Not unlike last week’s matchup versus Portland State, it will likely take an act of God in order to disrupt any plans the Ducks have as it relates to winning Saturday afternoon’s game versus San Jose State.
The Spartans come to Eugene sporting an 0-2 record after being handed defeats from UC Davis (a five-win team at the FCS level a season ago) and Washington State, who pitched a 31-0 shut out of San Jose State last week in Pullman. Exacerbating the circumstances for the Spartans heading into the weekend is the fact they also have one of the nation’s worst pass defenses, as they currently rank 129th out of 130 FBS teams (433 yards allowed per game) in that category. That number could balloon even more on Saturday as the San Jose State defense sets to face Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, who Duck fans – and much of the nation – regard as the country’s top signal-caller.
With all that said, these games aren’t played on paper. Below we take a look at Oregon’s keys to victory/how fans and the team should define success (beyond earning the “W”) come Saturday.
1. Maintain focus
In some ways, it feels like the Ducks have been forced to pen up their emotions and excitement for the 2018 season. To this point, their play on the field hasn’t suggested a lack of focus or effort – the Ducks have steamrolled each of their first two opponents – but there’s a sense (at least from this perch) that this team is holding back, waiting for the right time to truly cut it loose on the field.
Certainly, a large part of this sentiment has to with the caliber of opponents that have appeared on Oregon’s non-conference schedule. Teams such as Bowling Green, Portland State, and San Jose State do little to strike fear into the heart of a program who has enjoyed as much recent success as the Ducks have. Yet, these opponents do require their own certain level of focus and attention to detail. These are habit-forming games, where earning the win is important (if not expected) but almost secondary to the way in which you win. Mental mistakes, a lack of discipline, and sloppy play in general can be crystallized in games versus overmatched opponents and carried over into games against tougher competition where these inconsistencies are magnified and more easily exploited.
The key for Oregon on Saturday is to simply stay focused on the task at hand and perform up to expectations. The last thing this team needs is to finish this game with a sour taste in their mouth and a regretful attitude heading into what is shaping up to be a monumental conference opener versus Stanford.
2. Develop depth
Saturday’s game versus San Jose State offers yet another prime opportunity for the Ducks to get better and further develop as a team. This is particularly true of Oregon’s second, third, and fourth-string units, where the opportunities for playing time and development are much less of a given compared to the group of players that more or less comprise the Ducks’ starting 22. During the Chip Kelly era, the Ducks were masterful at jumping out to massive early leads before turning it over to the reserves to autopilot things home. As a result, those teams rarely lacked quality depth, which in turn helped produce some of the most successful teams in school history.
While San Jose State may not pose a legit challenge to the Ducks on Saturday, there is still tremendous value to be extracted by throttling an inferior opponent and allowing your depth to earn meaningful in-game reps.
3. Stay out of the training room
Much like last week, escaping this week’s game without suffering major injury or a rash of injuries is critically important. With Stanford looming on the horizon, the Ducks will need all hands on deck, and getting a dealt a serious blow on the injury front would be an unfortunate break for a program that has had September 22 circled on the calendar for quite some time.