C3
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019
FOOTBALL PREVIEW
NO. 7 OREGON
DUCKS (7-1)
SEATTLE
SEAHAWKS (6-2)
Aug. 31: No. 16. Auburn 27
No. 11 Oregon 21,
Sept. 8: Seattle 21,
Cincinnati 20
Sept. 7: No. 16 Oregon 77,
Nevada 6
Sept. 15: Seattle28,
Pittsburgh 26
Sept. 14: No. 15 Oregon 35,
Montana 3
Sept. 22: New Orleans 33,
Seattle 27
Sept. 21: No. 16 Oregon 21,
Stanford 6
Sept. 29: Seattle 27,
Arizona 10
Oct. 5: No. 13 Oregon 17,
California 7
Oct. 3: Seattle 30,
LA Rams 29
Oct. 11: No. 13 Oregon 45
Colorado 3
Oct. 13: Seattle 32,
Cleveland 28
Oct. 19: No. 12 Oregon 35,
No. 25 Washington 31
Oct. 26: No. 11 Oregon 37,
Washington State 35
Saturday at
Southern Cal, 5 p.m. (FOX)
Oct. 20: Baltimore 30,
Seattle 16
WHAT LIES AHEAD
Nov. 16 vs. Arizona, TBA
Nov. 23 at
Arizona State, TBA
Nov. 30 vs. Oregon State,
TBA
Curtis Compton/AP Photo
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner runs after recovering a fumble by Atlanta Falcons running back
Devonta Freeman (24) at the Seahawks 1-yard line during the fourth quarter Oct. 27 in Atlanta.
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
Aug. 30: Oklahoma State 52,
Oregon State 36
Sept. 7: Hawaii 31,
Oregon State 28
Sept. 14: Oregon State 45,
Cal Poly 7
Sept. 28: Stanford 31,
Oregon State 28
Oct. 5: Oregon State 48,
UCLA 31
Oct. 12: No. 15 Utah 57,
Oregon State 7
Oct. 19: Oregon State 21,
California 17
Saturday at Arizona,
1:30 p.m. (PAC12)
Nov. 8 vs. No. 25
Washington, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)
Nov. 16 vs.
No. 24 Arizona State, TBA
Nov. 23 at Washington
State, TBA
Nov. 30 at No.7 Oregon,
TBA
AP TOP 25
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
No. 12 Baylor 17,
West Virginia 14
Georgia Southern 24,
No. 20 Appalachian State 21
SATURDAY
No. 4 Clemson vs.
Woff ord, 1 p.m.
No. 6 Florida vs.
No. 8 Georgia
at Jacksonville, Fla., 12:30 p.m.
S
EATTLE — With what lies ahead, the
Seattle Seahawks better enjoy what
appears to be the fi nal “easy” week on the
schedule.
The Seahawks have started 6-2, are
in the middle of the NFC playoff race and will host
struggling Tampa Bay on Sunday. Seattle’s fi rst half
of the season has put it in the playoff conversation
and could have the Seahawks in contention for a divi-
sion title, eventually.
But the visit from the Buccaneers is a scary
matchup and the last appetizer on Seattle’s schedule
that becomes incredibly diffi cult over the fi nal seven
games.
“It isn’t just getting to the halfway point, it’s what
you’re going to do about it,” Seattle coach Pete Car-
roll said. “That’s all gone and done with. Now this is
when the run to the fi nish is under way.”
Seattle has feasted on the lower tier of the league
in getting to six wins. It owns only one win over a
team with a winning record. Five of its six wins are
by one score, with a 17-point win at Arizona its only
comfortable victory. Between the easy schedule and
the margins of victory, Seattle hasn’t proven much in
its six wins.
But it’ll have plenty of opportunity over the fi nal
two months.
After facing the Bucs, six of Seattle’s fi nal seven
games come against teams currently with .500 or bet-
ter records. That includes two games against San
Francisco and road trips to Philadelphia, the Rams
and Carolina.
