Game day basics: Notes for No. 15 Oregon Ducks vs. Washington State Cougars

Chris Hansen, Register-Guard
·2 min read
The Oregon Duck celebrates after doing 31 pushups during the third quarter against BYU Saturday.

No. 15 Oregon vs. WSU

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington

How to watch: TV — Fox. Radio — KUJZ-FM (95.3), KUGN-AM (590), Sirius (133), XM (197)

Latest line: Oregon is a 6.5-point favorite

About the opponent

Washington State is off to a rousing start at 3-0 with a signature win thanks to its 17-14 road victory against then-No. 19 Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium two weeks ago.

The Cougars opened the season with 24-17 win against Idaho and then beat Colorado State 38-7 last week.

Washington State's defense has been solid so far this season. The Cougars have sacked the quarterback 14 times and are tied with USC for second in the nation and first in the Pac-12. They also lead the Pac-12 and are ranked second nationally with 31 tackles for loss, and their seven takeaways ranks 18th nationally.

The last time Ducks and Cougars met

In 2021, fifth-ranked Oregon outscored the Cougars 24-3 in the second half to break a 14-14 halftime, with a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs by Byron Cardwell giving the Ducks a 38-17 lead. Washington State scored with nine seconds left as the Ducks won 38-24 at Autzen Stadium for their third straight victory against the Cougars.

However, life on the Palouse hasn't always been kind to Oregon. Three times since 2002 the Ducks have gone into a game at Martin Stadium with a higher ranking and left with a defeat. The last came in 2018 when No. 12 Oregon lost 34-20 a week after the Ducks upset No. 7 Washington at home.

Injury report

Starting linebacker Justin Flowe and running back Byron Cardwell both missed the win against BYU with undisclosed injuries but were back at practice Monday, Oregon coach Dan Lanning reported Monday night.

"I wouldn't sit here and say they're both 100% yet but I'm hopeful that both of them can help us this next weekend," Lanning said.

Lanning sounded less optimistic about the immediate return of starting right guard Steven Jones, who also didn't play last Saturday.

"Hopefully we can get him back," he said. "I don't know that I have a direct timeline on him right now."

What they're wearing

Catch up on the Ducks' season

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks football vs. WSU: How to watch, injury report, uniform combos