Pac-12

Oregon State looks to bounce back after suffering an unexpected loss to FCS Eastern Washington. This week they play Hawaii in Corvallis at 5 p.m.

Washington State and USC play in the first all Pac-12 game of the season at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. The Trojans beat Hawaii on the road last week and the Cougars are seeking their first in of 2013 after falling to Auburn in week one.

Number 5 Stanford opens their season at home against San Jose State, who nearly beat the Cardinal last season (17-20). The Spartans went 11-2 last year and won the Military Bowl.

Arizona State began their season with a blowout win, 55-0 over Sacramento State on Thursday. Quarterback Taylor Kelly and the Sun Devils should have an improved season after finishing 5-4 in conference play last year.

Other Pac-12 games:

No. 2 Oregon @ Virginia

Weber State @ Utah

Portland State @ Cal

Central Arkansas @ Colorado

Arizona @ UNLV

Top 25

Number 14 Notre Dame and number 17 Michigan highlight the slate of games on Saturday and will be featured in the prime time slot 5pm at The Big House in Ann Arbor. Both teams began their seasons with a win last week and will face each other for the 41st time in history. Michigan has won three out of the last four meetings.

Number 11 Georgia sees its second straight ranked opponent in number 6 South Carolina. The Bulldogs fell to Clemson last weekend, likely ending their national title hopes. Jadeveon Clowney and the Gamecocks head to Sanford Stadium looking to keep their own Championship hopes alive in their SEC opener.

Other top 25 games:

San Diego State @ No. 3 Ohio State

S. Carolina State @ No. 4 Clemson

Sam Houston State @ No. 7 Texas A&M

Eastern Kentucky @ No. 8 Louisville

UAB @ No. 9 LSU

No. 12 Florida @ Miami

No. 13 Oklahoma State @ UTSA

No. 15 Texas @ BYU

West Virginia @ No. 16 Oklahoma

Syracuse @ No. 19 Northwestern

Tennessee Tech @ No. 21 Wisconsin

Southern Miss. @ No. 22 Nebraska

Buffalo @ No. 23 Baylor

Southeast Louisiana @ No. 24 TCU

The Oregon men’s and women’s cross country teams kicked off 2013 in Fairview, Ore. at the PSU Vikings Classic Friday evening. The defending champion Oregon women’s team started the road to defending their title with a win in the dual meet, beating Oregon State 22-33, Portland 16-30, and Portland State 15-45. The women’s team came in to Friday’s meet ranked third in the country after losing three members of their championship team to graduation. Junior Megan Patrignelli came across first, followed by Oregon teammate Molly Grabill.

On the men’s side, number 12 Oregon placed two runners in the top three with Ryan Pickering finishing second and Daniel Winn third. Eighth ranked Portland won the meet, however, beating Oregon 25-31. The Ducks were victorious against Portland State, 15-45.

Oregon’s next meet is September 27 in Boston’s Franklin Park, site of the Boston College Invitational.

The University of Oregon track and field and cross country teams grew stronger, adding nine transfers and incoming freshman, completing the first recruiting class of head coach Robert Johnson. Highlighting the new athletes is Northeastern transfer Eric Jenkins. Jenkins was a four-time Colonial Athletic Association champion and ran the second fastest 5,000 meters in the NCAA last season, according to GoDucks.com.

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Former NFL tight end Aaron Hernandez plead not guilty to all six charges at his arraignment Friday, including first degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. Hernandez was indicted and charged with first degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, who was found dead on June 17 near Hernandez’s North Attleborough, MA home.

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Former National League MVP Ryan Braun personally called several dozens of Milwaukee Brewers season ticket holders to apologize for taking a banned substance. Braun agreed to a 65-game suspension in June amidst investigations that he knowingly used performance enhancing drugs. According to brewers COO Rick Schlesinger via Yahoo sports, the phone calls were Braun’s idea. Braun had previously vehemently denied any allegations, but has recently come full circle and publicly accepted, admitted to, and apologized for his actions.

Every week during football season, our sports staff will discuss different aspects of an upcoming game. Today, sports reporters Hayden Kim, Madison Guernsey and Ryan Kostecka discuss the Oregon and Virginia game.

1) Who will lead the Ducks in rushing?