“I like the spot that we’re at,” Seattle linebacker
Bobby Wagner said. “There’s been situations or
games where we’ve been 4-4, or a lot worse records.
So sitting at 6-2 with a chance to improve and really
take off defensively, I like our chances.”
The cross-country trip is the end of a long stretch
away from home for the Bucs. Tampa Bay (2-5) has
lost three straight and hasn’t played a game in its own
stadium since Week 3. Turnovers continue to be a
nagging problem in Bruce Arians’ fi rst year in charge.
LINE CHANGE
Seattle will experience a massive change on its
offensive line with veteran center Justin Britt out for
the season with a torn ACL in his knee. Joey Hunt
will make his third career start at center and his task
will be signifi cant trying to make protection calls
while handling the defensive line duo of Ndamukong
Suh and Vita Vea. Suh and Vea are big reasons why
Tampa Bay has the best run defense in the league giv-
ing up just 68.6 yards per game.
“It wouldn’t matter who is playing center with Vita
Vea over there on the other side. He’s a remarkable
player,” Carroll said.
MY HOUSE
Arians has a 4-1 record as a head coach at Centu-
ryLink Field from his time as the head man for the
Arizona Cardinals. The 67-year-old enjoys the rau-
cous atmosphere of one of the league’s toughest ven-
ues for road teams and has been known to refer to
the Seahawks’ stadium as “my house” because of the
success his teams have experienced in Seattle.
Seattle is just 2-2 at home this season.
“It’s kind of odd because when we played them
every year, they’d beat us at home and we’d beat
them up there,” Arians said. “A lot of those games
were really close games that we won at the end. If
you can hang in there with the crowd and the environ-
ment and everything that’s so unique about the place,
and don’t get overwhelmed, you’ll have a chance to
win the game.”
NEW MEMORY
Russell Wilson has been great for most of the sea-
son, but the one hiccup in his otherwise stellar fi rst
half came in his previous home game against Balti-
more. Wilson threw his only interception so far this
season in the 30-16 loss to the Ravens, which was
returned for a touchdown by Marcus Peters. Wilson
was just 20 of 41 for 201 yards in that game and it’s
his only game this season with a passer rating under
102 and a completion rate below 64%.
BIG PLAY POTENTIAL
Whether Seattle can contain Tampa Bay wide
receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans will be a
big key. The Seahawks allowed 460 yards passing to
Atlanta’s Matt Schaub last week. Jameis Winston is
more than capable of just as big a day through the
air with Evans and Godwin. The pair has combined
for 85 receptions and 12 touchdowns in just seven
games.
No. 7 Oregon at
Southern Cal, 5 p.m.
No. 9 Utah at
Washington, 1 p.m.
No. 11 Auburn vs.
Mississippi, 4 p.m.
No. 14 Michigan at
Maryland, Noon
No. 15 SMU at No. 24
Memphis, 4:30 p.m.
No. 16 Notre Dame vs.
Virginia Tech, 11:30 a.m.
No. 17 Cincinnati at
East Carolina, 4 p.m.
No. 21 Boise State at
San Jose State, 7:30 p.m.
No. 22 Kansas State at
Kansas, 12:30 p.m.
No. 23 Wake Forest vs.
N.C. State, Noon
FAR WEST
SCHEDULE
SATURDAY
Southern Utah (2-7) at
Montana State (5-3), 11 a.m.
Army (3-5) at Air Force (6-2),
12:30 p.m.
UNLV (2-6) at Colorado State (3-5),
12:30 p.m.
Utah (7-1) at Washington (5-3), 1 p.m.
Northern Arizona (4-4) at
Eastern Washington (3-5), 1:05 p.m.
Northern Colorado (1-7)
at Idaho State (3-5), 1:30 p.m.
Cal Poly (2-6) at Idaho (3-5), 2 p.m.
Drake (4-2) at San Diego (5-2), 2 p.m.
Montana (6-2) at
Portland State (5-4), 2:05 p.m.
