One team will walk away after ending its three-game losing streak. The other team will have a four-game losing streak.
When the Ducks face Stanford on Saturday in their Homecoming game, they will be on a mission.
“We have a team that wants to get this thing back on track,” Oregon free safety Keith Lewis said. “They’re willing to go hard and practice more intense.”
Intensity was a topic of discussion at Tuesday’s practice.
“Practice has been a lot harder,” punter Paul Martinez said. “More intensity and a lot harder. Everyone’s just picked it up.”
The Ducks (4-3 overall, 1-2 Pacific-10 Conference) are picking up the pieces after three straight losses, two coming at the hands of conference opponents Washington State and Arizona State.
With Oregon’s bye week coming after its three losses, head coach Mike Bellotti and his staff decided it was time for some motivational techniques.

“We showed that ABC replay (of the Ducks’ victory against Michigan) in the (Pittman) Room last week every night during dinner,” Bellotti said. “It was more important that the players saw it and saw the way that they played on offense, defense and special teams and their reactions to that game.
“We made a very significant point with that team — you’ve got to compete. If you’ve lost the will or desire to compete then we’re going to re-instill it, and I think we did.”
But Oregon faces competition as hungry as itself Saturday when Stanford (2-3, 0-3) comes to town.
The Cardinal travel to Eugene after their closest Pac-10 defeat, a 10-point loss to the same Cougars that ran past Oregon by 39 points.
Injured quarterback Trent Edwards, the redshirt freshman who started the last four games for the Cardinal, is slowing Stanford from getting back on track.
With senior Chris Lewis reclaiming the lead role, Stanford is looking for a way to win.
Stanford has lost its three
conference games by an average of 14.6 points.
The Ducks’ first conference game ended in a 48-10 drubbing of Arizona, but the following two didn’t leave Oregon as lucky.
A 55-16 loss to Washington State at Autzen Stadium was the first of Oregon’s three straight defeats. Bringing up the rear, Arizona State handed the Ducks a 59-14 loss in Tempe, Ariz., on Oct. 11, leading Oregon into its bye week on a foul note.

“Mentally, we’re down and out a little bit,” Lewis said. “We went from being a great team to not a sorry team but just not a very good team. Now everybody’s starting to practice with the same intensity we did the first four weeks.”
With the coaching staff spicing up practice by shifting players from offense to defense and vice versa, the Ducks talk like they have regained a bounce in their step.
“One thing the coaches did as far as practice wise is make things become more new,” cornerback Justin Phinisee said. “Coming off those past three games and having a bye week, the intensity has skyrocketed.”
The Ducks enjoyed their free weekend with everything from homework to a trip to Wildlife Safari in Winston; even Bellotti went out of town for a day.
A short break found Oregon refocused when practice started again on Monday.
“I think we realized what we still have ahead of us and what we’ve lost,” linebacker Kevin Mitchell said. “That’s unfortunate, but at the same time we can still regain what we want to accomplish.”
The first accomplishment the Ducks are after is evening up their conference record at 2-2.
Their opportunity to check a second Pac-10 win off their list arrives Saturday.
“They have the ability to have great success any time they go out there,” Stanford head coach Buddy Teevens said. “At Michigan, they put everything together, and that’s the team that we expect to see on Saturday.”
Oregon expects the same from themselves after just their fourth three-game skid during Bellotti’s nine-year tenure.
“For us right now, to me winning is not as important as playing well, feeling good about yourselves when you walk off the field and not beating yourself,” Bellotti said. “Those three things in my mind — if you do those, victory will happen.”