After beating USC in spectacular, ESPN College GameDay-attended, attention-grabbing fashion last season, Oregon suffered a 51-42 letdown at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal.
The lesson is lost on no one this year that, after the Ducks beat No. 9 Stanford 52-31 in front of an Autzen Stadium-record 59,818 fans and a national television audience, the potential for a letdown is there.
Head football coach Chip Kelly won’t let his team – ranked third in the nation after Saturday’s victory – forget that.
“Coach dropped the quote today, ‘Those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it,’” said senior linebacker Casey Matthews, who had eight tackles against the Cardinal.
“We’re trying not to do that. We’re trying to have the same type of practice that we did last week and (that we have) every other week, and just come out how we’ve been coming out.”
Matthews savored the flavor of the prime-time victory over the weekend before entering Monday’s practice.
“Toward the end of Sunday, I started getting in the mindset for Washington State,” he said.
What resulted on Monday — more fast-paced practice action, capped with a made 46-yard field goal by kicker Rob Beard in a clutch drill — was considered “one of the best Mondays we’ve ever had” by the coaching staff.
“We got after it,” senior cornerback Talmadge Jackson III said. “We’re ready for another good week.”
Make no mistake, the Ducks ought to get after it in preparation for Saturday’s contest at Washington State — particularly in the passing game, where sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel figures to give Oregon occasional fits.
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck picked apart the secondary Saturday, completing 29 of 46 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. Tuel is not Andrew Luck, but he does have a dynamic arm and skill set.
“They’ve got a good quarterback and solid receivers,” Jackson said. “They like to spread the ball around.”
Penalties are a concern as well; the Ducks are averaging 6.6 a game for 57 yards, ranking just sixth in the Pac-10 Conference.
First-half performance is also something to improve. Early deficits against Tennessee, Arizona State and Stanford were all turned around, but players would prefer to start strong and finish stronger.
“We want to shut out every team we can play – not just one half. We’ll try to do two halves this time,” Matthews said.
Finishing plays, too, remains a focus at practice. Safety Eddie Pleasant returned Chris Owusu’s fumble to the Stanford 3-yard line after getting knocked out of bounds by Luck on a play that should have been a touchdown.
“They’re going to be on my head,” Pleasant said. “I did the same thing last year, after an interception. I’m about to hear from them a little bit.”
Okay, so Washington State is certainly not the most fearsome opponent. The Cougars are just 1-4 (0-1 Pac-10), with the lone win coming against Football Championship Subdivision school Montana State. By a point. At home. After trailing 22-7 after three quarters.
Head coach Paul Wulff has compiled a 4-27 record as Washington State’s head coach, and the talent gap between the Cougars and the rest of the Pac-10 is vast.
Nevertheless, Kelly needs only look at UCLA for a reason to bring full effort. The Bruins, who upset Texas in Austin 10 days ago, were behind 28-20 at home to Washington State in Rose Bowl Stadium before pulling out a 42-28 victory.
Who says the Cougars can’t play Appalachian State to Oregon’s Michigan?
“We’ve got another Pac-10 game. Every game counts in this league,” Matthews said. “They’re getting better.
“Last year, when we had GameDay, we came out flat the next week. That’s one thing we’re looking not to do.”
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