The bye week for Oregon is firmly in the books, and while the timing of the open date seemingly came at the perfect time for the Ducks, the anticipation for Saturday’s game vs. Cal inside Autzen Stadium is palpable.

It’s true, the matchup between the Ducks and Bears has lost a little luster since last week, as Cal was handed their first loss of the year to Arizona State last Friday, in addition to losing starting quarterback Chase Garbers to injury for an extended period of time. However, with the race for the Pac-12 North division crown beginning to thin somewhat, there’s an opportunity for Oregon to further cement itself as a primary contender for the Pac-12 Championship Game with a victory over the Golden Bears.

With the restart of the season just two sleeps away, WFOD takes a look at the biggest questions for the Ducks entering Saturday’s tilt vs. Cal.

1. How much will we see of Brenden Schooler and Mycah Pittman?

This is one of the biggest questions surrounding the Ducks coming off the bye. Though both Schooler and Pittman had long been expected to return from their fall camp injuries this upcoming weekend, neither had been officially “cleared” to play in the game until Wednesday, when Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal confirmed that both players would see the field vs. Cal. How much of the field they see, however, is another question entirely.

Before suffering their injuries, both Schooler and Pittman were viewed as primary weapons for Justin Herbert and the Oregon passing attack entering the year. Regarded as the most experienced member of the Ducks’ wide receiver room, Schooler’s leadership and versatility were two qualities that went missing in action once he went down with a foot injury in early August. Now listed behind Bryan Addison on the depth chart, it will be interesting to see if Schooler can quickly overtake the redshirt freshman for reps on the field, or if two end up in a timeshare over the next several weeks.

Pittman’s situation may be even more intriguing by comparison. Lauded as a star over the first half of fall camp, Pittman appeared well on his way to being arguably the top receiving option in this offense despite his freshman status. In fact, prior to his injury, we openly questioned whether Pittman was the offense’s most indispensable player (outside of Herbert), which speaks somewhat to the hype he had generated before injuring his shoulder. Now healthy, the question is, 1) Can Pittman can pick up where he left off in mid-August and 2) How does he fit into the rotation with players like Jaylon Redd and Johnny Johnson playing at a high level over the last four to five weeks.

We may not receive fully formed answers this weekend, but we should get a good sense of how this situation will develop moving forward.

2. Did the bye week help Oregon’s running game?

Outside of the healthy return of a few wide receivers, the biggest headline surrounding this team is whether the running game has found its stride coming out of the bye week. To Cristobal’s credit, he was fairly candid during his bye week press conference about the state of his team’s rushing attack, plainly stating that what has been seen over the first several weeks of the regular season is simply not good enough. The question, however, is what has been done to improve what has been hands down the most perplexing issue facing this team in 2019.

Maybe the cure for Oregon’s inconsistencies on the ground is as simple as adding weapons like Schooler and Pittman back into an offense that was piecemeal-ing its way through the first quarter of the season. After all, despite the presence of a quarterback of Justin Herbert’s caliber, opposing defenses didn’t necessarily have to respect the Oregon passing game with its limited options. With Schooler and Pittman back in the mix, perhaps that forces defenses to commit fewer defenders to stopping the run, opening up opportunities for CJ Verdell and Travis Dye to produce on the ground. There’s been plenty of blame to go around, but whatever the issues may be, Saturday kind of feels like a now or never opportunity for the Oregon rushing offense this season.

3. Can the Duck defense extend their streak of holding opponents without a touchdown?

The idea of the Oregon defense extending their streak of holding opponents without a touchdown to four games seemed notably less likely a week ago when we didn’t know the Golden Bears would be without quarterback Chase Garbers. However, now that we know that Garbers will be sidelined due to injury, it seems well within the realm of possibility that defensive coordinator Andy Avalos’ group could make that hope a reality.

In relief of Garbers last week vs. Arizona State, Cal backup quarterback Devon Modster struggled to find the mark against a rugged Sun Devil defense, finishing the game completing just 5-of-14 passes for 23 yards and one interception. That challenge figures to only intensify this week on the road at Oregon against a team that leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense, passing defense, total defense (including yards per play), sacks, tackles for loss, and opponent third down conversion percentage. On the whole, Cal will present the stiffest challenge the Ducks have faced since squaring off against Auburn in the season opener. However, with the Cal offense in a state of disarray that has only been worsened by the injury to Garbers, it may be a smart money play to bet on the Ducks to extend their streak of stinginess.