The No. 9 Oregon Ducks face the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes in a pivotal Big Ten matchup at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS.

 The game is a critical test for both teams, with Oregon needing a road victory to maintain its College Football Playoff hopes and Iowa aiming to solidify its status as a playoff contender with a win.

 The Ducks are favored by 6.5 points, but the game is expected to be a defensive battle, with both teams boasting top-10 defenses.

Oregon enters the game averaging over 40 points per game The Ducks defense is ranked among the nation's best, allowing just 13.5 points per game and the fewest passing yards in the country.

Iowa has a dominant defense ranked third in total defense and fourth in scoring defense, allowing only 12.4 points per game.
 Their offense, however, is a significant weakness, with quarterback Mark Gronowski ranking last in the Big Ten in passing yards and QB rating, and the team relying heavily on a strong rushing attack led by Kamari Moulton.

The key matchup centers on Oregon’s ability to neutralize Iowa’s powerful run defense and force Gronowski into making plays through the air, while Iowa aims to slow Oregon’s tempo and limit big plays.
 Oregon’s offensive line must protect quarterback Dante Moore from Iowa’s disruptive defensive end Max Llewellyn, who has nine tackles for loss and six sacks this season. Stein needs to be more creative and less predictable early in the game and get the ball to the Ducks talented WR's, TE's, and RB's for that matter. 

While most predict an Oregon victory due to their superior talent and balanced attack, some, like Kirk Herbstreit, have boldly predicted an upset, forecasting a 16-15 Iowa win, citing the challenges of playing in Iowa City during November.
 
The game is expected to be a hard-fought, low-scoring affair defined by defensive stops and field position battles.


One thing to note that I didn't mention in past post is that Iowa's punt returner Kaden Wetjen is averaging a whopping 25 yards per return average. He's taken 2 to the house including a 95 yard return. You don't see this much anymore and this guy reminds me of Devin Hester who played for the Bears, which kind of was like Iowa in the NFL at the time. Thank goodness we have a good punter and maybe he's planning to kick out of bounds?

Go Ducks!!!