Washington State @ Oregon preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 29, 2012 ) Oregon 51, Washington State 26

After passing its first true test of the season by scoring 45 points on the road against a ranked team, No. 2 Oregon returns home Saturday to meet Washington State in a Pac-12 contest. “We did well when we needed to,” offensive coordinator Scott Frost told the New York Times following the Ducks' 45-24 victory over No. 25 Washington. “We can clean some stuff up.” While running back De'Anthony Thomas continues to recover from an ankle injury which has sidelined him for virtually the past three games, the Ducks do not need to rush him back because of the play of replacement Byron Marshall.

Marshall, a sophomore, has rushed for an average of 119.3 yards and scored four touchdowns in three contests since Thomas was injured on the opening kickoff against California on Sept. 28. The Ducks also have sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Heisman Trophy favorite who threw three TD passes last week and has 17 against zero interceptions this season. The Cougars lost to Oregon State 52-24 last week as quarterback Connor Halliday struggled against one of the worst defenses in the Pac-12, but now faces the No. 1 unit in the conference in scoring defense (13.8 points, sixth in the nation) and total defense (338.7 yards).

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Oregon -38.5.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (4-3, 2-2 Pac-12): Halliday, who matched a career high with three interceptions - all in the fourth quarter - and recorded a season-low completion percentage of 53.1 percent last week, has 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during his inconsistent 2013 season. The Cougars led 24-17 in the third quarter before Oregon State responded with 35 unanswered points. The Cougars will need Halliday and top receiver Gabe Marks (46 receptions, 512 yards, four touchdowns) to step up their games as Washington State has the nation's worst rushing attack at 66.4 yards per game.

ABOUT OREGON (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12): It would be natural for the Ducks to look ahead with games against No. 10 UCLA and No. 13 Stanford in the next two weeks, but their overpowering offense and opportunistic defense can trump any mental lapses that may occur. While much of the attention is devoted to Mariota and his unit (56.8 points per game, second in the nation), the defense is also second with a turnover margin of plus-11 and has allowed nine touchdowns - tied for fourth-fewest in the country. Mariota's top targets are sophomore Bralon Addison (six touchdowns, 502 yards) and Josh Huff (five TDs, 552 yards), who have 27 receptions apiece.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Mariota has passed for a touchdown in all 19 career games and has thrown for one while rushing for another in eight straight contests.

2. The Ducks, who failed to reach 50 points for the first time last week, have scored 33 of their 45 offensive touchdowns on drives lasting less than two minutes.

3. Oregon has won six straight meetings while averaging 50.8 points and eight of the last nine encounters, and leads the series 45-38-7.

PREDICTION: Oregon 56, Washington State 14