What We Learned: Oregon Vs UCLA

Monday, October 13, 2014

Jeffrey Martin, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Photo credit: John Martinez Pavliga on Flickr. Creative Commons License. Image cropped.

Oregon beat UCLA by 12 points on Saturday. Here's what we learned from the Ducks' latest performance.

The swagger is back.

Whether it was imagined or real, but that thing, that something that not only permeated the program but almost defined it as well, is back.

It was missing for most of the last four weeks, casting a pall over the fan base.

Forty-two points in about three quarters of work? Yep, that’s vintage Ducks, pouncing on vulnerable foes and pouring it on. That’s the M.O. that best fits this group, and Mark Helfrich is too smart to mess with something that, when properly calibrated, still works pretty well.

So while he’ll never receive credit when everything is purring as it should - Chip Kelly was the architect, after all - he’s all but certain to shoulder the blame when it isn’t.

Such is life in the state’s most recognizable job. But even Helfrich would have to admit it’s a rather sweet gig following a victory, especially a road victory against a team touted in the preseason as your rival for the conference crown.

It’s cliche (and insulting to Helfrich, his coaches and the players) to say the identity has been found.

But an attitude that serves as the foundation of this program? It resurfaced Saturday in the Rose Bowl, not a moment too soon.

Part of that, of course, was the re-emergence of the running game, the component that makes Oregon go.

So don’t be surprised if the Ducks are spending the off hours saying to themselves...

Let’s hear it for Jake.

Remember how all you heard about, in terms of the Ducks’ woes, were complaints related to the offensive line?

The coolest part was that NO ONE inside the program complained about missing players. The NFL maintains a “next man up” mentality, and it has trickled down to the college ranks, where it makes almost more sense because of larger rosters.

And while this isn’t junior varsity high school athletics, where everyone might play and simply showing up is a virtue, players are on scholarship for a reason. And when you lose someone like Jake Fisher, a senior offensive lineman who had started for the past two seasons, you’re bound to feel the effects.

Everyone is replaceable, but some are harder than others.

The left tackle returned Saturday against the Bruins. In his two-game absence, a makeshift unit allowed Mariota to be sacked 12 times. UCLA couldn’t manage one, surrendering 6.3 yards per UO rushing attempt and four touchdowns on the ground.

"It was good to just be welcomed back out here and have an opportunity to make a difference," Fisher told reporters following the game. "It feels good to be out there doing what I can do."

And if his return is more than temporary, that means...

Your Heisman Trophy frontrunner once again is Marcus Mariota.

Sure, it’s partially Georgia running back Todd Gurley’s fault for allegedly signing autographs for cash. He was the guy to beat, but now that he’s been suspended indefinitely, the award is up for grabs.

Well, Mariota may have snatched it back.

It’s not as if he shouldn’t have been in consideration anyway, despite a loss to Arizona. He still fared well in that game, although he did have a couple of turnovers. But nothing he did was egregious, and he’s clearly the most talented player on what suddenly appears to be once again the Pac-12’s best team.

By his standards, it was so pedestrian - he threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 75 yards and another two touchdowns. There were no turnovers.

Dude is consistent, like a metronome. (A potential nickname? Marcus the Metronome?)

Here’s what seems certain - the Ducks defense is going to continue to be gouged by high-octane offenses throughout the league for the next two months. Just accept this as fact.

But with Mariota around, Oregon’s offense will likely outscore all comers in the next two months as well.