Bye week is the perfect opportunity for Oregon football to reset, refocus
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in a 49-14 road thrashing of Oregon State in Week 3, Oregon football knew that the job wasn't finished.
While it felt good to finally play to potential, Oregon knew that it wasn't going to just magically silence all of its doubters with a 35-point win over an unranked rival. It's not that easy.
No, Oregon knew that there would be work to do during an early bye week to prove to the rest of the country that it's much better than what it's shown through three weeks, dropping from No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25 down to No. 9 after Week 3 despite not losing a single game. That drop resulted from two very close wins over Boise State and Idaho -- at home.
If the bye week came after Week 2's come-from-behind win over Boise State, I would say that it's the perfect time to scrap the plan and start over because nothing has truly worked. But after watching Oregon recalibrate against Oregon State, it's clear that a slight "reset" and "refocusing" is needed.
Dillon Gabriel looks fantastic and he's developing solid connections with all of his weapons and the run game is solid with Jordan James and Noah Whittington leading the way.
However, that offensive line needs to find some answers. Whatever it was doing through the first two weeks needs to be ditched. This group might need some personnel changes but it also may just be a "we thought we were untouchable and we clearly aren't" mindset reset.
Defensively, the Ducks looked a lot better against Oregon State, but giving up 34 points to Boise State and letting Ashton Jeanty run wild like he did was unacceptable. Time to tighten the screws on that side of the ball, too.
Really it's just time to refocus and remember those goals set before them at the start of the season. Win each week and dominate like they're capable of and we should see Oregon live up to that immense potential.
You just know Dan Lanning isn't going to let them come out flat after a bye week.