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5 Things To Watch: WSU
10/20/23 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The ninth-ranked Ducks will host Washington State on Saturday (12:30 p.m., ABC).
EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 9 Oregon football team will try to rebound from its first loss of the season when the Ducks return home to host Washington State in Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
The Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) saw a five-game winning streak to open the season end last weekend in Seattle. The Cougars (4-2, 1-2) also are looking to get right after dropping their past two games, to UCLA and Arizona.
Oregon leads the all-time series between the two, 51-42-7, including 22-18-4 in Eugene. The Ducks have won four straight in the series, on the heels of a four-game WSU winning streak from 2015-18.
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 12:40 p.m. kickoff on ABC, with play by play from Bob Wischusen, analysis from Greg McElroy and sideline reporting by Molly McGrath.
Some storylines to watch come kickoff Saturday …
1. The Ducks are trying to summon a bounce-back performance Saturday, but they can't go overboard.
In practice Monday, GPS data showed increased workload from the team in its return to the field following last week's loss. But the following day, they might have pushed it a little too hard, UO coach Dan Lanning said.
"I'd say the passion and intensity was a little too much (Tuesday)," he said. And we've got to level that out because there's a rule of diminishing returns to where, when you have so much juice you can't focus on the job at hand. And (Wednesday) that was much better. Now, there was definitely intensity out there on the field, but it's (about) leveling that out and feeling where that passion is at."
2. The Cougars are coming off a couple frustrating performances themselves, and also are looking to channel those emotions in a positive way Saturday.
Through four games, WSU was 4-0 and had scored at least 31 points in each game. During the recent two-game losing streak, the Cougars have a total of 23 points, including a 44-6 loss to Arizona last week.
The Ducks aren't letting their guard down, though.
"They've been able to create explosive plays really throughout the year, regardless of the opponent," Lanning said. "They have to care of the ball, and I think that's happened a few times where they haven't been able take care of the ball as well. But the talent is certainly there, and the quarterback — Cam (Ward) is really a special player."
3. In a conference packed with elite quarterback, Washington State's Ward commands plenty of respect from the Ducks.
Though Ward didn't reach 200 passing yards in either of WSU's two losses, his quick release and ability to extend plays with his feet make him a daunting challenge for any defensive front.
"I think he probably has the quickest release of any quarterback that we've seen," Lanning said. "His scrambling ability is bar none. And it's not just scrambling; he just does not go down. The guy is really hard to tackle when you do get back there. You'll see people hanging on to him, and he shrugs them off and creates an explosive play."
4. After some critical fourth-down decisions didn't go Oregon's way in Seattle, Lanning spent the early part of this week analyzing those situations and his decision-making.
Would he do anything different in hindsight? Perhaps. Will he remain aggressive going forward when the situations feels prudent? Absolutely.
"I'll say this: Like, if I knew none of them were going to work you would change every situation, right?" Lanning said. "That's not the way those decisions work. Here's the hard part when you sit in this seat and I make decisions — one, I'm a big boy, I can handle criticism. And that's going to come and it's deserved in this position. That's the way it works. I trust our players, I trust our coaches, and if we have opportunities to win games, I'm going to be aggressive to win games."
5. To be sure, Oregon wants to summon winning efforts every week, regardless of where the game is played.
But if you're looking to get right, there's no better place for the Ducks to be playing than Autzen Stadium.
"Sold-out game, I know our crowd will be amazing, as always," Lanning said. "They always bring it, and I think being able to have this game at Autzen, it's going to be a lot of fun."
The Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) saw a five-game winning streak to open the season end last weekend in Seattle. The Cougars (4-2, 1-2) also are looking to get right after dropping their past two games, to UCLA and Arizona.
Oregon leads the all-time series between the two, 51-42-7, including 22-18-4 in Eugene. The Ducks have won four straight in the series, on the heels of a four-game WSU winning streak from 2015-18.
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 12:40 p.m. kickoff on ABC, with play by play from Bob Wischusen, analysis from Greg McElroy and sideline reporting by Molly McGrath.
Some storylines to watch come kickoff Saturday …
1. The Ducks are trying to summon a bounce-back performance Saturday, but they can't go overboard.
In practice Monday, GPS data showed increased workload from the team in its return to the field following last week's loss. But the following day, they might have pushed it a little too hard, UO coach Dan Lanning said.
"I'd say the passion and intensity was a little too much (Tuesday)," he said. And we've got to level that out because there's a rule of diminishing returns to where, when you have so much juice you can't focus on the job at hand. And (Wednesday) that was much better. Now, there was definitely intensity out there on the field, but it's (about) leveling that out and feeling where that passion is at."
2. The Cougars are coming off a couple frustrating performances themselves, and also are looking to channel those emotions in a positive way Saturday.
Through four games, WSU was 4-0 and had scored at least 31 points in each game. During the recent two-game losing streak, the Cougars have a total of 23 points, including a 44-6 loss to Arizona last week.
The Ducks aren't letting their guard down, though.
"They've been able to create explosive plays really throughout the year, regardless of the opponent," Lanning said. "They have to care of the ball, and I think that's happened a few times where they haven't been able take care of the ball as well. But the talent is certainly there, and the quarterback — Cam (Ward) is really a special player."
3. In a conference packed with elite quarterback, Washington State's Ward commands plenty of respect from the Ducks.
Though Ward didn't reach 200 passing yards in either of WSU's two losses, his quick release and ability to extend plays with his feet make him a daunting challenge for any defensive front.
"I think he probably has the quickest release of any quarterback that we've seen," Lanning said. "His scrambling ability is bar none. And it's not just scrambling; he just does not go down. The guy is really hard to tackle when you do get back there. You'll see people hanging on to him, and he shrugs them off and creates an explosive play."
4. After some critical fourth-down decisions didn't go Oregon's way in Seattle, Lanning spent the early part of this week analyzing those situations and his decision-making.
Would he do anything different in hindsight? Perhaps. Will he remain aggressive going forward when the situations feels prudent? Absolutely.
"I'll say this: Like, if I knew none of them were going to work you would change every situation, right?" Lanning said. "That's not the way those decisions work. Here's the hard part when you sit in this seat and I make decisions — one, I'm a big boy, I can handle criticism. And that's going to come and it's deserved in this position. That's the way it works. I trust our players, I trust our coaches, and if we have opportunities to win games, I'm going to be aggressive to win games."
5. To be sure, Oregon wants to summon winning efforts every week, regardless of where the game is played.
But if you're looking to get right, there's no better place for the Ducks to be playing than Autzen Stadium.
"Sold-out game, I know our crowd will be amazing, as always," Lanning said. "They always bring it, and I think being able to have this game at Autzen, it's going to be a lot of fun."
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