Weber State (6-2) at Sacramento
State (6-2), 6 p.m.
Colorado (3-5)
at UCLA (3-5), 6 p.m.
BYU (3-4) at
Utah State (4-3), 7 p.m.
New Mexico (2-6) at
Nevada (4-4), 7:30 p.m.
Boise State (6-1) at
San Jose State (4-4), 7:30 p.m.
Fresno State (3-4) at
Hawaii (5-3), 8:59 p.m.
Nov. 3 vs. Tampa Bay,
1:05 p.m. (FOX)
Nov. 11 at San Francisco,
5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Nov. 17 BYE
Nov. 24 at Philadelphia,
5:20 p.m. (NBC)
Seahawks face last ‘easy’ challenge hosting Bucs
OREGON STATE
BEAVERS (3-4)
Oct. 27: Seattle 27,
Atlanta 20
No. 7 Oregon puts 7-game streak on line
Line: Oregon by 4 1/2.
Series record: USC leads 39-20-2.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Oregon has played its way into Col-
lege Football Playoff contention with
a seven-game winning streak, but the
Ducks won’t stay there unless they can
get past their fellow Pac-12 division
leaders at the Coliseum, where USC is
23-3 under embattled coach Clay Hel-
ton. The game looms large in recruit-
ing, with Mario Cristobal’s staff hit-
ting talent-rich Los Angeles hard and
taking advantage of the struggles and
instability at USC and UCLA to per-
suade players to join them in the rain
up north.
KEY MATCHUP
USC’s star receivers vs Oregon’s
secondary. This is strength on strength,
with the Trojans’ trio of Michael Pit-
tman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and
Tyler Vaughns providing an enormous
challenge to the Oregon defense that
leads the nation with 14 interceptions,
including veteran cornerbacks Thomas
Graham Jr. and Deommodore Lenoir
and safety Nick Pickett — all Los
Angeles-area natives, of course.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oregon: QB Justin Herbert. The
Ducks’ Heisman Trophy candidate has
passed for 2,104 yards in eight games
with 21 TDs and one interception,
and he has thrown 131 straight passes
without a pick. USC defensive coordi-
nator Clancy Pendergast has had suc-
cess against star players before, but the
Chris Pietsch/AP Photo
Washington State’s Willie Taylor III sacks Oregon’s Justin Herbert Oct. 26 in Eugene.
Trojans’ injury-riddled defense could
struggle against an elite QB.
USC: RB Kenan Christon. The Cal-
ifornia 100-meter state sprint cham-
pion has produced two strong games
after being forced into action by inju-
ries to the Trojans’ top three running
backs. He’s likely to get most of the
carries again, and his open-fi eld speed
can wreck any defense.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The schools haven’t met since
2016. ... The Ducks have won four
of last six against Trojans, but Hel-
ton and Sam Darnold beat Oregon at
the Coliseum in last meeting. ... USC
is playing its fi fth ranked team already
this season. ... Oregon RB C.J. Ver-
dell leads Pac-12 with 753 yards rush-
ing. ... USC freshman QB Kedon Slo-
vis is completing 72% of his throws. ...
The Ducks have 48 native Californians
on their roster. USC has four players
from Oregon. ... Two sets of brothers
on opposing teams: USC’s Pittman
and Oregon WR Mycah Pittman, and
USC LB Eli’jah Winston and Oregon
LB La’Mar Winston.
— Associated Press
Dec. 2 vs. Minnesota,
5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 8 at Los Angeles Rams,
5:20 p.m. (NBC)
Dec. 15 at Carolina,
10 a.m. (FOX)
Dec. 22 vs. Arizona,
1:25 p.m. (FOX)
Dec. 29 vs. San Francisco,
1:25 p.m. (FOX)
BUCCANNERS
SEAHAWKS-
CAPSULE
OPENING LINE — Seahawks by 6.
RECORD VS. SPREAD — Buccaneers
2-5, Seahawks 3-5.
