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GAME NOTES: The Oregon Ducks have rebounded from an ugly start to soar into the No. 16 spot in the recent AP Poll, and they'll welcome the Washington State Cougars to Autzen Stadium in Eugene for a Pac-10 Conference clash.

Oregon's season began with a 19-8 loss to Boise State, and the Ducks' fortunes took another hit when starting running back LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the season following a post-game melee. But give credit to first-year coach Chip Kelly for righting the ship and getting his team re-focused. The Ducks responded by grinding out wins over Purdue and No. 18 Utah, before dismantling sixth-ranked California last weekend, 42-3. Still, with three road tilts sandwiched between a home game versus USC in the coming weeks, Oregon can't afford to look past Washington State.

For the Cougars, this marks their second straight road game against a ranked opponent after falling to No. 7 USC last weekend, 27-6. Their only win on the season was a 30-27 overtime victory against SMU two weeks ago. At 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-10, head coach Paul Wulff has decided to go with true freshman Jeff Tuel at quarterback this weekend. The only other true freshman to start under center for Washington State was Drew Bledsoe back in 1990.

Oregon holds a 41-38-7 edge over WSU in the all-time series, which dates back to 1901. The Ducks notched a 53-7 victory when these teams last met in Eugene two seasons ago.

Tuel entered the game midway through the second quarter against USC and led the offense on a 19-play drive. He also engineered a 13-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and finished with 130 passing yards. In addition to his ability to sustain drives, Tuel displayed an instant rapport with freshman wideout Gino Simone. Simone finished with 83 yards on eight catches, all of which came after Tuel entered the game. WSU fans haven't had much to cheer about this season, but the Tuel-Simone connection certainly looks promising -- for this year and beyond. In the meantime, there is still plenty of work to be done. The Cougars allowed eight sacks against USC and further dug themselves a hole with three second-half turnovers.

When USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw two touchdown passes in a span of nine seconds during the first quarter last weekend, Cougar fans everywhere flashed back to last season's awful 69-0 loss to USC. But the WSU defense would have none of it. In fact, the Trojans scored only once more the rest of the game, and that touchdown was set up by a Cougars' fumble deep in their own territory. The defense played an inspired brand of football, highlighted by two different fourth-down stands near the goal line in the second half. Linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis led the unit with 10 tackles, while safety Chima Nwachukwu finished with nine. Nwachukwu leads the team with 29 tackles on the season, and Hoffman-Ellis is next with 25. Each player has come up with an interception and forced a fumble as well.

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli entered last week's game without a single touchdown pass on the season, so naturally there were plenty of critics. But Masoli came through with a big-time performance, throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks upended another ranked opponent. He and tight end Ed Dickson were on the same page all afternoon. Dickson had 11 catches for a career-high 148 yards and was on the receiving end of all three of Masoli's touchdown passes. While Masoli's improvement was at the forefront for Oregon, coach Kelly said it didn't stop there.

"We want to see improvement by every player and every coach on both sides of the ball on a week-to-week basis," Kelly said. "And I think we've seen that."

It's tough to argue with his evaluation. After all, the Ducks racked up 26 first downs and 524 yards of total offense in the win. They converted 7-of-15 third downs, 2-of-2 fourth downs, and scored on all five of their red-zone chances. Running back LaMichael James carried 21 times for 118 yards and a touchdown.

Oregon senior cornerback and co-captain Walter Thurmond III suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury on the opening kickoff of the team's win last Saturday. It's tough to imagine the Ducks losing a more integral player to their defense. Thurmond was a preseason All-American and Jim Thorpe Award candidate whose five career touchdowns stands as a school record among non-offensive players. He returned an interception for a touchdown in a two-point win over Purdue earlier this season. Against Utah the very next week, he had a 78-yard punt return for a score. Thurmond will certainly be missed, but the UO defense has proven to be a solid all-around unit.

The Ducks bottled up Cal star tailback Jahvid Best last week, as he finished with just 55 yards. Best entered the game ranked third in the nation with an average of 137.33 rushing ypg. Oregon held Cal to just 207 yards of total offense. In fact, the Golden Bears didn't even make a single trip into the red zone, as they converted just 3-of-15 third downs.

Washington State made some strides on both sides of the ball last week. But they are once again outmatched by a team that seems to be getting better each week. Coach Kelly has been able to get the best out of his players since that season-opening loss. Expect another inspired effort by the Ducks playing at home this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oregon 45, Washington State 17