Hayden Kim: De’Anthony Thomas will continue his dominance on the ground to lead the Ducks in rushing for a second-straight game. In addition to notable performances by Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner, Thomas will finish the game with 150 rushing yards on the day.

Madison Guernsey: De’Anthony Thomas leads Oregon in rushing for a second consecutive week with 135. A couple big plays help his yardage total and even though Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner get adequate work in, Thomas’ explosiveness early on helps him to another big day at the office.

Ryan Kostecka: Now this a tough question because with the emergence of Oregon’s true freshman running back Thomas Tyner, that gives the Ducks four viable options. My gut says De’Anthony Thomas will lead the Ducks in rushing but I’m going to step out and go with Byron Marshall. I think with a healthy Tyner, we’ll see Thomas at receiver more and Mariota won’t have to do as much with his legs. That leaves Marshall as the primary back and Oregon’s rush leader with well over 100+ yards.

2) Will the Cavaliers gain over 350 yards of total offense after being held to 223 last week?

Hayden Kim: The Cavaliers will record no more than 250 yards against the Ducks this weekend. After failing to eclipse the 300-yard mark last week against BYU, there’s a good chance the Ducks will have a field day on the defensive end. Expect to see the first pair of interceptions for the Ducks secondary against the Cavaliers.

Madison Guernsey: Virginia will be held to under 350 total yards by the Oregon defense. They’ll eclipse the 300 mark in garbage time, but turnovers disallow David Watford and the Cavaliers to get much of anything going offensively.

Ryan Kostecka: I think Oregon’s linebackers will shine this week knowing they have to step up if Oregon is to be successful. The Virginia offense struggled to put up 19 points last week while being held to 230 total yards. Oregon has a stronger defense than BYU and a better front line. The Cavaliers will get around 300 total yards, but not reach the 350 mark.

3) What is the most intriguing position battle to watch between the two teams?

Hayden Kim: The matchup to watch all game long will be between the Oregon offensive line and defensive end Eli Harold. Mark Helfrich was very high on Harold and even went as far as comparing him to former Duck, Dion Jordan. This may be the first real test for the Oregon offensive line.

Madison Guernsey: Virginia’s defensive line versus Oregon’s offensive line. The Cavaliers have a big physical front that will present the Oregon O-line with a challenge, namely defensive end Eli Harold. Oregon won’t be able to prevent Marcus Mariota from getting sacked a couple times, but in the end it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game.

Ryan Kostecka: The best position battle to watch is going to be Oregon’s running backs against a stout Virginia defensive line. Can Oregon be successful with Byron Marshall as their primary back, allowing Thomas to thrive in his “tazer” role? Or will he have to be the primary back? Can Tyner begin his Oregon career successfully or will Mariota have to carry the ball more? So many questions to be answered.

4) What will be Oregon’s biggest weakness on Saturday? Where will the Ducks struggle?

Hayden Kim: The Ducks’ biggest weakness this Saturday will fall on the mental side of the game. In addition to possible jet lag from the previous day, the Ducks will be experiencing their first real road game of the year and that can come with a new level of pressure that hasn’t necessarily been prevalent thus far in the season.

Madison Guernsey: Although Thomas has a big day on the ground, Oregon will struggle in the running game. Virginia’s defense specializes in preventing running backs from running wild, and Thomas and the rest of the backfield will have to grind it out and benefit from a few big plays.

Ryan Kostecka: Oregon is going to struggle with a faceless opponent, one who doesn’t even wear a uniform. In fact, Oregon’s going to struggle most against an opponent who isn’t even a person. It’s going to be the the humidity. According to accuweather.com, it’s supposed to 86 degrees with 48 percent humidity. Although the Ducks have been preparing for it all week, it’s still hard when you add a cross-country flight the day before the game and only have one week to prepare.

5) Who wins the game and by what score?

Hayden Kim: The Ducks improve to 2-0 on the season en route to a 52-17 win in their first road game of the season. Following a dominant first half, the Ducks ease it up in the second to cruise to a comfortable win.

Madison Guernsey: Oregon survives their first road test of the season and beats Virginia 52-13. The score is within reach at the half but the Ducks live up to their “second half team” identity and coast to a 2-0 start.

Ryan Kostecka: Oregon will win, it’s as simple as that. Although the game may have many of the fixings for an upset, the Ducks are too focused to be upset by a Virginia team with a not-so-good offense and average defense. I think Virginia will keep it close in the beginning, but Oregon’s speed and pace will wear them down. The Ducks roll to the 52-13 victory.