SERIES RECORD — Seahawks lead 8-5.
LAST MEETING — Buccaneers beat
Seahawks 14-5, Nov. 27, 2016.
LAST WEEK — Bucs lost to Titans
27-23; Seahawks beat Falcons 27-20.
AP PRO32 RANKING — Buccaneers
No. 26, Seahawks No. 7.
BUCCANEERS OFFENSE — OVERALL
(15), RUSH (19), PASS (9).
BUCCANEERS DEFENSE — OVERALL
(18), RUSH (1), PASS (31).
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE — OVERALL
(9), RUSH (9), PASS (13).
SEAHAWKS DEFENSE — OVERALL
(23), RUSH (16), PASS (27).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES —
Buccaneers have won four of past fi ve
meetings between clubs that began
play as expansion franchises in 1976.
... Bucs concluding six-week stretch in
which they have not played a game
in their home stadium. Has included
four road games sandwiched around
“home” game against Carolina in
London and team’s bye. ... Seahawks
looking to start 7-2 or better for fi fth
time in franchise history. Only better
start 8-1 in 2013. ... QB Russell Wilson
will tie G Chris Gray for franchise
record for consecutive starts at 121
on Sunday.
NFL STANDINGS
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
EAST
W L T Pct
New England 8 0 0 1.000
Buff alo
5 2 0 .714
N.Y. Jets
1 6 0 .143
Miami
0 7 0 .000
PF
250
134
78
77
PA
61
122
185
238
SOUTH
Indianapolis
Houston
Jacksonville
Tennessee
PF
158
212
173
148
PA
151
188
163
135
NORTH
W L T Pct PF
Baltimore 5 2 0 .714 214
Pittsburgh 3 4 0 .429 150
Cleveland 2 5 0 .286 133
Cincinnati 0 8 0 .000 124
PA
156
145
181
210
WEST
Kansas City
Oakland
L.A. Chargers
Denver
W
5
5
4
4
W
5
3
3
2
L
2
3
4
4
PF
226
151
157
125
PA
181
192
157
151
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
EAST
W L T Pct
Dallas
4 3 0 .571
Philadelphia 4 4 0 .500
N.Y. Giants
2 6 0 .250
Washington 1 7 0 .125
PF
190
202
158
99
PA
124
199
218
195
SOUTH
New Orleans
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Atlanta
PF
195
179
196
165
PA
156
184
212
250
NORTH
W L T Pct PF
Green Bay 7 1 0 .875 215
Minnesota 6 2 0 .750 211
Detroit
3 3 1 .500 180
Chicago
3 4 0 .429 128
PA
163
132
186
122
WEST
San Francisco
Seattle
L.A. Rams
Arizona
PA
102
196
174
251
W
8
6
5
3
L
1
3
5
7
L
0
2
3
5
T
0
0
0
0
Pct
.714
.625
.500
.500
Pct
.625
.429
.375
.250
W
7
4
2
1
L
3
4
5
6
T
0
0
0
0
T
0
0
0
0
T
0
0
0
1
Pct
.875
.571
.286
.125
Pct
1.000
.750
.625
.389
PF
235
208
214
195
NFL SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
San Francisco 28, Arizona 25
SUNDAY
Houston vs Jacksonville at London,
UK, 6:30 a.m.
N.Y. Jets at Miami, 10 a.m.
Washington at Buff alo, 10 a.m.
Tennessee at Carolina, 10 a.m.
Minnesota at Kansas City, 10 a.m.
Chicago at Philadelphia, 10 a.m.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m.
Tampa Bay at Seattle, 1:05 p.m.
Detroit at Oakland, 1:05 p.m.
Green Bay at L.A. Chargers, 1:25 p.m.
Cleveland at Denver, 1:25 p.m.
New England at Baltimore, 5:20 p.m.
Open: L.A. Rams, New Orleans,
Atlanta, Cincinnati
MONDAY
Dallas at N.Y. Giants, 5:15 p.m.