Game Preview: at No. 19 Oregon

Quarterbacks
Junior Tom Brandstater had the best game of his career for Fresno State, nearly propelling the team to victory in the humid, deafening environment of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field. Now the team knows what he’s capable of heading into another raucous stadium at Oregon. Brandstater threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns on 21 of 31 passing with one interception. But his clutch plays that put the game into overtime were most impressive.

Oregon’s Dennis Dixon is coming off a week where he was voted the AT&T national player of the week, after dropping 292 passing and 76 rushing yards in a 39-7 win at Michigan. Dixon has 23 passing yards less than Brandstater on the year, but leads the Ducks with 217 yards on the ground. And – as the nation’s fastest quarterback – is just the type of player capable of giving the ‘Dogs fits.

Edge: Ducks

Running Backs
What looked like an endless amount of depth last week is now a question mark. Sophomore starter Lonyae Miller left the Texas A&M game in the first quarter with an injury, and true freshman sensation Ryan Mathews left late in the game. With Clifton Smith’s fumble woes, sophomore Anthony Harding was left to shoulder the load, averaging just 2.1 yards per carry but scoring twice. The ‘Dogs expect Miller and Mathews to be ready to go, and if they can run on Oregon’s defense they can win.

Everyone knows junior Jonathan Stewart (5-11, 230) is the star of this offense. He rushed for 112 yards on 15 carries at Michigan, but because of injury had just one run for 3 yards against the ‘Dogs in 2006. Reserve Jeremiah Johnson (5-10, 205) filled in with 14 carries for 74 yards.

Edge: Ducks

Receivers
Despite fumbling the ball into the end zone in the first overtime last week, negating a play that likely would have won the game, sophomore Marlon Moore (6-1, 185) has emerged as the go-to receiver. Meanwhile, junior Bear Pascoe (6-5, 260) has emerged as possibly the best tight end in the nation, with 10 catches for 161 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore Jason Crawley (6-1, 185) gives Brandstater a weapon who’s not afraid to go over the middle.

The biggest problem Oregon’s receivers pose is their height. That, along with blazing speed, makes them near impossible to shut down in their spread option attack. Brian Paysinger (6-2, 208) and junior Jaison Williams (6-5, 240) are no strangers to the ‘Dogs over the past few years. Each has more than 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns this season.

Edge: Even

Offensive Line
Even getting banged up a bit in a physical battle with Texas A&M, and coming off a disappointing two sacks allowed to Sac State, the line held the Aggies without a sack. Junior Adam McDowell (6-4, 285) went down with injury and was replaced by redshirt freshman Andrew Jackson (6-5, 290), a converted defensive tackle who looks to be a future standout. Junior stud Cole Popovich (6-2, 290) – who also left with injury – will likely be replaced by junior Pierce Masse (6-4, 285).

For the second straight week, the ‘Dogs face a heavy line – all five starters are at least 6-4 and 300 pounds. The group is led by Max Unger (6-5, 300), who moved to center this season after starting at tackle the past two. Tackles Geoff Schwartz (6-7, 337) and Fenuki Tupou (6-6, 322) will have to keep up with Fresno State’s speed and athleticism off the edges.

Edge: Even

Defensive Line
A week after chasing Stephen McGee all over the field, the ‘Dogs get to face an even faster runner in Dennis Dixon – and he can pass too. Ends Tyler Clutts and Jason Roberts will have to contain Dixon and also apply the pass rush along with reserve end Ikenna Ike. The good news is the team gets tackle Jason Shirley (6-5, 330) back from a two-game suspension to stuff the run up the middle. Charles Tolbert may have played his way into a starting role over Jon Monga in Shirley’s absence.

Relatively unknown junior end Nick Reed (6-2, 255) was vicious against Michigan, recording three tackles in the backfield. This unit lacks the big names it has had in the past two years, but has plenty of youth. The Bulldogs will look to run first, meaning they’ll have their work cut out.

Edge: Bulldogs

Linebackers
What can you say but praise for the trio of senior Marcus Riley, redshirt freshman Ben Jacobs and sophomore Quaadir Brown? They combined for 45 tackles against Texas A&M with the young Jacobs leading the way with 16. This unit has about as much speed as you can ask for in a linebacker corps, and they all lay the hits. Brown was phenomenal, forcing a fumble in his first game back from a suspension.

A.J. Tuitele (5-11, 226) is the senior leader of an unheralded group that sacked Michigan four times. Despite the big loss, Michigan was racking up rushing yards in the first half last week, which is what the Bulldogs will try to do – with four ball-carriers keeping fresh legs. After two games, Tuitele, Jerome Boyd (6-2, 220) and John Bacon (6-4, 230) all rank fourth, fifth and sixth on the team in tackles.

Edge: Bulldogs

Defensive Backs
This group is ranked second in the nation in pass defense, but we’ll find out how accurate that stat is this weekend. Texas A&M ran, ran and ran again, but Oregon will look to throw much more. With no one taller than 6-1, this unit will be greatly out-sized by Oregon’s receivers, but has plenty of bone-crunching hitters, led by safeties sophomore Moses Harris (6-1, 200) and redshirt freshman Lorne Bell (5-10, 195). First-year corner Sharrod Davis (6-0, 185) played his freshman year for Oregon, and is now a second-stringer for the ‘Dogs.

Junior rover Patrick Chung (6-0, 210) is Oregon’s hard-hitting leader. In previous games with the ‘Dogs, he’s proven to be a physical commodity, and is third on the team with 14 tackles and has an interception. This year Chung has the help of free safety Matthew Harper (6-0, 181), who leads the team with 24 tackles and also has a sack and an interception. Sophomore corner Jarius Byrd (6-0, 208) already has two picks this season.

Edge: Ducks

Special Teams
It’s hard to be too confident in the kicking game after senior Clint Stitser missed two chances against Texas A&M, but punter Kyle Zimmerman had possibly his best career game, and the ‘Dogs blocked yet another field goal – their 72nd in Pat Hill’s 10-plus seasons and second in two games this year.

Ducks kicker Matt Evensen is 3 of 4 this season – 2 of 3 from beyond 40 yards, with a long of 45. But the more impressive stat is Josh Syria’s 44.1-yard punting average. Jonathan Stewart is the kick returner to watch out for.

Edge: Bulldogs

Coaching
Pat Hill vs. Mike Bellotti. Hill has been with his team longer than any other WAC coach and Bellotti has been with his longer than any Pac-10 coach. With the last five meetings between these two teams settled by no more than one score, it should be a barn-burner.

Edge: Even

Intangibles
Fresno State always seems to travel well to Eugene – expect those Red Wavers to help ease an otherwise hostile environment. Playing at Oregon is nothing new to this team, but the Ducks have had some helpful officiating the past two meetings in Eugene – will that be the case again? On the other side, the ‘Dogs are due for a win after five straight narrow losses in the series.

Edge: Even