After fending off the Brigham Young University Cougars in a tight 19-16 win last week, the Virginia Cavaliers will host the Oregon Ducks in their first ever meeting on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. The Ducks are coming off a 66-3 thrashing of Nicholls State in their season opener and look to advance past the Cavaliers to a 2-0 record. Saturday will mark Oregon’s first regular season game against an ACC team. Virginia is unfamiliar with the Pac-12, having played teams from the conference three times in school history. Here’s how the two teams stack up.

Offense

Oregon: The Ducks set a school record in their win against Nicholls State with 772 total yards on offense, helping them breeze by the Colonels 66-3. Quarterback Marcus Mariota totaled 347 yards and found the end zone three times. De’Anthony Thomas and Byron Marshall combined to account for more than half of Oregon’s 500 rushing yards, another gaudy statistic that encompasses Oregon’s historically impressive offense. Offensive weapons Josh Huff, Bralon Addison and Colt Lyerla will also give Virginia fits on Saturday.

Virginia: Sophomore quarterback David Watford won the starting job during training camp and completed 18 of 32 passes for 114 yards in Virginia’s week one win over BYU. The Cavaliers return their leading rusher from a season ago in junior Kevin Parks, who has rushed for more than 700 yards each of the past two seasons. Parks is a power runner with strong legs, checking in at five feet eight inches tall. Virginia also returns last season’s leading receiver, junior Darius Jennings as well as senior offensive tackle Morgan Moses who was named to ESPN’s ACC pre-season all-conference team. Virginia scored 22.8 points per game last season.

Defense

Oregon: Oregon’s defense has a wealth of depth, returning seven starters from last season. Brian Jackson and Avery Patterson anchor a strong secondary, which also includes preseason All-American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. The Ducks defense forced 25 interceptions and 27 fumbles last season. They play with speed and aggression and constantly rotate players, mixing up blitz packages and keeping fresh legs in the game.

Virginia: The Cavaliers’ specialty is stopping the run — their defense allowed less than four yards per carry last season. They were also stingy through the air, holding opponents to 208 passing yards per game, but forced only four picks all season. Virginia returns nearly its entire starting defensive line, the biggest loss being Chris Brathwaite, who led the team in sacks in 2012. The Cavaliers have adequate size on defense, but lack the speed to keep up with Oregon’s offense.

Special Teams

Oregon: The place kicker position is still up in the air — both Alejandro Maldonado and Matt Wogan saw time against Nicholls State. Maldonado connected on Oregon’s lone field goal attempt and converted six extra points, while Wogan made three. Thomas and Keanon Lowe are both threats to return kickoffs to the house, and Addison is deceptively quick on punt returns. The departure of Jackson Rice leaves the Ducks without a true punter on the roster. Maldonado is listed as the punter and punted three times in 2010 for an average of 36 yards.

Virginia: Freshman Taquan Mizzell was Virginia’s best off-season signing and will return kicks along with Khalek Shepherd, who averages 22.6 yards per kick return for his career. Sophomore Ian Frye is on place kicking duty and connected on a 53-yarder against BYU, crushing his previous career-best of 30 yards. Frye is four for six career in field goal attempts.

The recurring theme with the Virginia Cavaliers is their size. Marcus Mariota called them “big guys,” and “physical dudes.” While being big and physical is typically a given for college football players, Oregon players and coaches stress the sheer size and athletic ability of Virginia.

“I think on both sides of the ball [their strength] is up front,” said head coach Mark Helfrich following practice Wednesday. “Their defensive line is outstanding. They’re big and athletic.” Offensive coordinator Scott Frost confirmed the Cavaliers’ size, saying it’s “size we didn’t see last week.”

“They’re a big team… I think they have pretty good athleticism for their size,” Frost said. Virginia’s defensive standout is sophomore defensive end Eli Harold, who checks in at six feet four inches and 230 pounds.

“They’ve got one guy on the edge that’s an unbelievable pass rusher,” said Helfrich of Harold. “He reminds me of Dion [Jordan] off the edge. He gets in kind of a track stance and is an unbelievable pass rusher.”

