Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
5 Things To Watch: Texas Tech
09/08/23 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks will play their first road game of 2023 at Texas Tech on Saturday (4 p.m., FOX).
LUBBOCK, Texas – Oregon will play its first road game of the 2023 season Saturday when the Ducks play at Texas Tech.
The UO football team moved up two spots to No. 13 in this week's Associated Press top 25 poll after beating Portland State to open the season, 81-7. The Red Raiders are playing their home opener this week after opening the season with a double-overtime loss at Wyoming, 35-33.
Oregon leads the all-time series between the two, 2-0. The Ducks swept a home-and-home series in 1991 and 1992, winning the first game in Lubbock and also the next season at Autzen Stadium; the programs are scheduled to meet again in Eugene on Sept. 7, 2024.
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. PT telecast on FOX, with Mark Followill on play by play and former UO head coach Mark Helfrich providing analysis.
Some storylines to watch Saturday evening …
1. It will be a hostile environment that greets the Ducks on Saturday when they take the field in Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech has announced a sellout crowd for the game, which will see the debut of a new LED lighting system in the stadium. Even without that upgrade, Jones AT&T was a formidable environment for visitors -- the Red Raiders were 6-1 at home last season, and they've won 23 consecutive home openers.
For an Oregon team whose only game so far was at home against an FCS team, the stakes are about to be raised considerably. The reaction to that from UO coach Dan Lanning: "Good," he said earlier this week. "We want a tough environment, we want to go to a place that's going to be challenging. That's what's exciting about college football."
2. In a reminder of the changing landscape around college football in recent years, this will be the second time quarterbacks Bo Nix and Tyler Shough are on opposing sidelines for a game. In the 2019 season opener, Shough was the backup for the Ducks, while Nix started for Auburn; now, Nix is Oregon's starter, and Shough is behind center for Texas Tech.
After two seasons backing up Justin Herbert in Eugene, Shough started the pandemic-shortened 2020 season for the Ducks. He then joined the Red Raiders, and last week he started his third straight season opener for Texas Tech, though each of his last two years have been cut short by injuries. Shough is 8-2 as a starter during his time in Lubbock.
"First of all, he's a winner right?" Lanning said. "The (five) games he started last year, they won. I think that he's had a lot of success in that system. They've learned how to use his talents well. (He) probably doesn't get enough credit as a runner. He can actually take off and make some plays with his feet; he did that some this past game for them. (And) he really distributes the ball well and understands their system."
3. What does the Oregon rushing game have in store for an encore after a dominant season opener?
Playing behind a new-look offensive line, and with Noah Whittington unavailable offensively last week, the Ducks still ran for 348 yards and seven touchdowns. Jordan James scored three times and Bucky Irving averaged 29.8 yards per carry, with two touchdown runs longer than 50 yards.
It'll be a different challenge this week.
"Texas Tech has a really good interior on their defensive line, they have good edges, so that's going to be a good challenge for us -- moving bodies up front," Lanning said. "Our backs are certainly talented enough to do it, but we have to go in there with the right approach."
4. A focus for Oregon in practice this week was contending with Texas Tech's size at the receiver positions.
Among the starters for the Red Raiders is Jerand Bradley, who stands 6-foot-5, and also Loic Fouonji, 6-4. There's another 6-4 option in backup J.J. Sparkman. Oregon's secondary does at least have some size of its own, in 6-3 corners Khyree Jackson and Trikweze Bridges. But they'll be tested by those big wideouts.
"They do a good job of attacking the ball," Lanning said. "You see that a lot on their film. I think that's going to be quite the challenge for us."
5. It won't only be the crowd that makes conditions tough for Oregon on Saturday -- there are some natural elements to contend with, too.
The forecast calls for temperatures approaching 100 degrees Saturday afternoon, with humidity. Fortunately for the Ducks, some of their afternoon practices during preseason camp featured exactly those conditions during a heat spell around Eugene in August.
There's also thinner air to contend with -- Lubbock is above 3,000 feet of elevation, and Lanning said that could be a factor.
