rewrite this title Deadspin | No. 6 Oregon looks to handle heated rival Washington

No. 6 Oregon enters the final weekend of Big Ten football still very much in play for a spot in the conference championship game.

The most plausible scenario for the Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) to earn a rematch with Indiana for the Big Ten title is if Oregon wins at underdog Washington in Seattle on Saturday, Indiana wins over Purdue and Michigan upsets Ohio State.

Another scenario would have Oregon facing Michigan for the title, but that one is less likely to occur.

Any chance the Ducks have to get to the Big Ten title game starts with a victory against their biggest rival, Washington (8-3, 5-3). A win also assures Oregon will be in the College Football Playoff tournament, as the Ducks moved up a spot from No. 7 in this week’s CFP rankings.

Washington is 5-1 at home this season, its only loss to top-ranked Ohio State in late September. Oregon is 4-0 on the road in 2025.

For much of the Pac-8 and Pac-10 years, Washington dominated the rivalry against their neighbors to the south. But Oregon is 16-5 against Washington since the 2004 season, which includes two wins for the Huskies in 2023. One was in the regular season and the second came in the Pac-12 championship game.

Oregon’s rise in program prominence has turned this annual game into a heated rivalry.

Oregon is coming off a 42-27 win at home over then-No. 15 USC, the Ducks displaying their offensive depth and getting an 85-yard punt return from wide receiver Malik Benson to swing momentum their way. Quarterback Dante Moore and Oregon’s main trio of running backs have been instrumental in the team’s five-game winning streak.

“This game means a lot,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “It’s probably the No. 1 question I get asked when I’m out on the road with donors and sport groups and talking about our university about this game.”

Moore is fourth nationally in completion percentage (72.9) while passing for 2,447 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Washington gave up 10 sacks of quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in last season’s meeting with then-No. 1 Oregon, a 49-21 Ducks’ win. But Williams has had a solid 2025 campaign, with a completion percentage of 72 (sixth best in the nation) and 2,721 passing yards, 19 touchdown passes (six interceptions) and 568 rushing yards.

Williams is a threat to run and throw, with six rushing touchdowns. He ran for two and passed for two scores in the Huskies’ 48-14 win last Saturday at UCLA.

The Huskies have won 25 of their last 26 games at home. They expect that leading rusher Jonah Coleman and top wide receiver Denzel Boston will play more this week, as both have been limited by injuries.

Defensively, Washington is allowing just 18.9 points and 304 yards per game.

“Beating them does a lot for me,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “Knocking them out (of the College Football Playoff) is just another part of it.”

–Field Level Media