IT'S GAME DAY! Washington State @ No. 9 Oregon

You can hear the game live in Salem on 1430 KYKN AM, and 750 KXL AM in the Portland-metro area.

Photo courtesy: goducks.com

EUGENE, Ore. - Washington State hits the road this weekend to face No. 9 Oregon at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks are coming into the game following a bye week, while the Cougars lost a heartbreaker to Arizona State when freshman kicker Thomas Weber connected on a 37-yard field goal with 50 seconds left that lifted the undefeated Sun Devils to a 23-20 win.

The game will be the first for WSU in Eugene since the 2003 season, a 55-16 WSU win.

Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on Homecoming Saturday at Autzen Stadium. There is no live telecast for the game. You can hear the game live in Salem on 1430 KYKN AM, and 750 KXL AM in the Portland-metro area.

THE SERIES:

• The Ducks hold a slim edge in the all-time series, 39-38-7, in 84 meetings dating to 1901, but the Cougars have taken three of the past five.

• Oregon is 9-8 against WSU at Autzen Stadium.

• Washington State’s last appearance at Autzen Stadium resulted in its biggest win ever over the Ducks, 55-16, in 2003.

• Six of the past seven meetings in the series have taken place in Pullman.

• The first recorded homecoming game for the Ducks was a 3-0 loss to Washington State in 1936.

QUICK HITS:

• Oregon comes in ranked fourth in the nation in rushing at 276.6 yards per game.

• Saturday’s contest will mark the 100th Pac-10 game coached by Mike Bellotti.

• SR QB Dennis Dixon has at least one passing AND rushing touchdown in every game in 2007.

• JR RB Jonathan Stewart has 25 career TDs (21 rush, 2 rec, 2 ret), good for the most among current Ducks.

• SR WR Cameron Colvin has a TD in each of his two starts in 2007 and seven for his career.

• Oregon’s next bye is Saturday, Nov. 10.

• After this weekend’s contest vs. WSU, the final six Oregon regular season games will feature a live telecast.

• Washington State will face its third top 10 and fourth top 25 opponent in seven games this season.

AFTER THE BREAK:

Oregon has posted a 12-1 record on Saturdays following a bye week during the regular season under Mike Bellotti, including wins in its last 11 opportunities with an additional week to prepare.

The last time the Ducks were unsuccessful coming after a break in the schedule was 1996 when they dropped a 33-14 decision to Washington despite extra time to prepare.

Oregon hopes to benefit from one more such opportunity this season after this weekend.

Following its Nov. 3 home game against Arizona State, it will have 12 days before it’s Thursday night (Nov. 15) game at Arizona.

HOMECOMING HISTORY:

Thanks to four consecutive Homecoming victories, the Ducks are even at 29-29-3 in the yearly event heading into Saturday’s game with WSU.

Oregon is 6-7-2 when hosting the Cougars, its most frequent opponent for Homecoming, but have not featured Washington State for the game since a 46-23 romp in 1993.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE:

Accentuating Oregon’s 4-1 start and top 10 national ranking (9th AP, 8th USA Today) is the fact that its schedule currently ranks as the fourth-toughest in the country in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) in regards to winning percentage by its previous five opponents.

Those five foes have accumulated a winning percentage of .737 (14-5 vs. FBS opponents not including Oregon), with all five opponents boasting a .500 or better mark.

In addition, neither Michigan (4-0) nor Fresno State (3-0) has lost since being defeated by the Ducks.

When taking into account the accumulative winning percentages of all 12 of Oregon’s opponents (.614), its schedule still ranks 19th in the country in strength.

OREGON FOOTBALL LIVE:

Oregon’s final six regular season games will all be televised live, starting with the Oct. 20 game at Washington (4:30 p.m. on FSN).

All remaining kickoff times have been finalized with the exception of the UCLA game on Nov. 24, which will be at either 12:30, 3:30 or 4:30, depending on which TV outlet is awarded the broadcast.

The Nov. 3 home game against Arizona State (OSN) has been moved back 15 minutes and will now kickoff at 3:45 p.m.

LIGHTNING STRIKES:

Of Oregon’s 27 total drives resulting in touchdowns this season, six have taken 18 seconds or less, nine have occurred in less than one minute and 15 have lasted fewer than 120 seconds.

AUTZEN ADVANTAGE:

Oregon’s 41-year old facility has earned the reputation as one of the nation’s toughest college football venues for visiting teams.

The Ducks have produced a 58-17 record (.773) in Autzen Stadium in the 13 seasons under the direction of Mike Bellotti.

Since encountering an uncharacteristic 3-3 record at home in 2004, Oregon has bounced back to win 12 of its last 15 games on its home turf.

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