"I think the biggest place it shows up is in the kicking game," the UO coach said. "There will be some of that. As far as our conditioning, I think our guys are well conditioned. We'll see that when we get there for the game. (But) more than anything it'll show up for distances in the kicking game."
The UO football team moved up two spots to No. 13 in this week's Associated Press top 25 poll after beating Portland State to open the season, 81-7. The Red Raiders are playing their home opener this week after opening the season with a double-overtime loss at Wyoming, 35-33.
Oregon leads the all-time series between the two, 2-0. The Ducks swept a home-and-home series in 1991 and 1992, winning the first game in Lubbock and also the next season at Autzen Stadium; the programs are scheduled to meet again in Eugene on Sept. 7, 2024.
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. PT telecast on FOX, with Mark Followill on play by play and former UO head coach Mark Helfrich providing analysis.
Some storylines to watch Saturday evening …
1. It will be a hostile environment that greets the Ducks on Saturday when they take the field in Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech has announced a sellout crowd for the game, which will see the debut of a new LED lighting system in the stadium. Even without that upgrade, Jones AT&T was a formidable environment for visitors -- the Red Raiders were 6-1 at home last season, and they've won 23 consecutive home openers.
For an Oregon team whose only game so far was at home against an FCS team, the stakes are about to be raised considerably. The reaction to that from UO coach Dan Lanning: "Good," he said earlier this week. "We want a tough environment, we want to go to a place that's going to be challenging. That's what's exciting about college football."
2. In a reminder of the changing landscape around college football in recent years, this will be the second time quarterbacks Bo Nix and Tyler Shough are on opposing sidelines for a game. In the 2019 season opener, Shough was the backup for the Ducks, while Nix started for Auburn; now, Nix is Oregon's starter, and Shough is behind center for Texas Tech.
After two seasons backing up Justin Herbert in Eugene, Shough started the pandemic-shortened 2020 season for the Ducks. He then joined the Red Raiders, and last week he started his third straight season opener for Texas Tech, though each of his last two years have been cut short by injuries. Shough is 8-2 as a starter during his time in Lubbock.
"First of all, he's a winner right?" Lanning said. "The (five) games he started last year, they won. I think that he's had a lot of success in that system. They've learned how to use his talents well. (He) probably doesn't get enough credit as a runner. He can actually take off and make some plays with his feet; he did that some this past game for them. (And) he really distributes the ball well and understands their system."
3. What does the Oregon rushing game have in store for an encore after a dominant season opener?
Playing behind a new-look offensive line, and with Noah Whittington unavailable offensively last week, the Ducks still ran for 348 yards and seven touchdowns. Jordan James scored three times and Bucky Irving averaged 29.8 yards per carry, with two touchdown runs longer than 50 yards.
It'll be a different challenge this week.
"Texas Tech has a really good interior on their defensive line, they have good edges, so that's going to be a good challenge for us -- moving bodies up front," Lanning said. "Our backs are certainly talented enough to do it, but we have to go in there with the right approach."
4. A focus for Oregon in practice this week was contending with Texas Tech's size at the receiver positions.
Among the starters for the Red Raiders is Jerand Bradley, who stands 6-foot-5, and also Loic Fouonji, 6-4. There's another 6-4 option in backup J.J. Sparkman. Oregon's secondary does at least have some size of its own, in 6-3 corners Khyree Jackson and Trikweze Bridges. But they'll be tested by those big wideouts.
"They do a good job of attacking the ball," Lanning said. "You see that a lot on their film. I think that's going to be quite the challenge for us."
5. It won't only be the crowd that makes conditions tough for Oregon on Saturday -- there are some natural elements to contend with, too.
The forecast calls for temperatures approaching 100 degrees Saturday afternoon, with humidity. Fortunately for the Ducks, some of their afternoon practices during preseason camp featured exactly those conditions during a heat spell around Eugene in August.
There's also thinner air to contend with -- Lubbock is above 3,000 feet of elevation, and Lanning said that could be a factor.
"I think the biggest place it shows up is in the kicking game," the UO coach said. "There will be some of that. As far as our conditioning, I think our guys are well conditioned. We'll see that when we get there for the game. (But) more than anything it'll show up for distances in the kicking game."
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