Last weekend, it was Ohio State. Twelve days ago, Alabama went down. Now, on a nationally televised stage, the Oregon Ducks (6-0, 3-0) will look to avoid a similar pitfall as the nation’s top ranked team against UCLA (3-3, 1-2).
Both teams were given an extra week to prepare for Thursday night’s showdown. For the Bruins, that likely meant studying every facet of Oregon’s high-powered offense.
Chip Kelly and the Ducks, on the other hand, used the bye week to get back to the basics.
“It was a real fundamental week for us on the days that we practiced in terms of just trying to improve as a team,” Kelly said. “We weren’t putting in any schemes, weren’t putting in any plays, it was just, ‘how do we get better as a group?’”
The specifics for the matchup with UCLA were saved for game week. For Kelly, it was almost like preparing for an entirely different Bruin team on offense.
“They run a little bit of a different offense than they’ve run before,” Kelly said. “They’ve changed. They’re running the pistol offense. They’re running the ball really well. Their passing game isn’t what it has been in the past, but I think it’s maybe because of their dedication in running this new offense.”
Indeed, running back Johnathan Franklin has rushed for nearly 700 yards through six games. The sophomore
averages 113.2 yards per game, and the Bruins rank 13th in the nation as team with 223.0 rushing yards per appearance.
Franklin was the catalyst of UCLA’s shocking 34-12 win over then-No. 7 Texas on Sept. 25, gathering 118 yards and a touchdown.
Watching that game, linebacker Casey Matthews realized just what the Bruins were capable of.
“There’s times when you can tell they’re learning as they go,” Matthews said. “But there’s also times they show flashes of greatness. Against Texas, if you watched that game, they only had (27) yards passing but they ran all over them.”
If the Texas game was the high point of the season for UCLA, a 35-7 loss at California on Oct. 9 was an obvious low point. The Bruins gave up 304 rushing yards, while gaining only 26 of their own.
Still, by no means does this indicate that Darron Thomas and the offense are
overlooking UCLA.
“Real smart defense,” Thomas said of the Bruins. “Really don’t do too much blitzing, but they (are) smart on the back end and things like that, trying to confuse you.”
Head coach Rick Neuheisel may have overhauled the UCLA offense, but the defense has remained largely the same
under the leadership of blue chip players like junior linebacker Akeem Ayers and junior free safety Rahim Moore.
“Defensively, they’re the same as they’ve been the last couple years,” Kelly said. “They’ve been one of the better defenses in the league. They’ve got some athletic players. Akeem Ayers is as good a linebacker as there is in this league; Rahim Moore is as good a safety as there is in this league.”
As many fans likely recall, it was Ayers who intercepted a Nate Costa pass in Oregon’s own end zone for a touchdown last season. A phenomenal showing of athleticism, the play has become a YouTube favorite.
It was one of Costa’s only mistakes as he filled in for Jeremiah Masoli in a 24-10 win. This year, Kelly comes into the game with a much healthier squad. For him, that makes all the difference.
“The one thing I don’t really think people realize in the UCLA game was how banged up we were as a team going down there,” Kelly said. “We were so banged up at a lot of different positions. The way our guys played down there was really one of our biggest games.”
Another key difference? The Ducks were ranked No. 13 when they headed down to Los Angeles for the UCLA matchup last year. This year, they are the No. 1 team in the country welcoming the Bruins into their building.
If the ranking adds any pressure to this Oregon team, they don’t show it.
“We treat it the same week in and week out,” Matthews said. “I’m sure people are going to say that teams are
going to give their best shot now, but we don’t see it that way … our coaches do a good job keeping us mellow.”
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