Chris Petersen

Washington coach Chris Petersen bring a 5-0 team into Autzen Stadium on Saturday.

(Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press)

EUGENE -- Washington coach Chris Petersen put the muzzle over his Dawgs on Monday ahead of Saturday's rivalry game against the Oregon Ducks, a program that has beaten UW 12 consecutive years.



Petersen, a former Oregon assistant, told reporters his decision to shut down player interviews this week "has nothing to do with the opponent."



Some Ducks would disagree with that approach.



This allure of this week, this matchup, has everything to do with the opponent.



"As a coach I know we're supposed to preach the faceless opponent but it's Washington," offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said. "It's a big, big game. It's a rivalry. We've had the upper hand and we intend to keep that for the next several years."



Greatwood, who grew up around this rivalry as a high schooler in Eugene, an Oregon player and a coach in his 25th season with UO, didn't even want to entertain the thought of Washington winning for the first time at Autzen Stadium since 2002.



"The streak's not going to end," he said.



Perhaps that's not the answer you were expecting to hear.



Oregon (2-3, 0-2) has lost three consecutive games for the first time since 2007 while Washington (5-0, 2-0) is ranked fifth in the latest AP poll.



The Ducks last lost their first two games in conference play in 1996, the same year the Huskies, 8.5-point favorites this week, were last favored by oddsmakers to win in Eugene.



A CBSSports.com column Monday called for UO athletic director Rob Mullens to fire Helfrich and criticism of UO's coach has grown with every loss.



"I've been this way for years and this was before social media grew," linebackers coach Don Pellum said. "You had to insulate yourself and get focused on what you're doing and just grind."



The Ducks, for their part, say they have no choice but to do just that this week while remaining confident, never mind the programs' disparate places in national rankings.

Washington ranks in the national top 10 in most points scored and fewest allowed, has the country's second-rated passer in Jake Browning and, with 4.2 sacks per game, the second-highest average in FBS.





The Ducks are allowing 36.2 points per game (109th), which has applied pressure to their offense (40 points per game) to score on each possession or else.



"I definitely have a lot of confidence in myself and a lot of the players on this team," running back Royce Freeman said. "I feel like a lot of the guys don't know how good they can be."

Said senior offensive guard Cameron Hunt after Saturday's loss at Washington State: "I told these guys I'm not going to be that senior class that goes out and loses to UW after 12, 13 years of winning. Guys better fix it."



Washington's 44-6 dismantling of Stanford last Friday offered a window into how good the Huskies can be, too, after opening their schedule with four games against four teams that currently stand 2-3.



Greatwood may believe Oregon can extend its winning streak, but he also was a realist about what it will take to beat the Huskies a 13th consecutive season.



"They're legit," Greatwood said. "They were legit last year. They had the No. 1 defense in the league last year, they've picked right up where they left off there. I think their biggest change is their growth on offense. They had a bunch of young guys last year and now they're putting up points.



"It's going to be a huge challenge for us this year to go into this game and move the ball consistently against their defense and, obviously, for our defense to stop them."



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif