On Oct. 27, 2018, the No. 19 Oregon Ducks marched into Arizona Stadium in Tucson looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss against Washington State, only to be upset by the Wildcats 44-15. The loss dropped them to 5-3 on the season as they saw their Pac-12 championship hopes fade.
Since that game, the Ducks are 12-2 and have launched themselves into College Football Playoff considerations. Meanwhile, Arizona is 4-5 this season and sits at No. 5 in the Pac-12 South. Although the Ducks have tremendously improved since that last time they faced Arizona, head coach Mario Cristobal’s squad is using what they learned on that fateful night in Tucson to prepare for their matchup on Saturday.
“We were ineffective at moving the football, and not nearly consistent enough,” Cristobal said of last year’s loss. “Running the football and beating man coverage are important not only for this game but for the rest of the season.”
Arizona relies on running back J.J. Taylor, who rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon last year. The 5-foot-6 redshirt junior from Corona, California, was injured earlier this year but is still a threat and has been successful against the Pac-12. However, the Oregon front seven has vastly improved since last season, and the defensive scheme has changed as well. Cristobal is emphasizing form-tackling and push from the defensive line in practice.
Another weapon for Arizona’s high-tempo offense is the dual threat at quarterback. Senior Khalil Tate and freshman Grant Gunnell are both options to lead the offense, and they both played two weeks ago against Stanford. In the 2018 matchup, Tate threw for three touchdowns and picked apart the Oregon secondary. Both quarterbacks are good passers and have the ability to move. The Oregon defense could be facing either one at any point in the game, so they are preparing to defend both this week in practice.
The Ducks have been working on refining their game and staying sharp with no game this past Saturday. Injury concerns about CJ Verdell, Dallas Warmack and Cyrus Habibi-Likio have been alleviated by the bye week, and they are expected to play against Arizona. Given the team’s good health, Cristobal has been implementing competitive drills at practice to keep his players on edge. Sundays are generally used for a simple walkthrough practice, but the Ducks got on the field for a full practice. While Cristobal is grateful for the bye week and confident in his team, he’s well aware that sometimes teams can get complacent after the lull of a week off.
“You can get better, but you can also get worse,” Cristobal said. “We’ve had success after bye weeks, and we’re confident that what we did this past week was a real good investment in us improving as a football team.”
Not only was the bye week useful for practice, but it was useful for recruiting, with Cristobal using the week off to make recruitment visits. The recent success of the Ducks comes at a good time, as the brand of football that Cristobal has been preaching to recruits is being backed up on the scoreboard. The head coach didn’t give any specifics about his visits, but he did admit it was “a great week out.”
Oregon hasn’t seemed to slack off in its preparations during its second bye week of the year, and the Arizona offense isn’t being taken lightly. When Arizona comes to Autzen Stadium on Saturday, the 2018 upset loss to the Wildcats will be fresh in the minds of the Ducks, just as it has been all week.
