Oregon coaches, players, and fans know all too well just how much of a wild, emotional roller coaster ride it has been for the program of late.
In back-to-back weeks, the Ducks have staved off defeat by engineering second half comebacks against a pair of Pacific Northwest rivals that required a level of resilience and cool that had often eluded this team over the better part of the previous three seasons. The heart-stopping wins have also been necessary insofar as sustaining Oregon’s rapidly improving chances of crashing the College Football Playoff; a party that the Ducks were without much of a invite to following their narrow season-opening loss to Auburn in Arlington.
But is it possible that the wins from the past two weeks have come at the expense of the Ducks’ emotional reserves?
On the road at Washington two Saturdays ago, Oregon needed to overcome a 14-point deficit in the second half before clinging to a win that unofficially clinched the Pac-12 North division title. Immediately after, coaches and players unabashedly and rightfully celebrated on the field, in the stands, and in the locker room. The buzz around the program had full on returned and chatter about “an outside chance” of earning a berth to the College Football Playoff began burbling to the surface.
This past weekend vs. Washington State, the Ducks found themselves in a four-quarter fight with a Cougar team that has owned Oregon in their head-to-head series of late, showing no signs of intimation playing in front of a raucous Autzen Stadium crowd. Yet, after surrendering an 11-point second half lead and trailing by one with a minute to play in regulation, Justin Herbert directed a game-winning drive capped by off by a walk-off 26-yard field goal by Camden Lewis. Immediately after, the team swarmed Lewis, fans swarmed the field, and a fanbase from coast-to-coast breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The buzz around the program has since has reached full throat, as the hopeful chatter around Oregon’s chances to make the College Football Playoff have moved from “outside chance” to “right in the thick of it” after three top 10 teams were toppled this past Saturday.
Of course, this isn’t at all to suggest the wins haven’t been worth it. A win on the road against your most bitter rival and a win at home against a divisional foe that has won four straight head-to-head matchups are games that you would expect to be hard fought and savored once victory is seized. But the college football season is a physical and mental grind as is, and when coupled with successive victories that demand your emotional stores be emptied, it can be a difficult thing to avoid the hangover and find the energy to ratchet up the intensity the following week.
Which is exactly what the Ducks must do as they prepare for arguably their toughest remaining test of the regular season on the road this Saturday at USC.
As critical as the wins have been leading up to this point, Saturday’s game in Los Angeles takes on a whole new level of importance, not to mention pressure, for the Ducks. A win not only brings Oregon a step closer to officially clinching the division crown, but it also clears a major hurdle as the Ducks close in on a potential College Football Playoff bid that could become more and more attainable with each passing week. The game at USC also carries with it tremendous weight as it relates to the message that the Ducks can send to recruits in the L.A. area and across the nation. A message that affirms Oregon has re-established itself as a West Coast and national power by earning a victory over a program that retains blue blood status despite the shortcomings on the field in recent years. It’s a task that must be accomplished with a coach who is navigating these choppy waters for the first time as the man in charge, leading a team who – despite showing well – is still learning how to handle prosperity.
Add it all up, and the accounting makes it clear that this weekend in SoCal will test this team in ways they have not yet been tested – both physically and mentally – before reaching what will undoubtedly be a much welcomed bye week.
If you’re a Duck fan, you just hope there’s enough left in the tank to get them up and over this looming and formidable hump.
Top Photo: Oregon RB CJ Verdell (Jenny Rydstedt/Whole Flock of Ducks)