Harold, who “can go” according to Helfrich, recorded 11 total tackles (3.5 for loss, 2 sacks) and forced a fumble in Virginia’s week one win over BYU.

“He’s a tall rangy guy that can run,” said Frost of Harold. “He gets down in a stance [and] just looks like he’s ready to come after the quarterback. We’re looking forward to playing against him, he’s a good player.”

Another factor Oregon will have to deal with come Saturday is the humidity of Charlottesville, Va. The Ducks are used to some humidity, but it may be much more noticeable at Scott Stadium.

“We wanted to train in some heat Monday [and] Tuesday and get back to hydration and normalcy these last few days to rest, recover fully and kind of get back on our normal deal,” said Helfrich regarding the heat in Virginia. “I think it’s whatever you make of it. We control the circumstances, we don’t let the circumstances control us. It’s gonna be hot and humid for them and hot and humid for us. This is the ideal place in the world to train and then you go compete wherever, and our guys love to compete wherever they go.”

The forecast for Saturday afternoon is 81 degrees with a 10 percent chance of rain.

Three days after their season opening victory at home against Nicholls State, the Oregon Ducks are back to business as usual at practice, full fledged into game planning for Virginia. The Cavaliers opened their season with a 19-16 win over BYU in Charlottesville, VA. Oregon and Virginia have never faced one another in their respective school histories and have very different play styles.

“They’re big guys, they’re physical dudes,” said quarterback Marcus Mariota on Virginia’s defense. “They’re gonna run down hill, they’re gonna try to stop the run and we just gotta make sure we’re on point on with that stuff and hopefully we can communicate and [it will]  lead to good situations for us.” Virginia ranked in the top half of the ACC last season in total rushing yards allowed, rushing touchdowns allowed and yards per carry.

Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti praised his defense for their efforts Saturday, but also said adjustments need to be made for this weekend at Virginia.

“My biggest fault is I wanted it to be great and not good, but I was satisfied,” Aliotti said. “We ran hard, we played hard. I didn’t have confidence in my substitutes at outside backer so [Boseko Lokombo] and Tony [Washington] played way too many snaps and I need to change that. Overall, yes, I was more pleased than displeased. We’re never gonna be 100 percent.”

“Torrodney Prevot played really well,” Aliotti said. “He might have zigged when he was supposed to zag but the end result was he made some tackles, he caused a sack and a fumble and made some tackles in the open field and played really well. So I was pleased by him.” Prevot, a freshman, recorded five total tackles, had one sack and a forced one fumble in his Oregon debut against Nicholls State.

Aliotti also addressed the challenges teams face when playing on the road for the first time in the season, adding that road games interfere with his sleep schedule.

“I think that it’ll be interesting for some of these young puppies to be playing away in an atmosphere that people don’t like you. It’s a ‘just us’ kind of mentality and we’ll see how we handle that. This team has been pretty good for the most part on the road… Virginia is coming off a good win against BYU and I’m in hopes that they’ve got our attention and that we’ll go out there and play a good game.

“As an older guy I wish the game was at 12:30 Eastern instead of 12:30 Pacific because then I’m gonna get home at about midnight and I’ll be really tired. Actually that’s the only thing I’m displeased about.”

When Nicholls State’s senior running back Marcus Washington and his teammates played Oregon State in Corvallis last year, they lost 77-3. Washington said despite the loss, the experience was valuable to him and his teammates. With the Ducks favored to win by 59 points, Nicholls State will need more than valuable experience to upset the Pac-12 favorites.

Marcus Washington

“Playing against guys that are on that next level, to get a chance to play against the biggest [competition], it gives us another mind set, to get out there and see how we can pressure those guys,” Washington told the Emerald in a phone interview.

Washington has had tremendous personal success in his first three seasons at Nicholls. He was named to the all-Southland second team in 2011 and receiving all-Southland honorable mention last year. He said the main focus for his senior season is to “become a better leader on and off the field.”

“I wanna be considered one of the best players in the conference and in the nation but, also leading my team every day and getting better,” Washington said.

While Washington knows he’ll be up against one of the best defenses in the country, he sees the Ducks as a challenge that he wants to meet head on.

“We’re little Nicholls down here — that’s how everyone sees it. We’re all excited to see how we stack up to them,” Washington said. “I wanna see how I stack up to the running backs and linebackers, see if I can be a playmaker.”

