Week 1: Washington at Oregon

One team has almost everything it needs except an established quarterback. The other side has a superlative quarterback and is left wanting elsewhere. Oregon and Washington, two bitter border rivals, will put their vast personnel differences on the field for their 101st meeting and see how it all adds up.

The Ducks lost last year’s starting quarterback, Dennis Dixon, down the stretch to a knee injury, ruining a serious run at a BCS bowl. This time, they’ve seen their No. 1 guy, Nate Costa, go down before the season with a similar health issue, but aren’t conceding anything. They think they’re in much better position to overcome this setback. Sophomore Justin Roper, who closed out last season by throwing four touchdowns against South Florida in the Sun Bowl, will open against the Huskies, looking for similar results. He has a veteran line in front of him, versatile backs behind him and huge target in receiver Jaison Williams, plus a sturdy defense from front to back, spearheaded by superlative defensive end Nick Reed and safety Patrick Chung.

This has all been too much for the Huskies to handle, now losers of four consecutive games to Oregon. They enter Eugene, feeling a sense of urgency on many fronts. They’ve endured four consecutive losing seasons, miserable seasons. Their coach, Ty Willingham, is widely perceived to be in a win-or-else situation with the nation’s most difficult schedule, starting with this stop in the Willamette Valley. Impatient things are happening, with true freshmen Chris Polk and Senio Kelemete made instant starters at tailback and defensive tackle. The porous secondary, solely responsible for three defeats in 2007, has been completely reshuffled, with starting safety Mesphin Forrester switched to cornerback.

While it would appear that one team is comfortable in its skin and the other is not, leading to an automatic outcome, Huskies quarterback Jake Locker will keep people guessing. He’s a sophomore with great size and speed, coming off a sensational debut season of 2,062 yards passing and 988 yards rushing, responsible for 27 touchdowns. His presence unnerves Oregon coach Mike Bellotti to the point he calls Locker the most dangerous offensive weapon in Division I football. The Huskies quarterback is fully capable of pulling an upset, though it’s unlikely this weekend.

Notes:

Oregon’s Autzen Stadium will enjoy its 56th consecutive sellout when Washington visits, a streak that dates back to 1999.

Washington leads the series 58-37-5, but Oregon has won nine of the past 13 outings to create lots of tension in the series.

Ducks players will wear the initials of teammate Todd Lamar Doxey on helmet stickers, honoring the redshirt freshman safety who drowned this summer during a team outing.

The Huskies and Stanford have opened the season against a Pac-10 opponent the most times, nine, since the conference was expanded to its current size in 1978. The UW has won six of them.

Key Player (Ducks) – Patrick Chung, S

He’s made all sorts of preseason All-America lists, is a four-year starter and the heart and soul of Oregon’s defense, and likely will be entrusted with shadowing Locker everywhere he goes.

Key Player (Ducks) – Jeremiah Johnson, TB

The senior has the task of replacing All-Pac-10 running back Jonathan Stewart while bouncing back from a knee injury that ended his 2007 season early, and Bellotti feels he’s up to the challenge.

Key Player (Huskies) – Chris Polk, TB

He originally made a recruiting commitment to USC and then reneged on it, explaining how he wanted to play wide receiver while the Trojans had him pegged as a running back. Washington took him at his desire position and somehow now has convinced him the offensive backfield is where he belongs and he’ll be taking handoffs against the Ducks.

Oregon by 10