The UCLA Bruins and Oregon Ducks have a lot to play for this Saturday. The winner of this game is still alive in the College Football Playoff race. The winner's quarterback is still alive in the Heisman trophy race. The loser is essentially done for the season while the quarterback could still be a top ten draft pick come next spring. The Ducks are coming off an unexpected loss to the Arizona Cardinals while UCLA lost to Utah. Both teams have a lot to play for.
Oregon is still ranked at No. 12 right now after dropping 10 spots in the rankings following their loss to the unranked Arizona Wildcats. Quarterback Marcus Mariota is hoping to keep his Heisman trophy standings by leading the Ducks past the Bruins this week. Mariota is coming off a game where he threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns. Oregon was expected to do much more. The team's 24 points was the lowest scoring output by Oregon despite putting up 48.5 points in their first four games. The offensive line is the issue. The team has allowed 12 sacks in the last two games. The Ducks have not lost back-to-back games since 2007 and do not intend to do so against UCLA.
The Bruins are also having issues on the offensive line, putting a lot of strain on Brett Hundley who has been sacked 10 times on the year. Hundley and the Bruins fell to Utah following a 29-yard field goal. The team then missed a 50-yard attempt as time expired. The quarterback put up 16 of 21 for 269 yards and two touchdowns along with his second interception of the year. Hundley's completion percentage still ranks No. 1 in the nation, but landing on the ground more times than not is not helping his case to get wins.
Oregon won this shoot out last year. They outgained UCLA with 555 yards of total offense in a 42-14 win. Both Mariota and Hundley are expected to exit for the NFL at the end of this year. Getting a win would certainly help extend their final seasons for another few games.
