, the Wildcats are led in tackles by DB Robert Fitzgerald and LB Mac Uihlein, who have combined for 30 tackles so far. They have registered three quarterback sacks and tallied one interception thus far. They were consistently gashed by the Tualne offense, which included allowing 269 yards on the ground.
Oregon at Northwestern pick, best bet
The turnover issues with Preston Stone are too much to overlook in this matchup. Even in last week’s game, he fumbled a ball, but Northwestern was able to maintain control. If he does not play a perfect game, Northwestern will not even be competitive, and this is how I see things playing out.
The Oregon offensive line has been strong, and Dante Moore has been excellent. This is a matchup where he is primed to add to that and begin climbing in the quarterback conversations across college football. Northwestern has struggled to generate pressure on the quarterback against lesser competition, and Oregon’s superior talent will make it especially difficult. Expect the Ducks’ offensive line to give Moore plenty of time and for him to continue his strong start.
It was a statement win by Oregon last week that it has a great chance to build on. It showed it does not only want to beat teams, but also continue laying it on when it is in control. Expect Dan Lanning to have his squad ready to play, and don’t be afraid of the large number. This game has a chance to get ugly to the point where some alternate lines could be in play, but for the sake of the article, I am locking in Oregon -27.5.
