BCS No. 1 Oregon Ducks Get Rest, Ready To Fly Against Arizona Wildcats
After a close and hard-fought game against Cal, the Oregon Ducks got this week off and it could not have come at a better time. With another week behind us, the Ducks will now turn their attention to the Arizona Wildcats, who head to Autzen the day after Thanksgiving.
Two games now separate Oregon from a trip to the national championship. With a win this week against Arizona, the Ducks will clinch a Rose Bowl berth and earn their second straight Pac-10 championship.
Now that we are through Oregon's bye week, let's take a look at what the Ducks can hopefully got accomplished and need to work on going forward.
Kicking Game
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Going into the Cal game, Rob Beard was perfect on both field goals and extra points. During the Cal game, Beard missed two critical field goals that could have stretched the lead to a two-score game.
During the Washington game, one week before heading to Cal, Oregon senior quarterback and holder Nate Costa was lost for the year due to injury.
While this may or may not have anything to do with the two misses, hopefully Beard was able to take the bye week and become comfortable with new holder Jackson Rice.
Film Room
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You better believe that Arizona, Oregon State, Auburn, Boise State and TCU all requested a copy of the Cal game after seeing how they were able to slow down the Ducks' high powered offense.
The best part about this bye week is that Chip Kelly also will receive a copy of this game. He will be able to see what Cal did to slow the offense, what adjustments did not work and how the Ducks should execute should they see the same strategy used against them again.
Rest Up
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LaMichael James limped off the field after suffering an ankle injury during the Cal game. The good news for Ducks fans is that James pushed through and finished the game with big run after big run on the final drive.
Fortunately, the Ducks had the week off to rest up and focus with only two games remaining. More will be known about James this week, but after seeing him finish the game, it would take a lot for James not to play in the Arizona game.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Kenjon Barner Back to Game Speed
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When Kenjon Barner received a kickoff at Washington State, a dream season quickly become a nightmare as he was knocked out and left unconscious for over eight minutes. Finally, in what seemed like an eternity for fans, Barner sat up and was taken off the field.
After running some tests, Barner was fine but was kept out of play for a few weeks. Barner ended up returning against Washington but in a limited role. Now that Barner has two games under his belt, he appears to be getting back into game shape and will be invaluable in these last games, especially if the injury to James causes him to be limited.
Media Doubt
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Throughout this year, the Ducks have been fueled by media doubt. The Ducks were supposed to have a hard time winning on the road in SEC country. The Ducks would not be able to handle the physical play of Stanford, and playing USC on the road could end up being too much for them.
Media also questioned how well they would play with the No. 1 tag both with the human polls and then with the BCS. Each and every time, Oregon answered the bell and passed the test.
Now after their closest game to date against Cal, the question has quickly turned to whether Oregon has been figured out. The players will end up listening to these questions all the way up to kickoff on Friday. Time to answer the bell.
Bye Week Working Against Arizona
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Not only is Oregon going to be coming off a bye week, but so is Arizona. While it may seem like great timing for the Wildcats, it may actually end up being bad.
With Cal being able to slow down Oregon and cause problems for them offensively, Chip Kelly is going to look at the film and make adjustments. In doing so, Arizona could likely face a very different Oregon offense, which may negate the hard work it is currently doing.
Darron Thomas
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As of late, Thomas has taken some big hits, especially during the Cal game. While the rest will be welcomed for Thomas, the bye week will provide him with an opportunity to work on the passing game.
Teams are going to try and load up to stop James in the running game and are going to live and die by the arm of Thomas. While Thomas has proved that this is something he can handle, the passing game struggled against Cal and will look to get back on track against Arizona.
Finding the Balance
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You want to know how Cal kept it close? The Bears stopped Oregon from sucking them in. Oregon has been very good at starting the game with heavy run or pass attacks. They do such a good job that the defense starts to over-commit to one aspect and they hit them with a change of direction.
Once the Ducks have teams wondering if they are going to pass or run, they have already won because teams cannot be guessing against this offense.
Should a team be able to step up and stop Oregon's early momentum, that said team will force Oregon to figure out where it can be effective.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
