The Ducks have the country's attention. Now they have to keep it.
True, the opponent wasn't good. But this was the season opener. Oregon put on a rare display of dominance, focus and talent vs. New Mexico. They were a team on a mission, a team determined to get the taste of the Rose Bowl out of their mouths (Casey Matthew's words), a team eager to play football.
It wasn't perfect, but it was relentless. The Ducks kept coming. Two and three deep on the roster they kept making plays, kept wanting the ball more than the Lobos. A screen pass goes off the hands of the New Mexico receiver and three Ducks chase it down, thinking it might be a fumble, and it is. First down, Oregon. Matthews has an interception and a fumble recovery on back-to-back series. Coaches preach that kind of hustle and determination over and over, but the difference is, the Ducks listen. My how they listened. Avery Patterson wrestled the ball away from a receiver. He just wanted it more. The entire team did. On plays the defensive line couldn't get to the quarterback, they batted the ball down, a couple of times saving big gains, forcing a turnover on downs.
On offense too the Ducks were relentless. They kept completing their blocks. They caught the ball in traffic and shielded off defenders. Did you see the 39-yard pass Jeff Maehl got up and went, or the screen where Kenjon Barner encountered traffic but turned on the afterBarners, refusing to go down? Remene Alston ran for 110 dogged yards. Up and down the lineup, Oregon played like a team that was glad to be in a football game.
It was easy against the Lobos. Too easy. Their star defender went out in the first quarter, and they were badly outmanned to begin with. They'll likely lose eight or nine games in their own conference. It was like scrimmaging the junior varsity, or playing one-on-one basketball against your little brother before he got his growth spurt. New Mexico was not good.
But first games are tricky and fraught with stumbles. A lot of teams shoot themselves in the foot in first games, or play tentative, or jump offsides. Oregon had 70 yards in penalties but most of those were on the third team trying to remember their assignments. The execution for the first two quarters was fierce. Not flawless, but fierce. Chip Kelly did what he could to put on the brakes, but Cliff Harris kept returning punts, and Daryle Hawkins and Alston wanted to show what they could do. Nate Costa ran the offense creditably off the bench.
The challenge now will be for the Ducks to realize that the hard work that made such dominance possible is just the beginning. What worked on New Mexico won't surprise or overwhelm Tennessee, Stanford, or USC. Those are the turning points in the season, the places at which the intensity rachets up, the places where the level of competition and challenge increases. The Ducks did it in the comfort of Autzen stadium, where they have 59,000 cheering for them. Can they be as attentive and locked-in with 103,000 screaming in their face? The Ducks rolled a hapless foe; can they force their will on a well-trained team that wants to unseat them? Under Jim Harbaugh the Cardinal have gained a reputation for toughness, and two top recruiting classes. They have an NFL-bound quarterback, and a roster loaded with speed and ability. The Ducks won't be playing the Lobos anymore. At the end of next month they play USC in a stadium full of old ghosts, the night before Halloween.
Oregon did exceedingly well at the easiest thing. Over the next 12 weeks they'll be challenged, beaten down, and tested. How they respond determines how they will be remembered.
It will be fun to watch.
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