Oregon @ Washington State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 3, 2009 ) Washington State 6, Oregon 52

Washington State’s defense will try to do what no one else has accomplished this season: stop Oregon running back LaMichael James.

The sophomore moved into serious Heisman Trophy consideration after rushing for 257 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-31 victory over Stanford. James, who has rushed for 712 yards and seven touchdowns and ranks second in the nation with 178 rushing yards per game, was named the Pac-10 and national offensive player of the week. It was the 11th straight regular season game in which James surpassed 100 yards, causing Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh to call him “very Barry Sanders-like.”

Having run all over a good team, James could leave tread marks on top of the Washington State defense. The Cougars (1-4) have allowed 255.2 yards rushing and 254.6 yards passing and nearly 43 points per game. They allowed 437 yards in last week’s 42-28 loss to UCLA.

Oregon’s performance helped push the Ducks past Boise State and into the No. 3 spot in the national rankings. Oregon leads Washington State in the series 42-38-7 and has won the last three meetings.

It could be another field day for Oregon (5-0), which has scored no fewer than 42 points. The Ducks average 56.6 points and 569 yards on offense. It’s not just James, either; quarterback Darron Thomas completed 20 of 29 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford and rushed for a career-high 117 yards and one touchdown.

Oregon’s defense has shown a tendency to get burned early; it trailed Stanford 21-3 before getting settled. Cornerback Cliff Harris was named the Pac-10’s defensive player of the week after intercepting two passes, breaking up another and making five tackles. Harris had an interception with 2:04 remaining that iced the game and got him off the hook from fumbling a first-half kickoff.

Although Washington State, which is 1-19 in the conference under coach Paul Wulff, was porous last week, it still had a chance in the fourth quarter against UCLA. The Cougars had driven to the 1 and appeared to have scored the go-ahead touchdown, but an official review ruled quarterback Jeff Tuel was down at the 1. Washington State failed to score on the next two plays and watched UCLA drive 99 yards for the go-ahead score.

Tuel was a bright spot for the Cougars. He completed 20 of 37 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 1,233 passing yards and eight touchdowns this season. The running game, which produces only 86 yards per game, continues to struggle; it is netting 2.7 yards per carry.

Washington State replaced kicker Nico Grasu with true freshman Andrew Furney in the second half, meaning the Cougars have played 10 freshmen this season.