A four-game stretch to end the regular season against four Big Ten teams currently with six wins each begins on Saturday for Oregon, which on Tuesday debuted at No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Ducks hope to avoid an upset the rest of the way and stay in the CFP field in December.
Oregon (7-1, 4-1 in Big Ten) faces Iowa in Iowa City in what will be the first Big Ten meeting between the two programs. The CFP’s 20th-ranked Hawkeyes (6-2, 4-1) boast a scoring defense allowing only 13.3 points per game this season and a strong rushing attack on offense.
Oregon counters with a prolific offense that was held to 21 points in a win over Wisconsin on Oct. 25, the Ducks’ most recent game, but averages 41.25 points and 483.9 total yards per game this season.
Ducks quarterback Dante Moore is expected to play after he left the Wisconsin game in the second half when he was hit in the face while being tackled and suffered a bloody nose.
Oregon’s defense is also one of the country’s best, allowing just 13.5 points per game.
The Ducks have gone undefeated in their last 10 road games — the nation’s current longest road winning streak — while Iowa is winless in its last 11 games against a ranked opponent.
“There’s some great teams that we’re going to see over the next few weeks, and Iowa certainly sets that off,” Ducks head coach Dan Lanning said this week. “They jumped out fast against a Minnesota team that plays good football and got a big win. So I think this team is probably not getting near enough credit that they deserve for the kind of team that they are.”
The Hawkeyes hammered Minnesota 41-3 at home on Oct. 25, the last time they took the field.
Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski, a graduate transfer from South Dakota State, is the only player in the nation to score a rushing touchdown in every game this season. He has 11 total rushing touchdowns on the year.
The Hawkeyes, like the Ducks, are coming off a bye week. They’re on a three-game winning streak while Oregon has won its last two.
The game could come down to whether Iowa, allowing only 2.6 yards per rushing attempt, can stop Oregon’s ground game, which gains 6.3 yards per rush.
Iowa has a 21-2 record in November over its last 23 games played in the month. The Hawkeyes are 17-3 at Kinnick Stadium in November since 2015.
“Historically, our best teams have gotten better as the year went on,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz told the Des Moines Register. “I think we’ve done that this year, so I certainly think we’re better equipped right now, maybe, to compete with a team like this. But all that being said, it’s still going to be a heck of a challenge. I certainly would rather be playing someone in this type of game in November.”
