Oregon State and Oregon preparing for big ranked matchups to start Pac-12 conference play
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- There are two big games this Saturday with Oregon and Oregon State, both with different underlying meanings, compelling narratives and a whole lot of hype.
The Ducks have a ranked match-up with America's favorite new team, the Deion Sanders-led Colorado Buffaloes.
The Buffs have shocked the country with three opening wins, including last weekend's overtime thriller over Colorado State.
Oregon started the season 3-0 as well, including a dicey win two weeks ago against Texas Tech.
This should be both team's toughest challenges yet.
Ducks quarterback Bo Nix said he'll leave the outside noise to the fans, and his team will focus on the work.
"With games like these, you know, the buildup is always big, and a lot of us have always played in big games, they've played in big games,” Nix said. “It's going to be a high-intensity game when we get out on the field, but I expect it to settle down as the game goes and just be football."
Oregon is the 10th-ranked team in the country while Colorado is the 19th.
The Ducks are one of the highest-scoring offenses so far this season, while the Buffs are a top passing team in the country.
This game kicks off Saturday at 12:30 on ABC.
Oregon's favored by 21 points.
The Oregon State Beavers, meanwhile, travel up to Pullman, Washington on Saturday for what could soon be the Pac-2 championship with Washington State.
The Beavers and the Cougars are the only two Pac-12 schools committed to come back to the conference next year.
The schools have shown solidarity off the field, but will look to hand each other their first loss of the season on the field.
Jonathan Smith, the head football coach for Oregon State, commented on the mutual respect.
"I'll totally agree with Coach Dickert in regards to Oregon State and Washington State belong competing at the highest level. I think there's a proven product, not just in football but in all sports,” Smith said."I think the meaning is Game 1 of conference play, you want to get off to a good start. I'm confident to say I think both programs will play high-level football for the entire season. I know its going to be competitive over there, and obviously, yeah, we're trying to win the game."
OSU is the 14th-ranked team in the country, while WSU is the 21st.
Both teams have averaged more than 40 points a game this season, with the Cougars one of the top passing teams in the country.
Oregon State won last year's matchup at home, 24-10, but the Cougars had won the previous eight matchups, and have not lost to the Beavers in Pullman since 2013.
The Beavers game kicks off Saturday at 4 p.m. ,and you can watch it on our Fox station, KFXO..
OSU is just a-three point favorite.
