Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti challenged his team’s defense after Saturday’s 44-10 loss to No. 8 Southern California, saying in a post-game broadcast interview he would “throw down the gauntlet” to his defensive coaches and players.
“We have to change some things that we do,” he said.
So far this week the defensive changes, whether in scheme or personnel, remain to be seen.
Senior defensive end Nick Reed said he agrees with the coach and the defense is ready to pick up that gauntlet.
“Anytime someone scores 44 points on us, something definitely needs to be done,” he said. “We always like a challenge. I love a challenge. It’s time we stepped up.”
Whatever adjustments the coaching staff makes this week, it seems many Ducks would prefer not to look back at Saturday’s loss for answers to the questions that surround the team as it moves forward.
“There’s no moral victories,” said senior center Max Unger. “Nothing you really can take away that’s even remotely positive.”
“It’s just watch the film, put it away, move on,” said Reed. “Learn from it and, like someone said today, ‘flush it down the toilet’ and be done with it.”
But the Ducks have known midseason disappointment in recent years, and how the team reacts to these kinds of setbacks has come to define those seasons. On several occasions in the past decade, the Ducks have faded down the stretch after hot starts and high national rankings.
Reed pointed out some differences between recent seasons and the Ducks’ current situation.
“We feel like times before when we’ve fallen apart at the end it was personnel issues, people coming in who weren’t ready to play. We had trouble replacing people,” he said. “This is more just getting everything shored up and getting everyone working together.”
Unger, a four-year starter who has also seen his share of midseason setbacks, agreed this team won’t begin to slide as a result of one loss.
“I don’t see it going that way,” he said. “As long as we stay healthy we still have a whole bunch of weapons we can use.”
Bellotti said this team has too much pride to lower its expectations for the season.
“We have a lot of pride,” he said. “I like this group of young men – in fact, I love this group of young men. They’re awesome in that regard, but my love for them is not going to win football games, they’re going to win the football games.”
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