In many respects, Oregon’s performance last Saturday on the road at Washington State was an outlier based on what we’ve seen throughout the season. In the first half against the Cougs, the Ducks appeared unorganized, undisciplined, and unprepared, which played no small part in Oregon’s stunning 27-point deficit heading into halftime; a deficit that ultimately proved too much to overcome despite a spirited comeback attempt in the second half.

Though perhaps not as daunting as last week’s challenge, the Ducks are back on the road this week as they south to Tucson to take on the Arizona Wildcats, a club that has been more or less rudderless since the start of the season.

With a prime opportunity to get back in the win column, WFOD addresses the burning questions entering Saturday’s contest.

1. Is this the week we see a complete four-quarter performance from Oregon?

If there were ever a week for Oregon to flex on an opponent, this would be the week. The environment and hype around last week’s game in Pullman would have been difficult for virtually any team to overcome, but Oregon’s first half of ineptitude versus Washington State rivals anything we can recall in recent memory (2007 at UCLA and 2009 at Boise State are the most immediate games that come to mind). Not only that, but the first half horror show was was unlike anything we had seen from Oregon until that point this season. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Ducks under Mario Cristobal have made a habit of starting games exuding composure and preparation. It hasn’t been until the second half when Oregon has typically shown very real vulnerabilities.

With the loss to the Cougars officially in the rearview mirror, and with a very winnable road contest before them, this needs to be the week in which Oregon’s killer instinct reveals itself. Three of the Ducks’ four previous opponents didn’t really allow for complete four-quarter performances, and Oregon’s win at Cal came on the heels of a devastating loss at home to Stanford the week before. This time around, there are no excuses. Yes, the Ducks are as banged up as they’ve been all season, but with their top playmakers on both offense and defense still intact and at their disposal, this needs to be a statement victory that proves Oregon is still a serious threat in the conference race.

2. With new faces in new places along the offensive line, do we see more consistency this week?

Popular opinion assumed the Ducks would skip nary a beat along the offensive line in the aftermath of Penei Sewell’s ankle injury versus Washington. Sure, Sewell was well on his way to be being a Freshman All-American after quickly establishing himself as a major contributor at left tackle, but there is overwhelming confidence in Oregon’s reserves. So much so that Cristobal himself considered redshirt junior Brady Aiello a defacto co-starter despite having yet started a game this season.

While confidence remains in Aiello after he replaced Sewell in the starting lineup last week, Oregon’s first appearance without Sewell in the lineip proved to be borderline disastrous, particularly in the run game. In each of the six previous games, the Ducks had rushed for no less than 134 yards as a team and were facing a Washington State defensive front seven that, on paper, was outmatched by Oregon’s size and physicality in the trenches. That ultimately proved not to be the case, as the Cougars swarmed the Ducks at the line of scrimmage, holding them to a season-low 58 yards rushing. Certainly the hostile road environment played a role, but there’s no getting around the fact that Oregon was full on beat at the line of scrimmage. Against Arizona, more consistency upfront will be needed in order to assuage any concerns there may be regarding the offensive line and its ability to perform at a high level minus Sewell.

3. How do the Ducks handle back-to-back games on the road?

Back-to-back road games are never easy, but are even less so coming off a humbling loss. In terms of overall psyche, Oregon has largely demonstrated that it’s a mentally and emotionally resilient group under the direction of Cristobal, but Saturday’s game in Tucson will be a different kind of test that will teach a different kind of lesson. There’s no doubt that Oregon is the odds-on favorite to defeat Arizona, but do they play with the kind the sense of urgency and motivation you would expect from a team that is still alive for a Rose Bowl berth? Some dreams have been dashed for the Ducks, while others have been dimmed considerably, but it’ll be revealing to see how this team approaches and ultimately performs in this upcoming game.