Oregon players were in meetings when the news broke Wednesday morning. Washington had paused all team activities following an increase in COVID-19 cases, putting Saturday’s game to decide the Pac-12 North Division in jeopardy.
Oregon coach Mario Cristobal is in tune enough to know the futility of trying to distract his players from the news.
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Just try keeping 100 teenagers off their phones.
So at the start of Wednesday’s practice, Cristobal addressed it with the team.
“Before you’ve even started your walk-throughs. you want to gather your team and say, look, this is where it’s at,” Cristobal said. “Right now, it’s all systems go. We’re going to play a game on Saturday, and we’ll inform each other of whatever happens when it happens. As of right now, we have this opportunity, and we must take this opportunity to get better because we need to get better and we won’t waste it.
“From there, they took control.”
A full mailbag this week, too, offers an opportunity, and it’s not going to waste.
Let’s get after it.
Note: Submitted questions are edited for clarity and length.
What is the most 2020 outcome you can imagine befitting of this very silly season? — Alec E.
I mean … (motions at everything around us) … we’re kind of there.
The Pac-12 already had plenty of 2020ness if Oregon and Washington got to Saturday smoothly. The North winner would have at least one loss in a season where there’s a chance the South Division could have a pair of unbeatens in USC and Colorado.
CU fans would understandably have gripes with not being allowed to play for the conference title through no fault of their own.
But that’s not good enough for 2020. See: Washington pausing activities. If the game isn’t played, the Huskies will advance to the title game because they have one loss and the Ducks have two. I’d hate to be a message board moderator for what would undoubtedly be one of the most rationally addressed moments in a storied rivalry.
Here’s where it gets even wilder: What if the Huskies eliminate Oregon by not playing, then can’t field a team for the championship game? Would the Ducks get subbed in by default? Would the Pac-12 just say to hell with whatever rules it put in place at the start of the season and let USC and Colorado duke it out?
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Actually, the most 2020 outcome is this: Oregon and Washington end up playing and the Ducks win. Colorado loses this week, USC wins and nobody has an issue with a title game between the two preseason favorites. Both teams have a great week of practice. Cristobal talks about the challenge and opportunity that awaits in Los Angeles. The Ducks travel, this beat writer gets a little sun by the pool and the Pac-12 has a day in the spotlight nationally. The unbeaten Trojans. The defending champion Ducks. THIS is what the Pac-12 has to offer.
Teams get to the stadium. COVID-19 tests are clean. Heck of an anthem.
Then somebody wins 6-3.
That’s the most 2020 outcome.
Is there much discussion of any players at risk to transfer after this season? Lot of young players — such as running back Sean Dollars — in for only one play. — James D.
Hey James, I’m not a huge fan of speculating about individual players transferring. But I’ll certainly look at some positions.
It could be a logjam at running back again. Even if CJ Verdell leaves for the NFL, the Ducks would still have Travis Dye, Cyrus Habibi-Likio, Dollars and Trey Benson competing for carries. A lot of those guys have waited a long time to get their shot.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see some movement at wide receiver, too. Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd are the only seniors there, and Devon Williams, Mycah Pittman and Kris Hutson have a pretty firm grasp on playing time heading into 2021. Couple that with a loaded 2021 recruiting class at the position and reps are going to be hard to come by.
There will be six quarterbacks on scholarship, too.
As a Ducks fan, I’m probably in the minority in that I’m not going to get bent out of shape if this move keeps the Ducks out of the championship game. This is a lost season already, and the Ducks haven’t done anything to really deserve it (other than being perhaps the most deserving amongst other teams that also don’t deserve it). Though, I also don’t believe it’s right to reschedule the USC-Colorado regular-season game for the championship game. Ultimately, there’s no good solution, so I can’t get too upset when the bad solution they go with is different than the one that benefits my team. But I’d still like my team to be able to play a game this weekend. — Keith D.
I did a hit on Pac-12 XM radio Wednesday and the final question related to how I would approach the Pac-12 final if I were in charge. Should the hypothetical undefeated teams play? Should Oregon get bumped into the game if Washington can’t go?
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I basically just spun in circles for a minute because, as you said, there’s not really a clean solution to any of this without a team thinking it got screwed.
For the Ducks, there’s probably nothing on the table for this weekend unless another Pac-12 game gets canceled. Plenty of benefit in getting reps for this roster, sure. Good luck to the staff assigned to film review.
A bit of chatter Wednesday morning swirled around Ohio State. The Buckeyes are opponent-less this weekend, and the teams were supposed to play in September. And that pairing would be a big TV draw. But that prospect was short-lived when the Big Ten changed its rules to allow Ohio State to play in its conference title game next week despite not reaching the minimum game requirement. Plus, the league had already shot down attempts by its teams such as Nebraska to play nonconference games this year. And frankly, I don’t know if Oregon fans really want to see that game right now.
With Penei Sewell, Jevon Holland and Brady Breeze? Sure.
Without them, Ohio State is just a wee bit better.
Tyson, I normally endorse every avenue of your reporting and opinion, but I felt the article placing Tyler Shough in controversy post-Cal was off the mark. I feel the young man has shown a ton of confidence and obvious demonstration of system study and execution. He’s clearly had some turnovers and throws which were less than desirable, but every QB does. General line play, repetitive run play calling and fundamental avoidance of crucial penalties seem to be much more emblematic of the Ducks struggles on offense to me than Shough’s play, which seems very promising. With one game to go, why would it make any sense to introduce a new QB to live play as the Ducks build towards what we all hope will be a normalized season in 2021? — Mitchell H.
