5 Things To Watch: Oregon-Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The No. 2 Oregon football team has had no time to rest on any laurels this week, after winning a top-five matchup with Ohio State on an unforgettable afternoon at Autzen Stadium last week.

The Ducks had a short week to prepare for this week's game, a Friday night matchup with Purdue in Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers will host the UO football team for a 5 p.m. PT kickoff.

Oregon enters the evening at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, coming off consecutive wins at home over Michigan State and the Buckeyes, which followed a road win at UCLA to open conference play. Purdue is 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten, having lost five straight including its conference opener at home to Nebraska followed by losses at Wisconsin and Illinois the past two weeks.

Both the Ducks and Boilers played a nonconference game at Oregon State in September, with Oregon winning, 49-14, and Purdue losing the next week, 38-21.

The Ducks lead the all-time series 2-1, having lost on the road in 1979 before sweeping a home-and-home series in 2008-09. That series included an overtime win at Purdue in 2008, the subject of this week's "Turn Back the Flock" episode hosted by Verone McKinley III, featuring guests Jairus Byrd and T.J. Ward.

Friday's game will be televised by FOX, with Tim Brando on play-by-play, analysis from Devin Gardner and reporting from the sidelines by Josh Sims.

Some storylines to watch come kickoff …

1. Coming off last week's emotionally charged win over Ohio State, the Ducks don't want to be known as a one-hit wonder.

Beating the Buckeyes put Oregon into the driver's seat for spots in the Big Ten Championship Game and perhaps even for a first-round College Football Playoff bye. But a slip-up this week could could upend all of the positive momentum gained from the win over Ohio State.

"It was really special," UO coach Dan Lanning said in a press conference Monday. "Proud of our players; certainly a lot of moments, going back and evaluating the game, that we can clean up and make better. That being said, proud of the way our guys performed, and now trying to get turned around really quickly and move on to Purdue in a short week."

2. The Ducks left Eugene for the Midwest on Thursday around lunch time, and arrived at Indianapolis in the evening. It was the first of three times this regular season that Oregon will leave the West Coast, prior to November trips to Michigan and Wisconsin.

Entering this week, road teams were 11-18 in Big Ten Conference play this season, including 3-10 when traveling two time zones or more. Entering their own trip, the Ducks weren't concerning themselves with those trends; rather, their attention was on the specifics of the matchup with the Boilermakers.

"For us, it's always about focusing on the week that we're in," Lanning said. "So this is an exciting one for us, getting an opportunity again to play on a Friday night, the prime-time window, at a place that we haven't been."

3. Purdue had been starting senior Hudson Card at quarterback, until an injury opened the door last week for redshirt freshman Ryan Browne. Facing a ranked Illinois team on the road, Browne threw for 297 yards and ran for 118, and Purdue rallied from a 27-3 second-half deficit to force overtime.

Boilermakers coach Ryan Walters, like Lanning just 38 years old, listed Card or Browne as the starter for this week's game with the Ducks. So there could be some uncertainty for the UO defense as it prepares for Friday.

"They certainly added some new wrinkles this past game," Lanning said. "I know Coach Walters is a phenomenal coach and does a really good job. What they've been able to do and how they were able to utilize Ryan Browne in the run game created a lot of different issues."

4. Oregon's defense faced Ohio State without a key starter, and it sounds like defensive lineman Jordan Burch could be sidelined at least a little longer.

Burch was listed as questionable for last week's game, and ended up watching it from the UO sideline in street clothes. Sophomore Matayo Uiagalelei stepped up in his absence, but the Ducks will welcome Burch back with open arms as soon as he's available.

"We want to do what's best for him," Lanning said. "I do anticipate us being able to use Jordan again, but I don't know that that'll be this week; I don't know that it won't. So we'll just keep evaluating that and see what it looks like."

5. The Ducks also played the majority of the Ohio State game without starting receiver Traeshon Holden, who was ejected and faced internal discipline going forward as well. Holden issued an apology on social media for his conduct.

With Holden out, sophomore Justius Lowe picked up more reps at receiver. The 6-foot-1 graduate of Lake Oswego High has caught four passes for 20 yards in five appearances this season, including a nine-yard reception against the Buckeyes.

"Justius has continued to prove his ability to help us as a team," Lanning said. "When Justius is healthy, he can be a really, really special player. He's been healthy lately and I'm excited for how his role will continue to grow in our offense, as well as some other guys that I think will get opportunities to see their role grow in our offense."