David Paulson gave himself one day to think about the USC loss.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1149812&Q_SEASON=2011@@
Sunday — about 12 hours removed from a heartbreaking 38-35 defeat that knocked the Ducks out the BCS title discussion — was the day he could reflect on what went wrong, what could have been done differently. One day and that was it. By Monday, Paulson and the Ducks had fully moved on and turned their focus to the Civil War.
“When Monday comes back around, you’ve got to just start focusing on the next week,” Paulson said. “Same thing as with a win. With a win, you can kind of enjoy it for a day and then get back to who you’re playing that week.”
Oregon State is a team that has struggled all year but is coming off of a surprising win over Washington this past weekend.
“They’re going to be up for this game,” Paulson said. “Civil War — they’re going to bring us their best stuff and we’ve got to be prepared for it.”
They got off to a good start on Monday and head coach Chip Kelly was pleased with what he saw at the Moshofsky Center.
“Guys did a good job,” Kelly said. “Young kids got short memories, so it’s behind us, we’ve moved on, we’ve watched film and our sole focus is on Oregon State now.”
In particular, Kelly said there will be an emphasis placed on special teams this week. The Beavers have been known to present unexpected wrinkles on punts and field goals and the Ducks are preparing as such.
“We spend a little bit more time on punts, because they fake a lot of punts,” Kelly said. “And we’ll spend a little more time on field goals because they fake a lot of field goals and that gets your attention right there.”
Things will be a bit different around the athletic facilities this week, as the Civil War always brings out the best (and worst) in fans.
“I do enjoy the energy that there is around town and on campus and stuff when we’re playing UW or Oregon State or the traditional rivals or new rivals like Stanford and USC and stuff like that,” right guard Mark Asper said. “That energy, the community energy, fuels the fire a little bit.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1148913&Q_SEASON=2011@@
Make no mistake, though. The approach in practice won’t change in the slightest. Kelly’s mantras are well ingrained in the players at this point.
“For us,” Asper said, “It’s Super Bowl part 10, 11 … whatever week we’re on.”
The past few weeks have been particularly taxing, from away games at Washington and Stanford to this past weekend’s showdown with USC. This week, meanwhile, will decide whether Oregon represents the Pac-12 North in the first-ever conference championship game.
“(The) last few weeks have kind of been that for us, or last month, pretty much,” Paulson said. “Every week we’ve had to come back and get prepared for another big game and this is just going to be another one.”
Monday’s practice reflected that focus, and Asper, too, was pleased with what he saw.
“It was business as usual today,” Asper said. “Put that one behind us, learn from it, grow from it. There was good energy in there, a lot of guys flying around and having a good time.”
With Thanksgiving coming Thursday, Kelly will alter the team’s schedule a bit to accommodate players who will spend the holiday with family.
“We’ll practice at the same time and our meetings will be a little bit early,” Kelly said. “So they’ll have the night off to be with their families.”
Ducks return to practice, begin preparations for Oregon State
Daily Emerald
November 20, 2011
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