Courtney: Burning Week 5 Questions for Oregon at Cal

It's gut-check time for Mario Cristobal's coaching staff and players

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Posted on December 3, 2020


  By Chris Courtney of WFOD for SuperWest Sports

As difficult as it might be to turn the page from last Friday’s stunning loss at the hands of Oregon State in Corvallis, the time for self-reflection and rumination is over for Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal and the Oregon football program.

With a road date in Berkeley vs. winless Cal slated for Saturday evening, it is officially gut-check time for Cristobal and company.

As long as the goal to win the Pac-12 title and secure a berth in a New Year’s Six bowl game remains alive, there should be no lack of motivation for an Oregon team that has to understand that their performance over the last two weeks, specifically, falls far below the expectations they have as a program.

As we discussed in the aftermath of the Ducks’ crushing defeat to the Beavers last week, there were a number of chickens that came home to roost for the Ducks.

Chief among them, the Oregon defense, which has been throttled the past two weeks, but has only just recently experienced the true fallout of their apparent degeneration coming off the team’s first loss of the season.

Saturday’s game at Cal represents a ripe “get right” opportunity for a program that still has plenty to play for, but in order to achieve victory, it will likely require the kind of convincing team effort that signals that Oregon’s arrow is trending in a far more positive direction. An effort that, quite frankly, has yet to be seen thus far this season.

Below and over at WFOD, I examine the burning questions facing the Ducks as they embark on their final scheduled road trip of the season at Cal.

1. Will the Oregon defense show a pulse against the Pac-12’s worst offense in Cal?

Oregon DE/OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux | Sean Meagher/OregonLive.com via WFOD

As mentioned, it is put up or shut up time for the Oregon defense. The string of astonishingly poor performances from a group that was widely expected to carry the water for the Ducks this season has continued long enough and any excuses being used as crutch for this team are well past the expiration date.

With the Golden Bears sporting the Pac-12’s worst offense (335.7 yards/game) heading into Saturday’s game, anything short of an honest bounce-back effort from defensive coordinator Andy Avalos’ group has to be considered a resounding disappointment.

Yes, the Ducks have to dramatically improve in the areas of tackling and tighten up in coverage, but perhaps more importantly, they need to find ways to start generating turnovers and negative plays behind the line of scrimmage.

In 2019, the Ducks were one of the Pac-12’s best teams in both categories. A season later, however, they reside as one of the Conference’s worst teams despite continuity in the coaching staff and a bevy of playmakers on that side of the ball.

Fortunately for Oregon, Cal ranks as one of the Pac-12’s most turnover prone teams (8th in the conference with five giveaways) and ranks tied for last in the conference in tackles for loss allowed (25.0).

The only question is, can Oregon expose that soft underbelly? They failed miserably against an Oregon State team that carried similar earmarkings to Cal entering last week’s game. A repeat effort would be completely unacceptable.

2. To what extent can Tyler Shough minimize mistakes?

Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via WFOD

The Ducks’ defense has been a popular punching bag for critics of the team in recent weeks, and deservingly so, but mistakes on offense—often at the hands of Tyler Shough—certainly has not helped matters.

To the offense’s credit, they’ve been a major reason for why the Ducks have three wins and only one loss, as they’ve provided a level of insurance for the Oregon defense that has been largely squandered over the course of the past two weeks.

With that said, through four weeks of play, the offense has still yet to put together a complete performance, which is to more or less say that Shough has yet to author a complete performance.

Thus far, Shough’s lone game without a turnover came in a narrow 38-35 win over UCLA nearly two weeks ago, though that game was marred by the offensive line allowing Shough to be sacked four times while only paving the way for only 88 yards rushing.

In that instance, it’s difficult to place too much blame on Shough, though a recurring theme throughout the year has been Shough’s struggles—at times—progressing through his reads and making sound decisions in terms where to go with the football.

The two interceptions he threw at Oregon State last week were prime examples of Shough’s shortcomings at this stage in his development. And while it’s important to note that Shough has thrown just four interceptions against 10 touchdowns through four career starts, he’s also been quite fortunate to have a few would-be interceptions dropped.

In the lead up to Saturday’s game at Cal, Shough and Ducks offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead have discussed the importance of minimizing mistakes in order to have the Pac-12’s top offense operating at a more efficient clip, but it’s something Shough and this offense have yet to demonstrate on game days.

The Ducks are currently tied for last in the conference in giveaways (9) and will need to see that trend reversed if they are to avoid sweating it out against a less talented opponent for a third week in a row.

3. How likely are we to see a bounce-back performance from Oregon’s ground game?

Oregon RB CJ Verdell | Bob Hubner/WSU Photos via WFOD

One would have expected that to come last week facing an Oregon State run defense that had been surrendering just over 206 yards per game, but the Ducks never seemed to find their stride against a vulnerable Beavers side.

Though the Ducks would go on to rush for 183 yards and three touchdowns in a loss, the lackluster four-quarter outing from Oregon’s ground attack felt like a mild continuation from the week prior, as the Ducks gained just 88 yards on the ground against UCLA.

Certainly, Oregon’s re-built offensive line deserves a portion of the blame, as they have no doubt underperformed in recent weeks. However, the absence of CJ Verdell for yet another second half last week, coupled with the boom or bust play of Travis Dye and Cyrus Habibi-Likio has not helped the Oregon offense get the traction they need.

The Golden Bears currently rank seventh in the Pac-12 in rushing defense at 181.33 yards per game, but it feels like the Ducks will need to comfortably surpass that mark on the ground if they are to extend drives and keep their own beleaguered defense off the field.

This story also appears at wholeflockofducks.com and is syndicated with permission. Follow WFOD on Twitter @_WFOD and Chris Courtney @csquared02.

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