Trav's Ten Takeaways: Cal Game

via Travis Rooke-ley

Ducks grinded through ome initial sloppiness and adversity to win big and check another game off the box on their path to Vegas. Eyes turn to a talented, but beaten-down SC squad, coming into a night game at Autzen. Can’t wait. 

1. Bo Vertical: I’m ready to eat a lot of crow when it comes to my complaints after the UW game. I had questioned Bo’s confidence in throwing the ball down the field and into contested windows. Similarly, I questioned how much faith the staff had in him to do this, thus affecting their ability to call the game. He’s been super dialed the last two weeks down the field, and we’ve been utilizing the middle of the field so much more. I don’t know exactly what changed, or if matchups led to this shift, but it’s a welcomed sight with the slate that remains. I can’t see any defense on our schedule that can slow us down beyond ourselves if Bo continues to play at this level. 

2. Tez: Breakout week for Tez, both receiving and in the return game. He’s been close to breaking one a few different times on punts and finally racked up some big return yards against Cal. His shiftiness, speed, and quickness are really well-suited for that role, and he’s a very good college slot receiver as well. You can tell Bo has a lot of trust and familiarity with him and continues to look for him in big moments. I bet we see him pop one to the house in the return game before the year ends. 

3. Ferg: Quick note on Ferg. I hope we’ll try to find some more touches for him down the field and in the red zone. While his frame makes him a somewhat easy tackle in the flat RPO game, he’s really tough to bring down vertically down the field. He’s made some great catches the last few weeks, and as the games get bigger and the field starts shrinking, he’s been open and I trust him to make contested catches. 

4. OL Penalties: Have to clean it up. As Dan said in his presser, you can’t rely on converting 2nd and long in big games. While a few of the holds and personal fouls seemed questionable, it’s been a theme for multiple games now. The OL has been a great unit this year, no doubt. Their pass protection and run efficiency are really good, and they have a real shot at taking home the Joe Moore award for best OL Nonetheless, sitting four games away from the CFP, we’ve got to play clean and mistake-free as the moments get bigger. 

5. DL Depth: Saturday was a testament to the depth of the DL that Lanning has built in his short time here. Not only were they able to hold Matayo out to heal up, but other guys stepped up. Casey Rogers, who has lost a lot of reps this year to other players, made two huge plays in the first quarter that both led to turnovers. Dorlus continues to wreak havoc in the interior, and our freshmen edges grow every week. We are certainly the only team int he conference who runs out of the bodies that we do, and I’m sure they’re licking their chops watching the SC tape this week. 

6. Defensive Stats: Just running through some stats today and our defensive improvement is pretty incredible. We rank 2nd in the conference in scoring defense, a mere .1 point behind Utah. We rank 2nd in rush defense and 2nd in pass defense, and our 3rd down defense has greatly improved. I really like the way this entire unit is playing, and they are getting better each week as our youth continues to grow. With SC, OSU and hopefully UW ahead, we’ll need stops to win these games. 

7. Punting Good, Kicking Bad: Coming into this year, I almost thought we had a real kicker, but was completely in the dark when it came to punting. Given our offense, kicking will always play a greater role, but the script has flipped. James’ punt Saturday may have been the greatest punt I’ve ever seen in person, and he continues to have a great season. On the other hand, we have to find a way to get Camden right. We don’t need him from 50, heck not even 40. We need him to be able to make a 37-yarder in a game where we’re up 6 points. Until he does, I presume Dan will continue to be super aggressive. 

8. SC Preview: Hard to know what to expect from this SC team, who both seem like they’ve quit but also control their own destiny for the CCG. I think that discrepancy will be evident based on how this game goes for the first quarter and a half. If SC gets in a rhythm, especially offensively, I think they can hang. If we can jump on them, and get the crowd involved, we can blow them out. If we play clean, we’ll move the ball with ease both on the ground and through the air. Their defense relies on shock plays, both turnovers, and TFLs, so if we avoid those, we shouldn’t be stopped. Offensively, outside of Caleb, they are honestly pretty average across the board. Their OL will be at a clear disadvantage, their receivers are fine, and their RBs are probably their best set of guys. All that being said, the Caleb factor is real and I am most nervous for this game of all those that remain. Similar to UW last year and SC 2011, an elite offense can get hot and win a game anytime. I assume SC will follow a similar plan that UW and WSU did, targeting our safeties in coverage and trying to create mismatches in the middle of the field. 17 points feels like a lot and I definitely have a sense of uneasiness when it comes to November home games with all on the line. 

9. Heisman Chase: With three regular season games to go, Bo sits a solid second when it comes to most Vegas odds, trailing Penix by less and less each week. If we win the next three, I see virtually no scenario where he’s not in NYC. When it comes to winning the damn thing, a UW loss will certainly help. Votes are due December 4th, after the CCG, but sounds like many voters turn their ballots in early. Would have to think that if Penix and Nix are 1-2, then voters may want to tune in on 12/1 and vote the following morning. Either way, simply turning Nix into an NYC guy will play major dividends for recruiting, specifically maybe a portal QB looking for a new home. 

10. Autzen: The crowd against UCLA last year was good. UW last year was solid. I hear Colorado was pretty dang good (Fall weddings are the best ). This has the chance to be an all-timer. SC 2007 and 2009 are memorable to this day, can Saturday get there?