Nicholls State plays in the football championship subdivision. Washington recognizes the overall difference in talent level compared to football bowl subdivision teams, but says his teammates have what it take to compete with Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.

According to Washington, playing the role of the underdogs will help fuel his team.”We’ve got nothing to lose. Everybody expects us to lose, so we’ll just go out there with a chip on our shoulder and give it everything we’ve got.”

After this season, Washington wants to continue playing football, but he also wants to pursue his education.

“[I want to] continue playing football, whether it’s the NFL, CFL, AFL — that’s my biggest goal. But I’ll also get my degree in May and then hopefully get my masters in education. Then I want to try coaching, get players to that next level.”

Washington will need to lead the Colonels to the next level, perhaps even one level beyond, if Nicholls State has any chance at earning a W at Autzen.

The forecast is sunny for Oregon’s first football game at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, but Thursday’s walkthrough practice left players and coaches drenched from the Eugene downpour. Head coach Mark Helfrich said Thursday was all about communication and mindset.

“Everything [was] walkthrough,” Helfrich said. “This is our no sweat day. Got everything we wanted to accomplished from align, assign, communicate. The defense got a little crowd noise work. Happy with our mindset today overall.”

With no practice Friday, Helfrich said the time leading up to the game will be as stress- free as possible, being spent to get game plans coordinated.

“We’ll have some meetings tonight, both positionally and as a team. Tomorrow we’ll do our normal kind of series of meetings. We’ll have the younger guys scrimmage tomorrow, get some true practice work.” Helfrich also spoke about quarterback Marcus Mariota and what he hopes to see from him on Saturday. “We talk about it all the time, get caught in the act of being yourself,” Helfrich said. “I love watching that dude practice, I love watching him play, I love watching him be around our team. It’s a lot of fun to be around that special of a guy and I know he’s ready to roll. Just excited to watch him play.”

Mariota confirmed the excitement, touching on the difference between this year and last season. Last year, Mariota was battling for the starting spot with fellow quarterback Bryan Benett. Now that he knows he’s the starter and has some experience under his belt, he just wants to go play.

“I think I was a lot more nervous last year, a lot more anxious. After that year I feel a lot more comfortable and I’m just really ready to go out there again. I’m really tired of trying to throw on Ifo [Ekpre-Olomu] and T-Mitch. I’m looking forward to playing this Saturday and it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

It’s hard to imagine Oregon’s famously fast paced offense moving any quicker, but junior tight end Colt Lyerla says the Ducks have greatly improved their speed during fall camp.

“Faster. Faster,” Lyerla said when asked how the offense’s speed looked during the past few weeks. “That’s pretty much where we’re at, just faster every day. They gauge that by the amount of plays that are run on the first day of fall camp in 2012 compared to the amount of plays run in 2013, and we’re over 10 percent faster.” Oregon averaged a point scored every 32.9 seconds of possession during the regular season last year, according to ESPN.

The conclusion of the previously postponed game between the Eugene Emeralds and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes took place Monday evening, with the Volcanoes winning 5-1.

The game was postponed in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs. Brian Ragira was at the plate and Tayron Guerrero had just replaced starting pitcher Vladimir De La Cruz. Guerrero got Ragira to strike out swinging, leaving the ducks on the pond.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Blake Miller stole second with Eugene Escalante at the plate. Escalante eventually struck out, but the wild pitch by Guerrero allowed Escalante to reach first safely and Miller to scoot over to third. The next batter was Ryan Tuntland, who singled home Escalante, making the score 2-1. John Polonius followed with an RBI single of his own, scoring Escalante from second.

Salem-Keizer added on in the seventh off reliever Nick Mutz. Tuntland reached first on an error by third baseman Fernando Perez, putting two on with one out. Polonius came through again with his second RBI of the game, once again scoring Escalante from second.

Former Ducks pitcher Christian Jones came into the game in the eighth and retired the Ems in order, holding the 5-1 lead in tact.

After getting out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth, the Emeralds had a chance to make a comeback attempt in the home half when Michael Miller and Henry Charles recorded back-to-back singles with one out. Volcanoes pitcher Michael Connolly shut the door and earned his team a 5-1 victory.

The second game of the doubleheader will complete the series and the Ems home season. They have six games remaining, three in Hillsboro and three at Volcanoes stadium in Keizer.