Kalen DeBoer opens up on challenge of playing a team for the second time

It isn’t easy to beat a good team twice. Kalen DeBoer isn’t ignorant to this reality. On Monday, the Washington head coach weighed in on his team’s upcoming matchup against Oregon, who the Huskies defeated 36-33 earlier this season.

“You learn from the game before,” DeBoer said. “You know they’re going to make adjustments. But, it’s not like there’s any secrets. You know who their personnel are. They know who ours are. You quickly talk through again the details of what they do, how they do it, who they are and you get the plan moving.”

Washington’s plan worked to perfection on Oct. 14. In the Huskies’ win over Oregon, they tallied less yards, less first downs and more turnovers than the Ducks. Yet, they walked away with a win.

Washington’s victory was largely due to quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s standout performance. In the triumph, Penix boasted 302 passing yards and four touchdowns while only throwing one interception. Nonetheless, Penix’s production has dropped significantly since the performance.

In Washington’s first six wins, including the Oregon game, Penix threw for 2,301 yards and 20 touchdowns to only three interceptions. Since then, Penix has thrown for 1,598 yards and 12 touchdowns to five interceptions.

Kalen DeBoer is familiar with doubling down on wins

DeBoer knows he not only needs Penix to return to form, but his entire team. After all, this isn’t the first time DeBoer has had to square off against a talented team twice in one season.

“Many times at Sioux Falls, two of the top teams in the country were us and Morningside College,” DeBoer recalled from his past coaching experience. “We played a regular season game, usually for the conference championship, and then we played usually the second round of the playoffs.

“When I was at Fresno State, we played [Boise State] back-to-back weeks. We played them the last game of the regular season. Then, had to turn around and play them in the conference championship. We played them four times in two years. So, I’ve done that a few times.”

While DeBoer is no stranger to this unusual scenario, his past adversaries don’t necessarily stack up to Oregon. The Ducks boast the No. 2 offense in the country, averaging 540.2 yards per game. Oregon is also currently 9.5-point favorites in the matchup, according to FanDuel.

The two teams will square off on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET in the Pac-12 Championship. The game will be broadcast on ABC.