After Further Review: Oregon Ducks football maintains focus in win over Washington State
One hundred and twenty-two years ago, the Oregon Ducks and Washington State Cougars met on a raggedy patch of grass and had a football game. Washington Agricultural College won the first one but Saturday Oregon won the last one, 38-24, before a happy Homecoming crowd of 58,886 at Autzen Stadium.
It is a sad thing to realize that with the demise of the Pac-12 Conference brought about by incompetent leadership, these entertaining competitive get-togethers will go by the wayside. After all, who needs storied regional rivalries and rich history when you can have more money and a national stage for your players to “be seen” in the Big Ten?
The Cougs kept it close through three quarters, but succumbed as running backs Bucky Irving and Jordan James slashed their defense for 235 yards and the Oregon defense limited quarterback Cameron Ward to only one touchdown in 48 throws. The second quarter was the beginning of the end for Washington State when the Ducks piled up 129 yards rushing on only 12 carries. For the game Oregon totaled 248 yards rushing. The best thing about that? WSU’s quarterback had to sit and watch from the sidelines.
Duck fans have been treated to a rich menu of quality quarterbacks this season and Ward is a special player. He is a premier scrambler with a lightning release, a threat to go deep at any time. The primary disadvantage WSU coach Jake Dickert has is that his quarterback is most of his offense; he lacks explosive running backs and receivers with the blazing speed the Huskies possess. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning’s defensive approach was to have his players focus on the moment, knowing Ward was going to make some big plays, and rather than dwelling on those, Oregon defenders needed to step up on the next play.
Washington State rang up 496 yards of offense; 438 through the air, but could only score two touchdowns, the last one with a minute left in the game. Oregon safety Evan Williams, who had some coverage problems last week against Washington, heeded his coach’s direction and rebounded nicely against WSU: eight solo tackles, six assisted tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.
The Cougars limped into town with a two-game losing streak, the most recent defeat a decisive whomping by Arizona. The halftime score Saturday was only 17-13, with WSU’s Dean Janikowski kicking a 50-yard field goal as time ran out. At that point, it looked as though the game was going to be a lot tighter than fans might have thought. When the smoke cleared, Ward completed 34 passes for 438 yards to seven receivers, all of whom had catches of 15 yards or longer, but was denied a sizeable return on his 48 pass attempts.
Oregon dominates second half with physical pass rush
It wasn’t until the second half that Oregon’s physical pass rush began to strike home and the Ducks ended up with six sacks by six different players, including two by freshmen. Ward had to do a lot of scrambling as the game wore on and WSU turned the ball over on downs three times, a credit to the resilience of the defense.
Washington State scored first, 3-0 and then again 10-3, but Oregon forged ahead for a halftime lead and eventually ran away with the contest. The Ducks’ Bo Nix was frustrated passing in the second quarter, gaining 32 yards on one completion but only one yard total on three others. For some reason, Oregon’s offense did not feature the quick screens that have been effective in the past or, like the previous game against Washington, longer passes downfield. WSU’s coaching staff did a good job of resurrecting the Cougar defense after their loss to Arizona, but the Ducks’ deeper, more physical roster became a factor in the second quarter when Lanning decided to skip the fancy stuff and pummel the opponent.
It is inevitable after a gut-wrenching game against a traditional rival there will be a psychological fall off the next game. This was reflected in the Ducks’ win over WSU, but also in Washington’s sloppy win over hapless Arizona State. The Ducks, however, took Lanning’s mantra seriously and did what was needed to win the game: defend their own end zone, the only yard line that matters in a football game.
Ducks face supreme challenge in road game at Utah
It is hard to describe what going to Salt Lake City to play Utah is like: maybe like going to the dentist for a root canal — it’s going to hurt like hell, but you’ve got to do it to stay healthy. The Utes have coach Kyle Whittingham who is the best head coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the promotions arm of their athletic program always seems to come up with a psychological ploy to stir the players and their fans to a fever pitch. The last trip to Utah featured an emotional tribute to two players who lost their lives and a memorial to a famous battleship named after Salt Lake City.
In that game, resulting in a humiliating 38-7 defeat, the Ducks looked lost and played that way, having a field goal blocked by poor execution of the easiest blocking play in the book, giving up a punt return for a touchdown right before halftime and horrendous game and clock management by then head coach Mario Cristobal. With all due respect to Autzen Stadium and Husky Stadium, Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium is the hardest place to play and win for a visiting team. For both the Utes and the Ducks this is a game you have to win to stay alive in the race for the Pac-12’s last conference championship. For coach Lanning and the Ducks, it will be a supreme challenge to maintain concentration while the whole world is screaming in your ears.
After playing at Oregon, Ken Woody coached college football for 18 years as an assistant at Oregon, Washington, Utah State and Washington State and as a head coach at Whitman College and Washington University-St. Louis. He has been a commentator on Oregon football on Fox, Prime Sports Northwest and KCPQ. He conducts a free, weekly coaching clinic at the 6th Street Grill every Wednesday at 6 p.m. during the season. Plays from Oregon games are analyzed, there are scouting reports for opponents, and highlights from referees; all to learn about football and understand why the Ducks win or lose.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon football must gear up for battle in Utah after win over WSU
