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By beating Michigan State last September, the Oregon Ducks propelled themselves toward a College Football Playoff berth and enhanced quarterback Marcus Mariota's Heisman Trophy credentials.
Even more is at stake in Saturday's rematch, with the Pac-12 needing some credibility after a mostly disappointing opening weekend. Five conference schools are in this week's AP Top 25, which lists all seven teams from the SEC West.
The Ducks understand what they're walking into, facing a Michigan State team that's eager to avenge a 46-27 loss at Oregon. With ESPN's "GameDay" crew in town and the Spartans staging their home opener, "It'll be a great atmosphere," said Oregon coach Mark Helfrich. "That brings out the competitor in everybody."
Oregon has enough to play for itself, without worrying about what this game means to the Pac-12. But this is clearly a big moment for the conference, as was the case last year in Eugene. The Ducks trailed 24-18 at halftime before Mariota went wild in the second half and powered his team to a significant victory.
Oregon's offense now is operated by Vernon Adams, who probably won't agonize about this game any more than he did last week in facing his former Eastern Washington team. In what Helfrich labeled "a high-anxiety type of situation," Adams tried to be too perfect in aiming some of his throws. Yet he completed 19 of 25 passes for 246 yards and ran for another 94 yards in the Ducks' 61-42 victory.
Oregon, Michigan doubleheader
Oregon and Oregon State are about 45 miles apart, and the Ducks and Beavers will be about 65 miles from one another Saturday. OSU will kick off at Michigan eight hours before Oregon takes the field at Michigan State. Both games will be televised nationally by ABC.
OSU coach Gary Andersen visited Michigan as a Utah assistant in '02 and '08 and he's expecting nothing unusual in Ann Arbor, even in coach Jim Harbaugh's home debut. "A normal game day at Michigan is impressive," Andersen said. "We all need to handle the moment."
Being somewhat familiar with Utah's personnel made Andersen more impressed about how "physical and strong" Michigan looked against the Utes in last week's 24-17 loss.
Rosen's poise impresses Mora
UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen was the breakout star of the Pac-12's opening weekend. He completed 28 of 35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-16 win over Virginia, a performance that should get the attention of future opponents BYU and Utah.
Since before Rosen arrived on campus, coach Jim Mora said, "I've been impressed with his maturity and his presence and his sense of calm. … I would be lying if I said it didn't surprise me, but it didn't shock me, the way he acted."
Compared with Brett Hundley's 2012 debut, the Bruins have more veteran players surrounding the quarterback, so there are "not as many demands" on Rosen, Mora said.
Even so, Rosen responded well. California coach Sonny Dykes, who started Jared Goff as a true freshman QB in 2013, believes high school quarterbacks are better prepared than in the past to play right away — particularly if they enroll in school in January and go through spring practice. "That makes them not really true freshmen," Dykes said.
Falk loses some freedom
Washington State coach Mike Leach endorses Logan product Luke Falk as having advanced knowledge of the offense, compared with other sophomore quarterbacks from his past. But Leach got ahead of himself in giving Falk too much responsibility to change plays and is pulling back. "I probably went too far, as far as letting him have too many options and free rein on that," Leach said.
Falk completed 27 of 41 passes for 289 yards in a 24-17 loss to Portland State — quarterbacked by Alex Kuresa, from Mountain Crest High via BYU and Snow College. Falk was injured and missed WSU's last drive, but will play Saturday at Rutgers.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Tribune Power Rankings
1. UCLA (1-0)
Is it possible the Bruins have upgraded from QB Brett Hundley?
2. USC (1-0)
Let's go ahead and award Trojans the Sun Belt title (Arkansas State, Idaho)
3. Oregon (1-0)
Ducks allowed 549 yards and 42 points to Eastern Washington offense missing QB Vernon Adams
4. Utah (1-0)
Dominique Hatfield's return should ease some concerns about secondary
5. Arizona State (0-1)
Nine sacks of Mike Bercovici were damaging in loss to Texas A&M
6. Arizona (1-0)
LB Scooby Wright hopes to return from injury for Pac-12 opener Sept. 26
7. California (1-0)
Bears registered school-record 52 points in first half vs. Grambling State
8. Stanford (0-1)
Cardinal kicked field goal on first drive at Northwestern, added 3 points rest of game
9. Washington (0-1)
QB Jake Browning looked OK, but offense produced only 179 yards at Boise State
10. Oregon State (1-0)
Beavers hardly overwhelmed Weber State, but QB Seth Collins established himself
11. Colorado (0-1)
The consolation is the Buffs' loss at Hawaii was not the Pac-12's worst showing
12 • Washington State (0-1)
Cougars are regressing in coach Mike Leach's fourth season