One more non-conference opponent remains for the 15th-ranked Ducks before Pac-12 play begins in earnest the following Saturday at Stanford.

Coming off last week’s 77-6 destruction of Nevada, Saturday’s game vs. FCS opponent Montana provides an opportunity to fine tune some things before the rubber really meets road over the next several weeks. To this point, however, the Ducks have appeared battle-ready, as Oregon’s performance in last week’s dominating victory and the narrow loss to Auburn – which could have just as easily resulted in a win – has demonstrated that the Ducks have the capacity to be the team they were billed to be during the offseason build-up.

With the Grizzlies on deck, WFOD takes a look at the biggest questions surrounding the Ducks heading into Saturday.

1. Will we see the same kind of dominance from the defense for a second straight week?

We’re only two weeks into the 2019 season for the Ducks, but it already feels somewhat foolish bet to bet against this Oregon defense, especially when facing off against an opponent that should pose even less of a challenge – on paper – compared to Nevada. If you’ve been out of cell phone range the past couple weeks, you’ve missed quite a bit, as it appears the Ducks are in possession of one of their most dominant defensive units in recent memory.

Through two games versus decent to above-average competition in Auburn and Nevada, the Ducks have held opponents to an average of 287.5 yards of total offense (143 passing yards, 144.5 rushing yards), four yards per play, and have forced an average of three turnovers per contest. Couple that with the 20 tackles for loss they’ve accumulated as a unit (which ranks tied for eighth nationally), and you get a strong sense of what this group is capable of moving forward. It’s tough to expect the Ducks to repeat everything they accomplished last week vs. the Wolf Pack, but then again, given what this defense has displayed thus far, perhaps we need to adjust our expectations to fit an all new norm.

2. Will we see more from the running game?

If there’s been one thing missing from the Ducks’ offensive attack the past couple weeks, it’s been the lack of pop seen from Oregon’s ground game. It’s an issue that’s persisted since last season, as the Ducks averaged 179.4 yards rushing per game in 2018 – their lowest rushing average as a team since 2005 (134.3 yards/game). This is an odd development considering both Mario Cristobal’s expertise as an offensive line coach and the tremendous wealth of experience and depth the Ducks have possessed in the offensive trenches the past two seasons.

The lackluster performance on the ground can be in part attributed to the relative inexperience the Ducks have at running back in primary ball carriers CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, though both players were solid enough as freshmen in 2018, combining to gain 1,757 yards. One can also blame the slow start in 2019 on facing a rugged Auburn defensive front in the season opener. That, plus a quick-strike performance from the Oregon passing attack last week vs. Nevada, are legit enough reasons for why the ground game hasn’t quite hit its stride, at least statistically speaking. Still, this is not a team that has been able to replicate anything close to what the Ducks produced on the ground from 2007 to 2017, either statistically or aesthetically.

Over the last 12 months, much has been made about offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and his abilities (or perhaps inabilities) as a play-caller, particularly on passing downs. But the truth is, the Ducks haven’t exactly lived up to the very thing Cristobal and running backs coach Jim Mastro have stressed they would be when Cristobal took over before the end of the 2017 season – a physical, punch you in the mouth team that owns the line of scrimmage. Against Montana, they’ll have a ripe opportunity to start changing the tenor of that conversation.

3. When will Oregon’s starters exit the game?

Without overlooking Montana too much, it’s an honest question to ask, especially considering the way Oregon dismantled Nevada – a respectable Group of Five team from the Mountain West – last week. The Ducks will no doubt aim to repeat their performance from last Saturday, and should be largely successful in doing so. Less so even compared to Nevada, the Grizzlies simply do not have the horses to make this a four quarter contest, despite the fact they’re a blue blood program at the FCS level. If you’re placing a friendly wager with your buddies or co-workers, it probably safe to bet that the first-string units on both offense and defense won’t be in the game much past halftime.