Ducks Host ’Cats In Pac-12 Opener

EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 3 Oregon football teams hosts Arizona on Saturday in the Pac-12 opener for the Ducks in Autzen Stadium.

The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m., and will be telecast on ESPN. Dave Flemming is on play by play, Rod Gilmore is the analyst and Stormy Buonantony is the sideline reporter.

The Ducks went 3-0 in nonconference play, with wins at home over Fresno State and Stony Brook, and a victory on the road at then-No. 3 Ohio State. The Wildcats are winless under new coach Jedd Fisch.

Oregon is in seek of its third straight Pac-12 title, and is the only conference team that entered the weekend unbeaten. The Ducks bring a 14-game home win streak into Saturday's game, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.

Anthony Brown brings a 138.74 passer rating into the game, in his first season as Oregon's starting quarterback. Brown missed the second half of last week's win over Stony Brook but was deemed ready to go this week by UO coach Mario Cristobal.

The Ducks beat the Seawolves without many of their key edge defenders, including Kayvon Thibodeaux, Mase Funa, Adrian Jackson and Swinson. Though Swinson was deemed doubtful during the week for Saturday's game, Cristobal expressed optimism that the others could return as soon as this week.

Takeaways on defense have been key to Oregon's hot start, with safety Verone McKinley III among the national leaders with three interceptions. The Ducks have also taken care of the ball offensively, and entered Saturday as the only Pac-12 team yet to throw an interception.