The Oregon football team had a considerably difficult schedule heading into the season, but they didn’t expect it to be like this.
The No. 4 Ducks (7-1 overall, 4-1 Pacific-10 Conference) faced off against Michigan in the beginning, California in the middle, USC last week, and now, much to everyone’s surprise No. 6 Arizona State (8-0, 5-0) this weekend in what will be the second time in Autzen Stadium history when two top-10 teams face off – in consecutive weeks, no less. And finally, it’s the game that is expected to determine the winner of the conference.
“We traditionally associate the powerhouses in our conference to be USC because they’ve been the big dogs for so long,” center Max Unger said. “To think that ASU’s coming and they’re as good as they are … it’s cool though. We’re in a position to have a say in what happens in this conference and the national scheme too.”
The Ducks know it’s a big game, but they’d tell you there will be three games remaining after Saturday’s game is finished. While a win over the Sun Devils would set Oregon atop of the Pac-10 standings, the players don’t want to give the impression that this game will be their final test of the season.
Still, this week-in-and-week-out process of playing big game after big game must be wearing out the Ducks, wouldn’t it? How many times can they get excited about playing a top-10 team, or having GameDay visit?
“I think the big games make it a lot easier,” defensive end Nick Reed said. “You see the types of upsets when people aren’t prepared and go into the games cocky. That’s never a concern for a big game because that’s all everyone’s thinking about.”
With all the national attention the Ducks are receiving, they might be overwhelmed with expectations but as long as they keep their focus solely on the upcoming game, they think they’ll be fine.
“We haven’t had this highly ranked matchup (multiple times in a season), but I think we can handle it,” right tackle Geoff Schwartz said. “The hype doesn’t matter too much to us.”
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti thinks the constant hyping of each game should benefit the team rather than act as a detriment. If they want to win the conference, they better act like each consecutive game is more important than the last one.
“It’s testing us but that’s probably a good thing,” Bellotti said. “You want to be tested that way and keep yourself in a position where there are big games every week. This is the biggest.”
Schwartz also said the Ducks’ second bye of the year following Saturday’s game will help, knowing they can give everything they have against Sun Devils and rest the following week. Arizona State, meanwhile, has to win to maintain its perfect record and keep its title hopes alive.
“As big of a games as it is for us, it’s just as big for them,” Schwartz said. “It’s their biggest game so far, it’s our biggest game so far.”
That fact alone should mean the Ducks are even more motivated than their previous game. Unger said Oregon had plenty to play for in its game against USC because nearly half the team calls Southern California home. No one has Arizona listed as their home state. However, Unger said while some players might have been extra motivated to play against the Trojans, the Sun Devils record will suffice.
“What are they, 8-0? That should provide enough motivation in itself,” Unger said.
Arizona State, meanwhile, is in a similar situation. Not many predicted the Sun Devils to be battling for the conference crown and they’re facing their second big game in a row. After trailing to California at halftime, Arizona State made its typical second-half comeback and kept the Bears scoreless after halftime en route to a 31-20 win.
“I didn’t know they were going to be this good this soon,” Unger said. “Toward the beginning of the year, there wasn’t overwhelmingly impressive play but toward the end, I mean this last Cal game, they’re proving they can back it up.”
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