The Oregon Ducks’ hiatus is almost over. After their bye in Week 4, the Ducks take on the UCLA Bruins this Saturday. They’ll seek to carry the momentum they generated two weeks ago against Oregon State into this week’s game.
The Bruins are 1-2 and one of the bottom teams in the Big Ten. Still, they were talented enough to walk into halftime against LSU tied on the road last week, so they’re talented enough to run with Oregon if the Ducks don’t execute.
Oregon has nine games to go in the regular season, and while this week’s likely will not be their toughest, it’s still an important chapter in the Ducks’ season. To be at their best against Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois and whoever else poses a threat, Oregon needs to execute well this weekend.
Below are my three keys to victory for the Ducks. This week, they’re all execution based. If Oregon can do these three things against UCLA, they’ll, hopefully, walk out a better team.
Activate the Passing Game
The improvement of Oregon’s run game was one of the big stories coming out of the Ducks’ win in Corvallis. However, Oregon’s passing game looked the best it has all year in Week 3. Now, Dillon Gabriel and the rest of the Oregon offense should be focused on recreating and building on the passing success they’ve had. UCLA is last in the Big Ten in pass defense, allowing 295.3 passing yards per game, so an air raid should be no problem for Oregon.
A dominant front seven
Every facet of the Ducks’ play against Oregon State looked improved from Oregon’s first two games, but the area I still felt was lacking was the Ducks’ run defense. The Beavers have solid running backs, and the week before, the Ducks’ defense was tasked with stopping Ashton Jeanty (perhaps the best RB in college football), so allowing a higher clip per carry is understandable. Still, this week, I want to see the Ducks front seven take a jump. UCLA hasn’t had a strong run game to start the year, averaging 60.3 ground yards per game, so stopping their run game shouldn’t be too hard.
No big mistakes
A football team is bound to make a million mistakes throughout any football game. The key is avoiding the big ones. This is something Oregon has done a decent job of this year, staying relatively clear of turnovers and preventing the opposing team from creating big momentum-swinging plays. This week, I want to see that trend continue, with the Ducks protecting the ball and not turning it over, as well as allowing no plays of 30 yards or more on defense.
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