• Liberty's Kaidon Salter faces his toughest test yet: The Group of Five's highest-graded quarterback has not lost a game this season but also has yet to face a Power Five opponent.
• Jordan James is set to take over Oregon's backfield: This is a great chance for James to prove that he is just as good as Bucky Irving and can carry the load offensively for Oregon in 2024.
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Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
Player to watch for Liberty: QB Kaidon Salter (90.9 PFF Grade)
Salter is the Group of Five's highest-graded quarterback and has not lost a game this season. This will be the hardest challenge of Salter’s college career thus far, but he ranks third in the nation in yards per attempt (10.3) and ninth in big-time throws (25).
Kaidon Salter just did something you can’t even do in a video game pic.twitter.com/I8NN8uig5A
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) December 2, 2023
Player to watch Oregon: RB Jordan James (91.1 PFF Grade)
Although Bucky Irving is playing in this game, James will likely take over as the Ducks' lead back next season after Irving declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.
This is a great chance for James to prove that he is just as good and can carry the load offensively for Oregon in 2024. He is the higher-graded back of the two (93.9 run grade) and averaged more yards per carry (7.1) this season.
Jordan James would not be denied 😤
Oregon retake the lead in the 4th 👀 pic.twitter.com/p8Y8gkt10a
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 14, 2023
Keys to a Liberty victory
Oregon will be Liberty's first — and last — Power Five opponent this season, but the Flames have the requisite firepower on offense to make some noise with dynamic receiver CJ Daniels and star running back Quinton Cooley, both of whom boast 87.0-plus PFF grades.
Liberty is the top rushing team in FBS, tallying 600 more rushing yards than the next closest team. However, they will need to balance out the play calling, as Oregon’s defense allows less than 100 rushing yards per game.
Keys to an Oregon victory
After five decorated seasons, Bo Nix is finally preparing for his last college football game. He will want to go out with a bang after coming up just short in the Pac-12 Championship game. Some scouts project Nix will get drafted in the top 10, but he could raise his stock even higher with a great game against Liberty. Nix is leading the nation in both PFF passing grade (92.1) and adjusted completion percentage (84.6%). If he plays like he did all season, the Ducks will be in the driver's seat.
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