Hey Mitchell, great points, and I don’t exactly disagree with you.
Neither does Joe Moorhead.
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“He’s a young quarterback, and I’m fairly certain he leads the league in yards, touchdowns, efficiency and total offense,” Oregon’s offensive coordinator said. “You know, he took a minor step back in the second half as a first-year starter in a new offense. That happens. We don’t like it. We acknowledge it. We take ownership, and he’ll get better from it.”
What I attempted to get at in that game story was just how Shough hasn’t had to deal with the noise that comes with a substandard performance yet. We all know how football social media can get. A couple of bad throws here and there, and suddenly this four-star recruit who was one of the most efficient quarterbacks over the season’s first month never knew how to play the game. If Oregon was legitimately in the College Football Playoff conversation and each game mattered, the backup quarterback conversation would have been legitimate. Not as a condemnation of Shough, but in a “the offense isn’t moving and we need a spark” sort of move. If the Ducks were in contention, it would be silly not to exhaust all avenues.
But they’re not, at least on a national scale. And as much as the talk focuses around this year, I do think Oregon’s approached this season with a bigger picture view than in past seasons. Shough has been very good at times, looks comfortable in the system and still figures into Oregon’s future. Anthony Brown really doesn’t. I just don’t think Shough has had such a perfect season that he’s the without question starter going into next year. I think he will be. But if fans are making noise during his struggles with Brown as the backup, imagine what it will be like when there’s a five-star waiting in the wings of the depth chart.
And maybe that’s giving Ty Thompson too much credit, but Oregon hasn’t dealt with a recruit at that position like him before.
The play calling seems to be underwhelming. Defenses know that when Verdell is in the backfield, the call is a run up the middle. Very few jet sweeps with Jaylon Redd in the Cal game. Run the wheel route with Dye once, never even show it again! Your thoughts? — Bill G.
I’m going to focus this primarily on the running game. This really felt like the year that Verdell was going to run away with things, didn’t it? Instead Dye, who I wrongly predicted could get phased out this year, has become Oregon’s most productive back. Dye is averaging 7.5 yards per carry and 40.8 yards per reception. He’s got big play written all over him.
But let’s dive a little deeper into the numbers. Because I, like you, thought that it’s pretty obvious what’s going to happen when Verdell is on the field versus Dye.
The numbers here are provided by Sports Information Solutions:
CJ Verdell:
Runs to the left (outside the tackle): 10 carries, 47 yards, 4.7 Y/A, 1 TD
Runs between the tackles: 46 carries, 165 yards, 3.6 Y/A, 2 TD
Runs to the right (outside the tackle): 9 carries, 67 yards, 7.4 Y/A
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Travis Dye:
Runs to the left (outside the tackle): 11 carries, 93 yards, 8.5 Y/A
Runs between the tackles: 27 carries, 189 yards, 7.0 Y/A, 1 TD
Runs to the right (outside the tackle): 7 carries, 54 yards, 7.7 Y/A
We can also break this down by formations:
Verdell:
1 RB, 2 TE: 12 carries, 20 yards, 1.21 Y/A, 2 TD
1 RB, 1 TE: 50 carries, 253 yards, 5.1 Y/A, 1 TD
1 RB, 0 TE: 3 carries, 6 yards, 2.0 Y/A
Dye:
1 RB, 2 TE: 5 carries, 36 yards, 7.2 Y/A
1 RB, 1 TE: 35 carries, 289 yards, 8.3 Y/A, 1 TD
1 RB, 0 TE: 4 carries, 5 yards, 1.25 Y/A
The number that stands out to me is Dye’s yardage between the tackles. The assumption would be the stouter and stronger Verdell would flourish there, but Dye is averaging nearly as many yards inside as he is outside. I asked Moorhead this week about Dye and his effectiveness.
“Obviously he’s got a very unique skill set for a running back,” Moorhead said. “He’s able to run between the tackles and make people miss in space, but he also does some things that a slot receiver would do. I think you just want to be judicious and smart where you’re not asking him to do too much, but also taking advantage of opportunities where you could get him matched up in single coverage where maybe he can beat a linebacker one-on-one, or where you can put a team in conflict with a certain zone coverage and get a two-on-one on a safety like we did on that long that that was called back on a penalty.”
As for the general overview of the offense, a couple of thoughts.
1. As the weeks have progressed and fans become invested more in the season, it’s easy to forget all the new pieces on this offense. So many of these guys are in their first year of substantial playing time, and it’s coming during a year where the Ducks are never certain which personnel they’re going to have each week. For much of the year the Ducks have had one healthy tight end. The receivers haven’t been at 100 percent since Week 1. Everything is against conference opponents. Nine players on offense alone have made their first career starts this season.
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2. Despite all of this, and despite that second half against Cal, the Ducks rank eighth in the FBS with 7.1 yards per play. I saw someone in the comments say that this feels like the same offense as last year, but with worse players. Well, this offense is getting 0.9 more yards per snap than it did a year ago. So something’s got to give here, right?
(Photo of CJ Verdell: Soobum Im / USA Today)
