After last Thursday’s 61-55 win over Arizona State in triple overtime, Mark Helfrich and the Ducks turn their attention to Cal. Helfrich spoke to the media on Sunday in his weekly Sunday teleconference.
What stood out to you after watching the game on film?
A couple huge plays on special teams that we got done. Special teams, we knew we had to create some things. Offensively, (we) had some very uncharacteristic assignment mistakes. There are always those things that are hidden that can certainly come up and bite you at the end of a game like that.
What is the status on DeForest (Buckner) and how do you expect to use him this week against Cal? Seems like opponents have been able to create Cal’s mistakes because they are getting pressure on Jared.
His status is that he is an excellent football player and we anticipate him to rush like heck and stop the run. And yes, people are getting very creative in how they’ve protected him, blocked him in various ways.
Giving up the 747 yards. How concerning is that?
Well, sure. We don’t want to give up that many yards. We want to outscore our opponent. Again, there was some opportunities to end drives with turnovers, to get guys on the ground, missed tackles, missed fits, leverages, all those things that you keep hammering on. Unfortunately, we took turns in breaking down. Have to get that fixed.
From the outside, it looks like the program has gotten some positive momentum. Obviously (the) first consecutive wins of the season. Does a two-game winning streak provide a boost of enthusiasm or are the guys the same as ever?
Well, we’ll find out tomorrow. But certainly: you want that to create some confidence and again, attention to detail on all the things we’re talking about whether it is end of the game situations, taking advantages of opportunities to end the game offensively when they present themselves, taking ownership in the film.
Looking at what Jared Goff has done first part of the year when they jumped out to that winning streak: what exactly have you seen other teams do that you might try to use when you put pressure on Jared this week?
He’s a fantastic player. They got off to a great non-conference start. Had a very favorable opener. All those things helped out with their stats, their confidence. But he is a fantastic player. It’s not just him (though). All their receivers can make plays and are scary.
Over the weekend, you kind of downplayed the effect of signaling and stealing signs. Obviously the white sheets come out. Is that something will continue throughout the season?
Perhaps. That’s part of the deal. Like I told you guys before, we’ve changed a lot of not only the mechanics, but what we do from a signaling standpoint as different. Part of it is just trying to be operational security going forward.
In the future, would you like to see some kind of effort to have a league office centralized how replays are run or do you think it’s ok every stadium running its own?
Some people have talked about having a uniform, just blanket college football officials association where it’s not done conference to conference to conference. I think that’s been blocked in some form or fashion by the individual conferences in keeping the control of them in house. I think there’s strengths and weaknesses to all that. There’s going to be mistakes both ways. You just have to work through them the best you can.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim