It’s going to be hard to top Oregon’s week 1 performance on Saturday. The Ducks scored a program-record 81 points against Portland State in the season opener, and now look forward to a much more formidable challenge.
The first road game of the year brings a few familiar faces. Texas Tech will be led by former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough as the Red Raiders try to bounce back from last week's disappointing overtime loss to Wyoming. On the defensive side, things will look a little familiar as former Oregon defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter is now part of the Texas Tech staff and might be looking forward to this game more than usual.
As we get closer to game day, Dan Lanning has his team amped up to go into enemy territory. The energy from Week 1 has carried over seamlessly, with Lanning, Bo Nix, and other players, all talking to media this week about the matchup.
Before the Ducks take the flight to Lubbock, here are five takeaways from the week of ahead of Game 2.
Show up every game
It would be rather easy for the Ducks to be overconfident heading into Week 2. The game was close to perfect, with good defense, explosive offense, and very few penalties.
Things won’t be as easy on Saturday. Texas Tech, though starting the season with a loss, has a team talented enough to make things interesting.
“This is the kind of game where you can’t just show up one game,” Lanning said. “This has to be who you are all year, right? We want to be the same team we’ve been all year and focus on who we are moving forward. You are who you put on film. No matter if it’s this game or the next game or the game after that, who you are has to show up every game, your DNA traits have to show up every game.”
Following Texas Tech, the Ducks have one more game before conference play begins. As of now, half the Pac-12 is ranked in the top 25. If Oregon wants to continue this success, the same team will have to keep showing up.
