After a bye week, the Ducks are back and still not letting anyone score.
There's a developing theme in this 2019 Ducks season, and it's the fact that they aren't letting anyone in the end zone. Aside from the team's second half collapse against Auburn way back in the opening game, no one has scored a touchdown on these Ducks. None. Zero. This has also strangely made for some very boring football viewing as a fan, but I'm not one of those who can always appreciate the intricacies of a defensive scheme. I have the attention span of someone who is always fidgeting with his phone these days, unfortunately.
This isn't to say that I don't like what Oregon is doing this year. I love it! I hope they keep it up. The former Miami lineman Mario Cristobal may be remaking the Ducks in his own image and a tougher, more old school kind of team, and so far I don't have a lot of complaints. This is the first season for Andy Avalos as the defensive coordinator, and so far he's picked up where Jim Leavitt left off and then some. The hope is that the Ducks can get back to firing on all cylinders (i.e. both sides of the ball, passing, running, twirling, etc.) so that they aren't so reliant on the D when the weather gets worse, the games get tougher and the injuries start to mount.
Next up after the bye week (which I have a feeling Oregon is going to wish came later in the schedule) is the California Golden Bears. After a 4-0 start, Cal dropped a game last week to Arizona State, meaning that we're only in the sixth week in the season and every single Pac-12 team has lost at least once. Probably not a good look for the conference. The Bears lost their starting quarterback to some sort of shoulder injury last week and are expected to start former UCLA transfer Devon Modster this week. He kind of has a cool last name? With a prime time game at Autzen, Cal will have their work cut out for them especially with a backup under center.
- The Last Game: Oregon avenged their nightmarish 2018 loss to Stanford by grinding Cal's bitter rivals down to the tune of a 21-6 victory.
- Know Your Opponent: Bears are rallying 'round the Modster.
- The Unis!: Nightmare green (sigh) with yellow pants and helmet. Okay.
- Mario Cristobal's "Crystal Ball" prediction: Injured guys coming back?! "So, we’re pretty excited about that." You may rely on it.
- Luke Skyywalker's Crystal Balls say: With California attempting to pass a bill to actually pay NCAA players, we can always look back to the time when Luke took these matters into his own hands. Is it less fillin'? No, it tastes great
Game time is 5:00 PDT on FOX. Brandon Gaudin, Brock Huard and Bruce Feldman will be on the call. Go Ducks!
Congratulations on the win!
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