Despite no longer being bowl eligible, Oregon still has something to play for this season.
Coming off their 30-28 upset win over Utah last week, the Ducks look to have a positive ending to an otherwise disastrous season. They head to Corvallis on Saturday to try to extend their Civil War winning streak to nine.
Offensive coordinator Matt Lubick answered questions about their matchup this week after practice on Wednesday.
How do you think you guys matchup against OSU?
We’re excited. That win [against Utah} was a big win for us as far as giving guys some confidence for that well-deserved success because of how hard they’ve been working in practice. But it’s going to be an extreme challenge. They’re in the same boat that we are. They’re hot right now; they’re playing really well; they’re playing with a lot of confidence. It’s gonna be a huge challenge.
How do you build on the success of last weekend?
If you’ve got success you’ve gotta be careful about getting too high. Same thing when you lose; you gotta be careful not to get too low. We compliment the things we did well but there were also things that we didn’t do well and we can’t ignore those things and that’s what we do in practice is try to fix it and get better .
What do you remember about last year’s Civil War game and what can you take away from that performance?
Well obviously we were fortunate to win the game because that game was close and it came down to the last drive and they did a great job. It comes down to whether we’re up by 10 or we’re down or tie score, you just try to play it one play at a time. That’s what happened in the Utah game, guys buying into that philosophy because you just don’t know what’s going to happen. You just go out and try to compete and do your best every single play and then you hope that good things happen to your team.
OSU has been known for their toughness this year more so than their talent, is that what you see from them on film?
Yeah. Since I’ve been here they’ve always been tough and I think their talent has gotten better, I really do. I think they’re a talented football team, they’ve shown they can play with anybody and beat anybody.
You and Brady Hoke both spent time at OSU, do you guys share any Civil War memories?
Well when I was a Beaver, I think we went 50/50 against the Ducks. That’s back when we went to the Fiesta Bowl and I think the quarterback was Harrington and then the other time we lost. Those games stick out for a whole bunch of reasons, one of them they were the last game of the season, it seems like it’s always the last game which you remember that, and both teams are going to bring it. There’s just a lot of excitement. You can feel the fan excitement and the energy and emotion from the crowd. It’s as good of an atmosphere as there is in college football.
Any final words and thoughts for the seniors heading into their final collegiate game
Very proud of what they’ve done, not just this year but throughout their career. Sometimes you find out a lot about guys — it’s easy to be a competitor and work hard when you’re winning, this year hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to but our seniors have never wavered and that shows you a lot about them as far as the way they’ve competed and kept trying to get better each week and win each week
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris
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