Oregon has Dominated the Last Five Matchups of this Historic Series Against UCLA

Saturday in Eugene is going to be a primetime Pac-12 matchup between two historic conference foes. Of course, those days are gone, and both programs are now part of the top conference in the Midwest, the Big Ten.

Going into the season, the Oregon Ducks had aspirations of an undefeated season and a deep playoff run. On the flip side, the UCLA Bruins had thoughts and dreams of just turning their program around.

Neither program would have believed where they are at right now.

The Ducks come into this game with a disappointing 4-1 record and an upset loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. On the other side, UCLA is soaring with a perfect record and has cracked the top 25, and comes into this game as the No. 21 team in the country.

In just his first half season, new head coach Bob Chesney has turned UCLA quickly back into a competitive team that expects to win week in and week out.

The storylines in this one are vast. UCLA has all of the momentum, while Oregon is going to be without their starting quarterback, with a shaky defense, hanging on by a thread. 

From a historical perspective, this series has been awesome. Saturday marks the 74th meeting between the two teams, and the records tip in Oregon's favor with a 38-35 record. 

Over recent history, it has been all Oregon. The Ducks have won the last five matchups against the Bruins, as both programs have been on completely different trajectories.

Now, as things have leveled out for for each program, Saturday is going to be an aweome matchup between two really intriguing teams.

The key for Oregon is to instill doubt immediately after the game is kicked off. This needs to be a game where Oregon gets off to a fast start, takes a lead early, and reminds UCLA where they belong.

On the flip side, for UCLA, they want to start fast but be able to maintain. This is going to be a four-quarter affair for both teams, and Oregon's depth certainly has the chance to sustain throughout the entirety of the 60 minutes.

We are staring down the barrel of a really fun matchup on Saturday evening. The result is going to send shockwaves through the conference. If the Bruins win, the Ducks are going to be on life support.

If the Ducks win, they will have the attention of the nation, and they may have figured out their issues and are setting up for a second-half run. It will be a fun one between two great programs that have resurfaced to the top of their games. 

Get your popcorn ready.