Oregon hopes to have more offensive output when the Ducks face Stanford on Saturday.
The Ducks were held to 20 points against USC and must win to stay on track for a bowl game. Stanford’s defense is among the best in the Pac-12, ranked No. 3 overall with 18.6 average allowed points per game.
Offensive coordinator Matt Lubick talked with reporters following Wednesday’s practice:
How do you bounce back from the offensive performance you guys had last week?
It’s not too complicated. You have to go back in and watch the tape. You’re honest with yourself as what we as coaches could have done better. As players, they have to take ownership too and how they can do better and once you realize that, flush it. Get it out of your head. And you have to be the best the next day at practice.
Stanford has had speed deficienies in certain spots. What do you see from them this year?
I think they’re pretty good on the back end. They have guys that run around and play fast and hard. They’ve played against some good offenses and they’ve done well about their front seven pressuring the quarterback. I think they lead the league in sacs. They’ve done great schematically and just playing hard and not giving up big plays. That will be a big challenge for us.
Does it feel like the same old Stanford? What kind of personnel do they have?
You know when you play Stanford that they’re a really good football team. That’s definitely their strength — their defense. They’ve shown that every week they’ve played. It’s a big challenge. Ever since I’ve been here, Stanford has always came ready to play on defense.
Over the last five or six years, this has been the game that has decided the Pac-12 North. Do you feel any difference in this game and the hype surrounding it?
Not really. No. No matter what game you’re playing, you try to block everything else out except for that football game and do the best you can to prepare. We know we’ve got a great opponent ahead of us. We’re excited for the challenge, but it’s not whether the record is. Once you play a game, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s about how do we win this football game.
What is different about this Stanford team than other years?
They’re good and they’ve always been good on defense. I think they’ve got some young players who are playing really well. They’ve got a good mix of veterans in there too that have some experience. Like all Stanford teams, they create a lot of problems. You have to have answers for those. That’s why they’re good. We’re looking forward to it.
What can help Royce Freeman get back to being Royce?
Hopefully we have some good schemes where we can get him to the second level. He’s had a great week of practice. I’m excited for this week. What helps Royce too is can we throw the ball. Everything up front, are we making the right checks? It’s not just Royce. Sometimes when you’re watching, you focus on that one player. … There’s a lot of other things that go into it. How we’re playing affects how the running game goes.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne