Portland State at Oregon Line
Written by Jack Jones - Google +
Oregon (2-0) hosts Portland State Saturday as they look to remain unbeaten in 2010 with another blowout victory. There are no odds on this game, and with no point spread you cannot bet on it.
It has been a fast start for the Ducks, who have outscored New Mexico and Tennessee 120-13 through the first two weeks of the season. The Pac-10 champs from a year ago are putting points on the board in all areas, scoring on offense, defense as well as special teams. Their 120 points ranks second in the country to Houston, and their 1,167 total yards is No. 2 behind Nevada.
Oregon started slow last week after a 72-0 drubbing of New Mexico in their opener. After trailing 13-3 early in the second quarter, the Ducks went on to score 45 unanswered points in 33 minutes to beat the Vols 48-13 on the road. Head coach Chip Kelly feels like they are one of the best conditioned teams in the country, and it showed last Saturday.
Portland State is 1-1 this season and 0-3 all-time versus Oregon. They are giving up a whopping 43.5 points per game and 442 total yards per contest. Portland State last faced Oregon back in 2006, losing by a final of 12-55. The Vikings must try to contain the two-headed monster of LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner. James rushed for 134 yards against Tennessee after serving a one-game suspension in Week 1.
James rushed for 1,546 yards last season, setting a Pac-10 freshman record. All Barner did in the opener was rush for 5 touchdowns, also coming back to return a punt 80 yards for a score against Tennessee the following week. But few players have made as big of plays as defensive back Cliff Harris. He returned two punts for touchdowns against the Lobos, and followed that up by returning an interception 76 yards for a score against the Vols.
A big question coming into the season was how Oregon would replace QB Jeremiah Masoli. That appears to have been answered with junior QB Darron Thomas. He has completed 30-of-55 passes for 422 yards and four touchdowns in his first two games combined. But when the Ducks boast the running game they do, all Thomas has to worry about is managing the offense and not making mistakes because Oregon has playmakers all over the field.
Portland State lost 54-9 against Arizona State in their opener, but rebounded with a 41-33 victory over UC Davis the following week. That win ended a six-game losing streak. Junior Cory McCaffrey contributed 116 rushing yards to help get the win. Under center will be Connor Kavanaguh, who has thrown for 324 yards while also getting 64 yards on the ground. An couple interesting stats are that the Vikings are 0-9 lifetime against Pac-10 foes, and 2-26 all-time vs. FBS schools.
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