Oregon Football: Ducks Prepare For Pac-12 Road Test At Arizona State
Oregon Football built momentum during the Non-Conference slate, but now face a physical Arizona State team on the road to open Pac-12 play.
WIth Conference play starting this week there is a cautious optimism surrounding the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. What was not seen over the first part of the week was Wide Receiver Charles Nelson, who went down with a sprained ankle last week against Wyoming. If he is unable to go, expect Taj Griffin to fill the roster spot this week.
Much focus has been on what has been an improved Oregon Football Defense, which will have their hands full this week. Head Coach Willie Taggart is ready to get into Pac-12 play against Arizona State, “It’ll be the first time we’ve had a really good mobile quarterback to go up against, defending him in the run game and pass game will be a challenge for us.”
In the first three weeks of Non-Conference play, despite coming out with three quality wins that saw the team put up the points in the first half, there is still a lot to work on, “I think we’re making improvements we need to make…there’s more areas to improve in and as long as we continue to improve throughout the season we’ll be okay.” The Defense is ranked 33rd in the Nation, an improvement from last season that saw the team giving up over one-thousand yards through three games.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt has his squad on the right track. Big plays have been made by young players, but Leavitt says that despite the early optimism, there will be mistakes, “At times we’ve done some good things, at times we haven’t done good things. It’s a process, things don’t happen overnight.”
Next: Oregon 2017 Basketball Schedule Released
Arizona State poses bigger challenges that the first three games with a Mobile Quarterback, Quality Size in the Run Game and Wide Receiver Corps and a better than average Defense. Oregon and Arizona State meet Saturday Night for a 7pm PT Kickoff on Pac-12 Network.
Quotes obtained first hand at Oregon Football Practice