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It’s Week 2 of Oregon football, which means Week 1 wasn’t just a dream. College football is back — like actually. Hallelujah! Tonight, the Ducks host the Virginia Cavaliers at Autzen Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. PT tilt.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s football action:
Week 2 — No. 24 Oregon Ducks vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Date: Saturday, September 10, 2016
Time: 7:36 p.m. PT
Place: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: ESPN
Radio: 590AM (Eugene); 750AM/102.9FM (Portland)
Online Radio: Oregon IMG Sports Network;
Follow Along: Live Stats; @AddictedToQuack
Odds: Oregon (-23.5)
Kickoff Weather: Clear, high 70s
The uniforms from Week 1 may not have gotten the best reception (call me crazy — I actually liked the casual-tee look), but there’s no doubt that this week’s unis are straight fire.
Like a flash of lightning between the clouds, be the flicker. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/s6gl199aKc
— Oregon Football (@WinTheDay) September 5, 2016
At A Glance
Oregon Ducks (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) — Oregon fans may have been shaking in their boots when UC Davis struck first last week, but the Ducks took care of business, cruising to a 53-28 victory… Junior running back Royce Freeman got the ball rolling with Oregon’s first touchdown. The All-America player finished the night with 86 rushing yards and two TDs… Graduate transfer Dakota Prukop shone in his debut with the Ducks, completing 21 of 30 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 36 yards and a TD on 11 carries… Freshman linebacker Troy Dye impressed in his first collegiate game, earning the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honor after finishing with 11 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack against UC Davis.
Virginia Cavaliers (0-1, 0-0 ACC) — After the Cavaliers’ performance in Week 1, they rank No. 1 in something other than UVA fans’ hearts. CBS Sports gave the Hoos the top spot in the Bottom 25 rankings after their opening-day loss to to the Richmond Spiders… The visiting FCS team forced consecutive turnovers on its way to a 37-20 triumph, spoiling UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s debut… Graduate transfer Kyle Lauletta passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns, but Virginia struggled with its running game, rushing for 38 total yards (1.8 yards per carry).
Quack Hits
-The Wahoos made a 2,800-mile trip and will be the first ACC team to visit Autzen Stadium. Virginia and Oregon have faced each other once before, with the Ducks walking away with a 59-10 victory at Scott Stadium in 2013. Marcus Mariota passed for 199 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 122 yards and a TD. Virginia is 0-6 against Pac-12 teams.
-Running back Royce Freeman keeps climbing the Oregon record books. The junior needs four rushing touchdowns to move into a tie for second on Oregon’s career list, nine rushing yards to move into third in career rushing yards and 99 all-purpose yards to crack Oregon’s career top 10.
In Their Words
Below, you’ll find an interview from Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich, as well as a game preview from Andy McNamara and Rob Mosley of GoDucks.com.
“Everything we do is about us,” coach Mark Helfrich said when asked about the Cavaliers playing with a chip on their shoulders. “We’re certainly going to talk about certain aspects of the opponent, schematics and all those things, but so much of this is us. I know Virginia is saying the exact same things. Richmond’s a really good football team, extremely talented football team. Several transfers as well as guys they recruited, they’re very good and then Virginia turned the ball over, and they took advantage of it. That’s plain to see. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing the Denver Broncos or whoever.”
“You look internally, as far as the stats are concerned, the players are concerned,” said Rob Mosley of GoDucks.com. “The chance to get this young offensive line more experience, the chance for Dakota Prukop to settle in a little bit more to work on getting the offensive tempo up, the chance for Brady Hoke’s new defense to play another game in that system, for Troy Dye to see if he can follow up on his amazing opening game. There’s so many small victories like that to try to win in a matchup like this and continue building momentum as you get into, not just this Nebraska game, but the conference schedule that looms even larger down the road.”