Ducks Moving Forward With UW Up Next

For a decade now, one of Oregon football's central tenets has been blocking out what Chip Kelly used to call "outside noise" – typically praise for a program that entered 2016 with the longest active streak in the nation of finishing in the AP top 25, at nine years.

The Ducks (2-3, 0-2 Pac-12) are in the same situation this week, though the nature of the noise is different in the wake of three consecutive defeats. The streak of losses that was extended Saturday night at Washington State is the program's longest since 2007, following the knee injury to quarterback Dennis Dixon.

"Right now, all we have is each other," UO coach Mark Helfrich told his team in the visiting locker room at Martin Stadium following Saturday's 51-33 loss. "But that's a ton. We will stay together. This is when we find out what people are all about, in times like these."

Helfrich said the Ducks did just that Saturday, a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating evening in Pullman. Oregon's defense struggled to get stops in the first half, then buckled down in the third quarter, only to have the offense unable to capitalize on three straight scoreless possessions by the Cougars.

"For the most part there were a bunch of guys that looked each other in the eye and kept it very positive," Helfrich said Sunday in his postgame review with media, noting that Dwayne Stanford's fumble after being injured and a safety on Oregon's next possession crippled the Ducks' hopes of winning, but not their spirits. "There was a lot of opportunity to cash it in right there, and the guys kept coming."

Helfrich cited downfield blocking by receivers and Oregon's kickoff returns as indicative that the Ducks fought to the final whistle. As he did three weeks earlier against Virginia, receiver Jalen Brown had a dominating block to spring a long Royce Freeman touchdown run Saturday against the Cougars.

Washington State entered the game allowing opponents to average just 13.9 yards per kickoff return, which Helfrich said was third in the country. The Ducks returned six kickoffs for an average of 39.2 yards, highlighted by Charles Nelson's 100-yard return in the fourth quarter.

Those facets weren't enough to account for Oregon's struggles in the passing game on offense, and to contain Washington State's rushing attack. The Cougars nearly doubled their total rushing yardage through three games of 365, finishing with 280 on Saturday. And they limited the Ducks to 7.5 yards per pass attempt, well off their season average.

"Certainly nobody draws this up," Helfrich said of the losing streak. "But by the same token, I totally believe in this group of guys, totally believe in this coaching staff, to make it right. …

"You're very honest – you talk to them, you look them in the eye, make sure we still have their hearts and minds – which we do and will – and then we moved forward."

The Ducks have little time to regroup this week, with rival Washington coming to town as the nation's fifth-ranked team.

The Huskies (5-0) dominated Stanford on Friday night, and are favored to end their 12-game losing streak to the Ducks at Autzen Stadium this Saturday (4:30 p.m., FOX).

A key for UW against the Cardinal was dominating the line of scrimmage, both ways. Washington is tied for first in the FBS with 21 sacks, despite rarely using more than a base pass rush.

"The inside guys are dynamic, physical guys, and then the edge guys are speed guys," Helfrich said. "They'll get into a lot of three-man rush that is still very effective in terms of getting to the quarterback."

The task of slowing that pass rush falls to an Oregon offensive line that features senior Cameron Hunt and four redshirt freshmen. The freshmen experienced some growing pains against Washington State, which had eight tackles for loss, including the safety.

Helfrich said some of the linemen were "on their heels" as the game wore on, due to early struggles.

"When you start to play with any sort of hesitancy, you're in trouble," Helfrich said. "We had a few of those things, and that shows up in the form of footwork and assignments and communication. That's a place, on the offensive line, where you can't survive in a phone booth. You've got to survive together."

Oregon's coaches and players expressed their confidence in starting quarterback Dakota Prukop following Saturday's game, while also acknowledging the final drive conducted by backup Justin Herbert.

In his second appearance of the season, Herbert completed 3-of-5 passes for 70 yards, including a 63-yard catch-and-run by Jacob Breeland that set up a rushing touchdown by Herbert himself.

"He showed some good signs of what he's done in practice," Helfrich said.

Stanford was one of a couple of Ducks who needed help leaving the field from team medical staff following injuries, with another being linebacker Johnny Ragin III.

Helfrich said Sunday the team was still awaiting a complete diagnosis on those situations, after initial testing done after the Ducks returned to Eugene.

"We don't have a firm conclusion; part of that is good and part of that is too be determined," he said.

Helfrich added that linebacker Troy Dye's absence had "nothing to do with discipline."