Silver Linings Playbook: Sometimes a bad loss can be the key to a great season

Oregon had a tough weekend and lost to a disciplined, fired-up Indiana team that came in with a tremendous plan. The Ducks were put-played and out-coached in Autzen Stadium last Saturday but still had a chance to win in the fourth quarter.

That's football. Their young quarterback got rattled after getting sacked on the first play and lost his feel for the game in taking six sacks, confused by Indiana's relentless pressure and simulated pressure.

In this era 10 wins will make the playoffs and any team can have a bad week or suffer an upset (the Ducks were 7.5-point favorites against Indiana.) A team has to be resilient and focus on growth, learn the right lessons from a loss, move forward.

Last year Ohio State ending the season with a shocking loss at home to Michigan, reset themselves and played with a focused anger all through the playoff. That talented team found their inner fire, winding up winning the whole thing.

The Ducks can follow the same script, but their route to the Big Dance requires making the right moves week to week.

After practice Malik Benson said to the media, "The game didn't go the way it was supposed to, but it made leaders have to become leaders. It really showed their colors... We're all dogs and we don't like losing. It was a heartbreaking loss, but we're all focused and have our heads on to get the corrections to do what we need to do to bounce back."

It sounds like the team has the right mindset to bounce back against Rutgers. The key now is to execute on the road and get a promising season back on track.

Speaking of track, Benson ran 10.4 100 meters in high school. Run the gol' dang ball, set up the play-action pass and hit some deep shots to him and Dakorien Moore. It's what Dante Moore was born to do. He throws a deep ball that rivals Bo Nix and Justin Herbert.