Arizona vs. Oregon: Predicting The Final Score Of Upcoming Matchup
By Jeff Hauser
@radiohauser
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
The No. 2 Oregon Ducks will play host to the undefeated Arizona Wildcats in a rare Pac-12 Thursday night matchup. After being idle last week, the Ducks will look to continue the great campaign for Heisman candidate quarterback Marcus Mariota.
The Wildcats are coming off a huge 49-45 comeback win last week against California that included a 36-point fourth quarter, capped off by a 47-yard Hail Mary pass from quarterback Anu Solomon to wide receiver Austin Hill on the last play of the game. Arizona is 4-0 for the 12th time in school history and the first time since 2010.
The Ducks will be looking to end the Wildcats’ perfect start. Mariota is the most accurate quarterback in college football with a passer rating of 218.0. The Ducks’ captain has the highest completion percentage among all college quarterbacks (74.0), most yards for a quarterback without an interception (1,135), most touchdowns without a turnover (16) and the most yards per passing attempt (11.8).
Going back to last season, Mariota’s current streak of pass attempts without an interception stands at 122. Accuracy is something Mariota has focused on his entire career at Oregon, with a total of 23 games without throwing a pick.
Arizona has finished 8-5 for the past two seasons with head coach Rich Rodriguez at the helm and are looking to rise above that expectation this season. Solomon is a true freshman and has led the Wildcats so far with 1,454 yards passing, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Arizona shocked Oregon at home last year on the way to a 42-16 with over the Ducks, who was ranked No. 5 at the time.
The Nov. 23 loss in 2013 crushed the potential for Oregon’s national title hopes, finishing the season at 11-2. This season’s brings Arizona coming into Eugene, Oregon, where the Ducks are a perfect 10-0 under second-year head coach Mark Helfrich. Oregon has dominated Arizona, winning 16 of the past 20 meetings, including a 49-0 shutout in 2012 at Autzen Stadium. The last road win for Arizona against Oregon came eight years ago in 2006.
The Wildcats lead the Pac-12 in total yards on offense, averaging 593.8 YPG, and are sixth in FBS overall. Solomon is a huge factor for Arizona’s successful offensive game by setting FBS freshman game records for total offensive plays (89), pass attempts (73) and completions (47) two weeks ago against California. He also set a school record with 520 yards passing in the game, along with the largest comeback in school history.
Mariota will be looking to set some history as well on Thursday. He needs two touchdowns to pass former Stanford QB John Elway‘s mark of 77 touchdowns (1979-82) for seventh all-time in Pac-12 history. He also needs just 79 passing yards to surpass former Oregon QB Kellen Clemens (2002-05) for third all-time in Oregon’s history.
The two undefeated teams will meet on Thursday, Oct 2 in Eugene, Oregon at 10:30 p.m. ET with ESPN carrying the broadcast. Oregon will be wearing a new special pink uniform for the game to support the effort of breast cancer awareness.
Prediction: Oregon 44, Arizona 31
Jeff Hauser is a Pac-12 contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @radiohauser.
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