Baylor, Oregon Face Giant Thursday Night Tests
Oct 19, 2013; Waco, TX, USA; Baylor Bears wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) and offensive linesman Spencer Drango (58) celebrate Coleman’s touchdown.
A sport known for its Saturday surprises gets its own upset today when college football hosts what might be its most important night of the year – on a Thursday.
Some are even labeling this is the biggest night in the history of Thursday night college football.
Two undefeated teams from major conferences host arguably their toughest regular-season foe tonight when No. 6 Baylor hosts No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 5 Stanford battles No. 3 Oregon.
An Oregon win likely propels the Ducks to No. 2 in the BCS standings – possibly for good this season if they continue to win.
Baylor continuing on its destructive path could also lead to far greater national respect for a team with no real eye-opening victories.
Both must survive tests.
For Oregon, tonight’s game is about not allowing history to repeat itself. It was Stanford who, a year ago, halted the Ducks’ march to the BCS National Championship Game a week after reaching No. 2 in the BCS standings.
The loss served as Oregon’s lone blemish and – ultimately – kept it out of the BCS National Championship Game.
Whether Thursday night in Palo Alto means vengeance for the Ducks is up for them to decide.
That the game will go a long way toward redemption isn’t up for debate.
This is a Ducks program that has lived for the last five years on the verge of a national championship. They reached the game in 2010, losing to Cam Newton and Auburn.
Oregon fans feel good about their chances three years later, openly campaigning about “We want ’Bama,” of course referring to No. 1 and two-time defending champion Alabama.
Recent history has given Oregon a national level of credibility Baylor has never achieved.
Yet the similarities between the two offenses in 2013 are staggering.
The Bears lead the nation in points per game at a Playstation-like 63.9. Oregon is second, averaging an equally absurd 55.6 points per game. Both teams average more than 300 rushing yards and 300 passing yards per game. Baylor ranks in the top 10 in both categories – first in passing yards (417 per game) and seventh in rushing.
Amazingly, the two teams also find themselves in the top 10 in points allowed.
Baylor has enjoyed a smoother ride to this point. Its highest-ranking victim is actually Buffalo, which is 52nd in the latest BCS standings.
The road grows substantially bumpier in the final month of the season, starting with No. 10 Oklahoma.
Thursday night has no retribution storyline for the Bears, who scored their first-ever victory over the Sooners for the first time two years ago. Baylor’s 1-21 all-time record against Oklahoma goes out the window in terms of national interest.
Instead, the primetime game serves as a statement game. Either the Bears from Waco are ready to assert their national standing or they will be exposed as a fraud feeding on the weak.
In today’s quick-to-overreact sport society, a third alternative doesn’t exist for Baylor.
A convincing victory takes Baylor from the outskirts of the national title conversation to a point of discussion – albeit one that will need help to have any shot to play for the BCS crown.
Oregon likely doesn’t need that help.
Style points will matter as long as Florida State is nipping at the Ducks’ heels, but a road victory over a respected Stanford team speaks volumes whether it’s by one point or 30.
Two teams take the field Thursday night on two entirely different paths – one to stay on its collision course with No. 1 Alabama and the other to national prominence.
Will the favorites rule the night or will the biggest Thursday night in college football history lay waste to one – or both – teams with national title aspirations?