Nothing fires up a team than an unexpected loss, especially if it’s your in-state rival.
And while we’re not able to actually watch practice or visit the locker room during this current pandemic, we’ve heard nothing but fire and brimstone coming from both of those locations as the Ducks prepare to hit the road against Cal on Saturday.
“We all talked as a group,” said Oregon QB Tyler Shough when asked about his teams mood this week.
“We got all of our leaders together and talked to the team about what this week means to us and how we want to move forward. Everyone’s kind of jelling together. We’re pissed off in a way we know we should have done better last week, but we’re just going to use this momentum and really just take this week of practice seriously and then take it onto the field on Saturday.”
OREGON QB TYLER SHOUGH WEEKLY MEDIA BRIEF
When the Ducks needed their offense most last week against the Beavers, in order to seal the game in the waning moments, they simply couldn’t execute which allowed the ball to go back to OSU.
It was certainly a turning point in that game, however Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead believes his unit is still playing good football.
“I think we’re playing above-average right now,” explained offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.
“I think we have a lot more in the tank. I think we need to continue creating explosive plays which have been our goal for all the games. We have to eliminate the turnovers, and I don’t know if that means zero every game but certainly, minimize them. I think that’s the biggest thing right now to take the next step and continue to do well on third down and score touchdowns in the red zone.”
The Oregon offense still remains first in the Pac-12 in these offensive categories – scoring offense, total offense, yards per play, third-down conversions (53%), first downs per game (24.8), and passing efficiency.
OREGON OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOE MOORHEAD TALKS CAL
OREGON WR MYCAH PITTMAN EXPECTED TO RETURN VS CAL
The Ducks offense is expected to get a key part of their offense back Saturday versus Cal. After making just one catch this season, (Stanford) Pittman is expected to return to the lineup in Berkeley.
“Mycah is back,” said Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal this week.
“We got him back late Friday. So that’s why he wasn’t part of the game. He is good to go. Again, it was nothing he ever did wrong, it was just part of not being available.”
Although transfer receiver Devon Williams has filled in nicely during Pittman’s absence, Pittman is extremely explosive in the slot and outside and has shown to make big plays downfield, something the Ducks can use in Moorheads scheme.
“He’s an awesome competitor,” said Cristobal. “He stayed in great shape. He certainly did everything humanly possible to be physically prepared.”
MYCAH PITTMAN’S BIG CATCH VERSUS STANFORD