The Ducks must manage the long grind of the season--trap games, let downs, emotional highs and lows, tough matchups.
In week three of last year's 9-4 campaign the Ducks looked sluggish in a 35-22 win over San Jose State in Autzen Stadium.
Johnny Johnson III and Cyrus Habibi-Likio each scored a pair of touchdowns, but the Ducks never really put away from the Spartans. They struggled a little with a more-physical-than-expected SJS defensive line and had just 134 yards rushing. Sacked once and thrown off his game throughout, Justin Herbert threw a pair of interceptions, completing only 16 of 34 attempts.
The visitors hung tough. They trailed 21-6 at the half and 28-12 at the end of the third quarter. Mario Cristobal's inaugural squad never pulled away enough to get comfortable, failing to get Tyler Shough some much-needed snaps. Only 18 players recorded a stat on defense. There were breakdowns and an overall lack of sharpness.
In the week that followed the game Scott Reed made the point that it's impossible for a college football team to approach every game and every practice at peak intensity. The season is too long, the challenges too varied. Sometimes, Reed said, it's necessary to let talent win out, accepting the fact that you have to space out the full-throttle, good-on-good workouts and the fired-up game days.
August 2nd to the second week of January is a crucible, particularly since it follows the Fourth Quarter program, spring ball and player-led workouts. There have to be some light days. Wins, even routine, muck-through-it, not-quite-sharp wins, are progress. Stack up the progress, build good habits and correct mistakes. Struggling occasionally, being sluggish or sore or not at a peak is all part of the process, learning how to play for championships. The key is to find that extra gear for big moments, knowing how to reach down when things aren't going well, particularly on the road.
Right now the Ducks are in training camp. After the initial excitement fades of being back at it, there is drudgery. The heat. The meetings. The morning to lights out burden of focusing on football with just a few days off. Grabbing a nap in any corner of the complex where you can stretch out. The pressure of competing for jobs and playing time. Having your head crammed with the complex details of modern football, film study and white board oral quizzes. Running a drill or a play for the eighth time in a row.
As players, sometimes it's necessary to fully commit to the old military mantra, "embrace the suck." There's not much pleasant about a 90-minute meeting after a two hour practice in 93 degree heat. It takes a lot of trust to work this hard on Wednesday when you've given every ounce of energy to Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. Monday was a day off but you lifted weights.
When the season begins, the Ducks open with a bright lights and national spotlight game against Auburn, but that's followed with two very routine tuneups versus Nevada and Montana. The home opener generates a certain amount of juice, but by the time the Grizzlies come west for their payday the squad will have spent seven weeks working full-time at football. Another midweek practice begins to feel like a day at the cannery.
Cristobal and his staff have instilled a tremendously positive culture from the wreckage of 4-8 in 2016 and three head coaches in three years. The bodies look different now. The talent level has risen exponentially. But the ability to keep eyes on the prize and maintain attentiveness to team goals, that has to come from within, from internal leadership.
Every season brings highs and lows and moments of crisis, moments of unbelievable pressure, moments of opportunity. After opening PAC-12 play with a tough road game at Stanford, the Ducks get their first bye on September 28th, just as classes begin for fall term.
Coming out of the bye, they host a tough and physical Cal team led by all--conference linebacker Evan Weaver, who had a league-leading 158 tackles last year. Then in what may be the season's most difficult turnaround they play a Friday night game, hosting Colorado just six days later. The Buffs feature the conference's leading returning receiver Laviska Shenault, plus a four-year starter at quarterback in Steven Montez. Montez engineered an upset of the Ducks in his last visit to Autzen, throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start in 2016.
Eight days later the Ducks travel to Seattle to face the two-time conference champion Huskies, bent on revenge after an overtime loss to Oregon last October. It'll be loud and hostile. Though rebuilding on defense, Washington features a veteran offensive line led by tackle Trey Adams and center Nick Harris, both all-league players. Dangerous senior receiver Aaron Fuller had 58 catches for 874 yards last season. Salvon Ahmed takes over at tailback for the departed Myles Gaskin; he's faster and more explosive.
Win or lose in this rematch, Mike Leach and Washington State come to Eugene a week later. Leach owns a 4-game winning streak over the Ducks. By then he will have fully plugged in the next 4000-yard passer into the Cougar scoring machine. On paper Andy Avalos' defense is much better equipped to match up with them, much deeper in the secondary and more experienced, yet Leach never makes it easy.
In November the Ducks have to survive road games at USC and Arizona State. The Sun Devils boast the league's best running back in Eno Benjamin. Benjamin shredded defenses for 1,642 yards last year, 1030 after contact. He generates incredible power and leg drive at 5-10, 201, the perfect back for the kind of wear-an-opponent-down offense Herm Edwards wants to play.
There will be weeks where Cristobal's crew has to gear up for a maximum emotional effort, and weeks where they just have to take care of business. A second bye falls between a road game at USC and a home game versus Arizona on November 16. Little went right for the Ducks last year against the Wildcats: Kahlil Tate threw for three touchdowns as Oregon turned in perhaps their worst, flattest performance of the year, falling 44-15 to an Arizona squad that managed just three other victories in conference play, 5-7 on the year.
To meet some lofty expectations this season the 2019 team may have to manage a tough loss and they will have to handle success. A brilliant September puts a target on their backs. A disappointing one creates the challenge to regroup and stay committed. With their Nike millions and cool uniforms, everyone likes beating the Ducks. Justin Herbert, Calvin Throckmorton, Lamar Winston and Troy Dye have to convince this group they like winning a little more than the rest of the PAC-12 North.
Their reward for achieving all that might be facing a very experienced and tough Utah squad in Santa Clara for the PAC-12 Championship. But there a lot of challenges to manage in order to get there.
