DuckIt

If you have two evenly matched teams, isn't that the point? To see which team, can get the other team off their game and playing out of their element... I thought this was going to be a much closer game, but the Ducks may be that much better. DL and KD Won the Day.

The defense didn't look pretty most of the game but how much of that was by design, in terms of the soft coverage? It forced DTR to settle for everything underneath and their drives ate a lot of clock, only to result in FGs. If that was the game plan, it worked. I'm still waiting for DL to put his fingerprints all over this defense. I'm still not sold on Lupoi.

We also saw Bucky and other guys besides Hutson, fielding kickoffs. I think Hutson was only inserted for one of them in the second half. Do you think the coaches read our posts?

And then there was 1, last of the undefeated in the Pac-12.

Bo SIX!

Every week, we are getting dinged with an ineligible receiver downfield. How do we clean that up?

Our offense is stellar. Our D needs a lot of work.

Put two guys on Bobo. That's half their offense right there.

Yeah, if our D could get off the field and stop UCLA, our team as whole would look a lot more dominant.

If our offense was struggling to put up points this would be an issue. Lupoi seems content to keep every play in front of his defense. All UCLA's passes are thrown underneath and just taking what our D is giving them.

TD!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice block by Dollars.

Nix in Total Command!

Come on Ducks! Keep the pedal to the metal

Yea, took a page out of Chippy's playbook and used it against him.

If you told me before this game, that the Ducks would hold DTR to 1 TD in the first half, I wouldn't have believed it. DL is doing a superb job limiting UCLA's possessions.

KD calling a brilliant game.

Was Bucky grimacing in pain? Might be limping too. Hope he's alright.

If we can hold them to FGs, I'm happy with that. TDs might be harder to come by with this rain coming down too.

Right on cue!

The defense needs to show up now.

What a throw!

Well, since th Since there hasn't been much to speak of from Hutson's kickoff returns, I suspect the coaches are more focused on ball security and not muffing the kickoff or the punt, until they can get the return game figured out. My guess is that Hutson is best at catching these balls. If they wanted a sure-handed return man, I've been really impressed with Franklin snatching the balls out of the air, but the coaches' decision could have more to do with protecting the ball once it has been caught. Franklin could also be too valuable to risk injury to. When you look at this past week's Bama VS Tennessee game, Bama had two giant miscues on their return game which probably cost them the game. Speed probably won out over experience when choosing the return man. So from that perspective, I would prefer the risk-averse approach that the Ducks are taking, even if it means having a dull to non-existent return game. Also, with the way the offense has been moving the ball, there's no need to risk much. Having said that, the Ducks are probably better off if Hutson would waive for fair catch every time.

I've been harping on, especially the kickoff return team, being ineffective all season. It starts with Hutson who gets the bulk of fielding the kickoffs. I don't know what he is looking at, but he seems to be running in the wrong direction. He did it again last game and ran right into the swarm of would-be tacklers. It's never a good look to get tackled for a loss or no gain, running sideline to sideline. Don't the Ducks have a better option? I think the Ducks need to refer back to the LMJ and Barner days for inspiration and direction. Use both Whittington and Irving in tandem. Both of them have excellent vision and can switch directions with ease. Bennett Williams might be another good option. He's not the fastest but sees the field clearly and is elusive. His pick-6 in last year's Zona game is proof of that. I don't want to see Franklin get hurt, but he was a serious threat to take it to the house in high school. The guy was electric on kickoff and punt returns. He also weighs more than SUC's Jordan Addison who frequently returns the ball. Another issue is their scheme. Do the Ducks even have one or does everyone run around willy-nilly? I seriously couldn't tell. Maybe because our return man doesn't survive long enough to locate his blockers and use them. Sometimes, the returner needs to evade the gunner, before he can see a path through. The Ducks have so much speed and talent that it is going to waste on the kickoff returns. We seen lesser teams like EWU do more with less talent on the kickoffs. There's no excuse why the Ducks couldn't use their talents to their advantage and gain a better starting field position. The Ducks are halfway through the season and only managed to return the ball for a grand total of 104 yds. Some teams can and have racked up those yards in a single game. As opposed to 2011 Ducks, with kickoff returners consisting of LMJ, Barner, DAT, Huff, and Troy Hill, that Dream Team returned the ball for 1420 yds that year. DAT alone, recorded 983 yds in kickoff returns. It's no wonder we expect more, because we were spoiled in those days. On the flip side, the Ducks gave up a total of 358 yds to their opponents on kickoffs this season. The Ducks are definitely losing that battle and shortchanging themselves every game. DL talks about the importance of having explosive plays on offense but why couldn't he include kickoff and punt returns? Unless the Ducks create a turnover or earn a turnover on down, kickoff or punt returns are usually how the Ducks start off each possession. These are squandered opportunities, to potentially give your offense a short field to work with and increase their chances of scoring.

Last year, after seeing UCLA run through LSU, we were worried about Charbonnet. The Ducks however would shut down his running game and hold him to a mere 35 yds. I am not so confident that this defense will be able to deliver similar results tomorrow. We don’t have KT anymore to disrupt their offense and put a beating on DTR which forced him to leave the game early. Also, Sewell hasn’t been the stout, instinctual, RB stopper that he was, a season ago. His size and strength made it possible for him to topple the bigger downhill RBs like Charbonnet. I am not so concerned with the offense being able to generate points as I am about the defense getting stops. I fully expect this to be a shootout, if the weather permits. So it will be paramount for the defense to win the turnover battle and get stops. DTR looks lethal this season, making plays and protecting the ball. The defense has to apply pressure early and rattle him. But other than the obvious, Dorlus, where does the pass rush come from? If it is not pouring, DL needs to unleash his repertoire of blitz packages in this game. I liked what he did the last game, with Williams rushing off the edge. It paid off big time! I want to see more of that with new wrinkles.