Purdue Boilermakers (1-0) vs. Oregon Ducks (0-1)
Saturday, September 12, 7:15 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Oregon -12.0

Sam’s Take (8 – 1):

The long road back to respectability begins for Oregon this Saturday, and returning to Autzen may be just what the doctor ordered. While there is no real way of knowing how this Ducks team will respond to the humbling experience that took place last Thursday, Purdue may be the right opponent at the right time.

QB Jeremiah Masoli and the rest of the offense will be facing a Boilermaker defense that was lit up by Toledo in their opener (Purdue gave up 421 yards through the air). If Chip Kelly cannot find a way to get production out of his offense this week, it will be a very long season in Eugene.

Now is the time for Masoli to regain his confidence (and his passing accuracy). Now is also the time for a wideout like Jamere Holland to meet the high expectations that were set for him after an excellent off-season.

I expect to see exciting freshman tailback LaMichael James start to assert himself as the new feature back at Oregon, but Andre Crenshaw and Kenjon Barner will also be heavily involved. Unfortunately, all three backs may not go anywhere if the o-line doesn’t play substantially better than what we saw last week. The east-west running was completely ineffective against Boise, but maybe with improved line play and a trio of shifty backs, the misdirection will start to work again (after all, Blount didn’t look too nimble against the Broncos).

Defensively, the Ducks will have their work cut out for them. I am not as high on the defensive performance against Boise as some are. I feel that the Broncos offense shot itself in the foot on multiple occasions, and Nick Alliotti’s D looked lost at times.

I credit the unit for tightening up when it had to, but at best it was a “bend but don’t break” performance. My biggest concern is the health of safety T.J. Ward, who is “day-to-day”. If he can’t go Saturday, John Boyett may be forced back into action, or we may see one of the Rovers move over (Lewis or Johnson). Without Ward, the secondary is considerably less intimidating.

Purdue will likely attack the defense with standout RB Ralph Bolden, who rushed for 234 yards in the opener and flashed impressive playmaking ability throughout the game. The Ducks best bet may be to force QB Joey Elliot to beat them. Elliot was decent against Toledo, but also showed a penchant for throwing interceptions (he finished with 220 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs). In order to rattle Elliot, it is critical that the d-line establishes a consistent pass rush, something they did not do very well in Boise.

Oregon should have plenty of motivation to show the country that they are better than what they showed in the opener. I think the offense will be considerably better (it couldn’t be any worse), and while the defense is likely to give up some yards, I think the unit will also force a few turnovers.

Prediction: Oregon 38 – Purdue 27

Purdue Player to Keep an Eye On: DE Ryan Kerrigan - He is an excellent pass-rusher with a high motor. He could wreak havoc on Masoli if the Oregon o-line plays like it did last week.

Oregon Player to Keep an Eye On: TE Ed Dickson - For a struggling QB, having a reliable target like Dickson is huge. I hope the offense will run through him a little more, as he really is one of America’s best at tight end.

Dave’s Take (8 – 1):

A quick glance at the schedule this preseason, and the game against Purdue was the only “easy” one in September. Fast-forward to today, and what was supposed to be the respite of the month has all of a sudden become a virtual must-win for the Ducks.

There are two ways that I can see this game going.

Scenario One: Completely dejected after the awful game in Boise State and losing one of their best offensive weapons in LeGarrette Blount, the team can’t really find their grove or identity on or off the field. Jeremiah Masoli starts second guessing himself more often and forcing it too much, resulting in more turnovers. The defensive and offensive lines both continue to struggle as the offense looks out of sync and the defense has difficulty slowing down a powerful Boilermaker offensive attack. Purdue pulls off the upset, or comes dangerously close to doing so.

Scenario Two: Oregon sets out to prove to the world that this season is not lost, and last week was an aberration. They want to show that they’ll be just fine without LeGarrette Blount and they are plenty deep on offense to withstand the blow. Fueled by the home crowd and their desire to prove all of their doubters wrong, Oregon goes out and plays to their potential, this time flashing the ability on both sides of the ball that many of us were expecting in the Boise State game. The Ducks win comfortably, and pump some much needed life back into this season.

I’m leaning towards scenario two as I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel on the Ducks after just one game. An extremely ugly one game, yes, but it was the opener and plenty of teams weren’t at their best last week.

The only problem I’m having is that I made the same argument about being pumped up and going out with their best effort in the Boise State game, and we all saw how that turned out. If that was the best the Ducks could do in a game they had circled on the calendar, should we really expect them to all of a sudden find that heart they were lacking in one week?

I’m going to say yes… but if Scenario One plays out, it is going to be a long season.

Prediction: Oregon 41 – Purdue 24

5,365 Responses to “Week 2 Game Matchup: Purdue Boilermakers VS. Oregon Ducks”

1. Merrilee Gaydos says:

   July 17, 2011 at 11:58 pm