When the No. 11 Oregon Duck football team jumped out to an early 31-7 lead against visiting Arizona State last weekend at Autzen Stadium, it looked as though it had all but forgotten about their dramatic upset in Palo Alto, Calif., the week prior.
 
The Ducks came out firing with a five-play, 59-yard drive that took just 57 seconds and resulted in a LaMichael James four-yard touchdown scamper. Before the conclusion of the first half, James had tallied 119 yards and three touchdowns and it was clear that Oregon was refocused and ready for the final push to the postseason. “We know we have to clean up our game,” junior linebacker Casey Matthews said. “We now what we have to do.”
 
But first-year head coach Chip Kelly has continued with his message of taking things one day at a time and has not let any of his players overlook the game at hand — especially with a team like Arizona.
 
“Arizona’s been good every year since I’ve been here,” Kelly said. “We lost to them two years ago down there, and then beat them in a shootout up here. So I’ve always thought Arizona was a real, real tough team to play since I’ve been here.”
 
Last season the Ducks jumped out to a similar lead to that of the ASU game last weekend, in which Oregon led 48-17 going into halftime before giving up 28 straight points to the Wildcats after intermission. But with 3:38 left to play, Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount sealed the 55-45 Duck victory with a 40-yard touchdown run to counter Arizona’s Keola Antolin’s three-touchdown performance in the fourth quarter.
 
Blount was officially reinstated and in uniform against the Sun Devils last weekend, though Kelly decided not to play him.
 
“How do I justify to another player that this kid just came back, but he’s going to play over you,” Kelly said. “Every week is a competition at every position that we play.”
 
That competition has led to some inspiring play from the Ducks this season as they’ve established themselves as a particularly resilient group. In the absence of senior cornerbacks Walter Thurmond III and Willie Glasper — as well as senior T.J. Ward for almost half the season — the Ducks young secondary sits atop the Pac-10 standings allowing just 181.3 yards per game through the air.
 
Sophomore defensive back Javes Lewis leads the Ducks with 66 tackles on the year, including 4.5 tackles for loss with two sacks and two interceptions. Fellow first-year starter freshman John Boyett ranks second on the team with 62 tackles — tied with Matthews — and has managed to stay in the rotation despite the return of Ward to the lineup.
 
In the five games that he’s played in 2009, Ward has recorded 46 tackles (9.2 per game) and also pulled down the game-ending interception against USC’s Matt Barkley on
Halloween night.
 
“When our numbers get called, you have to be ready to play,” Ward said. “If your name is called, you have to be ready to go in and make some plays.”
 
Junior cornerback Talmadge Jackson III has had done just that this year as he ranks fifth in the Pac-10 in interceptions with three — including a 32-yard interception return for a
touchdown against UCLA — to lead the Ducks, and has also recorded 38 tackles on the year.
 
“Talmadge has stepped up,” Ward continued. “Talmadge is a veteran. He played as a true freshman. He’s a veteran and it’s expected, but he’s a good player.”
 
And while the Ducks still sit atop the Pac-10 standings and control their own destiny for the postseason, Kelly is still adamant about winning each day, saying, “All that matters to us
is Arizona.”
 
Kelly hasn’t ever addressed the Rose Bowl potential directly, but he understands how delicate the process can be to reach the top.
 
“If you want to get to the top of the mountain, you better concentrate on your next step,” Kelly said. “Or you’re going to fall off that mountain.”
 
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