When Washington quarterback Jake Locker was ruled out of Saturday’s matchup with No. 1 Oregon, one might have thought the Ducks would shift their defensive game plan. After all, Locker was a 6’3″, 230-pound weapon that Chip Kelly and his staff presumably would no longer have to deal with.
Yet, for linebacker Casey Matthews and the defense, nothing had changed.
“We don’t know until Saturday, but we’re going to prepare the same way, as if he’s playing,” Matthews said. “(We’re) going to watch the same film, even when Locker’s in.”
Barring any unforeseen developments, redshirt freshman Keith Price will start in Locker’s place for Washington (3-5, 2-3 Pacific-10 Conference) at Autzen Stadium. Oregon (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) looks to remain undefeated and atop the polls on Saturday, while Washington attempts to halt a two-game losing skid.
Though the Huskies may not be at full strength, Oregon players still know this is a meaningful rivalry game.
“(It’s) a big game,” quarterback Darron Thomas said. “I heard it from some seniors earlier (Monday) morning, talking about the game. We were at USC last week, had the California guys, but now we got the Washington guys that are real big about this game.”
True to form, Kelly has left it up to the players to discuss rivalries.
“I’ve never played up a rivalry,” Kelly said. “We have twelve rivalries, no matter who we’re playing. That’s been my approach ever since I’ve taken over here.”
Even without Locker, the Huskies present some unique challenges to deal with. As Kelly points out, Locker is not the only offensive weapon that Washington has at its disposal.
“I really think Chris Polk is an outstanding running back,” Kelly said. “One of the top guys in this league. I like Jermaine Kearse a lot offensively.”
Another thing that jumped off the screen when Kelly watched film was the unpredictable nature of Washington’s schemes.
“Defensively, and offensively, they present a lot of looks,” Kelly said. “They run a lot of different formations, plays and sets on offense. They run a lot of different looks on defense, they blitz you almost 50 percent of the time, so they’re going to challenge you from a scheme standpoint.”
It will be up to Thomas to weather that storm of blitzes, a facet of his game that Kelly feels is much improved.
“Darron’s been great,” Kelly said. “You see him get better and better each game, so it’s neat to see him continue to grow and develop. He handles all our protection up there, and we’ve been sacked three times for the season. That’s a lot of credit to our offensive line, and what they can do, but also Darron getting some of our protections.”
For Thomas, the explanation is simple.
“I’m helping out the offensive line,” Thomas said. “At first they were helping me out. Now, back to helping them.”
The offense will have to be particularly wary of Washington linebacker Mason Foster, who leads the Pac-10 in tackles.
“I think Mason Foster is a really, really, really good linebacker,” Kelly said. “They’re solid in the secondary, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
The Huskies will be especially motivated after an embarrassing 41-0 home loss last week to Stanford. The offense mustered only 107 total yards, including just 19 on the ground. The defense, meanwhile, gave up 470 total yards in the blowout.
Still, a matchup between Oregon and Washington is never just a blip on the radar. The Ducks look to prove deserving of the Bowl Championship Series No. 1 ranking, while the Huskies hope to knock a rival off its pedestal.
With or without Locker, Washington will arrive at Autzen Stadium ready to play.
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