How Oregon is using Chase Cota's experience against UCLA

The Oregon Ducks will have their toughest in-conference matchup to date on Saturday when they take on the UCLA Bruins in a top-ten showdown. Oregon might have a secret weapon on their roster in former UCLA wide receiver Chase Cota. With his experience and prior knowledge of the Bruins system under head coach Chip Kelly, the Ducks starting quarterback Bo Nix has been picking his brain whenever he gets the chance, which is not that often.

“Just a few,” said Nix when asked how often he’s talked to Cota. “Obviously, he’s gone against those DBs quite a few times, so just getting his thoughts on those guys. He’s like me, a transfer, so he’s very familiar with that team. But at the same time, if you look at the roster, they have quite a few transfers. So there are a few guys that he doesn’t necessarily know. And so, just taking it like any other team and just scouting them and seeing what they put on video and going from there.”

Cota spent the entirety of his collegiate career at UCLA before electing the transfer back to his home state and joining the Ducks after graduating. The Super senior spent four years with the Bruins from 2018-2021. Over that time, Cota recorded 67 catches for 883 yards and six touchdowns.

Lanning says smoke forced Oregon to practice indoors

Due to smoke in the area caused by wildfires, the Ducks have moved their practices indoors for the time being. But according to head coach Dan Lanning that comes with some positives for the defense. Recently Lanning explained those benefits and how the Ducks are preparing for a possible wet and wild game on Saturday.

“We practiced inside today because of smoke. But it was good,”said Lanning. “It allowed us to get a little bit better crowd noise for some of our defensive stuff. When our stadium is as crazy as it can be, it’s hard to communicate on that side of the ball when you’re out there. So, creating that environment right now for our players is really important.

“Yeah, we prepped for that. We’re prepared for that. We’ll see how it plays out. We don’t control weather, but we’re prepared for it… wet ball drills. You’re gonna spray the ball with water a lot. I mean, that’s one of the biggest things. Obviously, you can’t plan for it.”

Oregon’s showdown with UCLA on Saturday comes with major conference championship implications. Currently, the Ducks and the Bruins are the only two teams left in the Pac-12 without a loss in conference play.