Don’t look now. The Oregon Ducks are getting better at the right time of the season.
As teams in the Top 10 fall by the wayside each week, Mark Helfrich‘s squad could be one of the last teams standing when it’s all said and done.
Oregon mounted another impressive victory Saturday with a strong 45-20 effort against the Washington Huskies. The win comes a week after the Ducks defeated the formerly Top 20 UCLA Bruins 42-30.
What’s most encouraging for the Ducks is their offense is finally on track.
Over the past two weeks, Oregon posted 468 yards against the Bruins and 554 yards against Washington. This is significant, because the Ducks weren’t able to consistently move the ball during previous games due to an injury-plagued offensive line and a lackluster rushing attack.
Both the offensive line and the running backs played well Saturday for Oregon.
Washington owns one of the most talented defensive lines in college football. Yet, they struggled to apply pressure on quarterback Marcus Mariota. Part of the reason behind the Ducks’ success was establishing the run early. The Ducks gained 218 yards on the ground. Freshman Royce Freeman exploded for 169 yards and four touchdowns.
Royce freeman is out there making them dawgs look like puppies #goducks
— Jonathan Stewart (@Jonathanstewar1) October 19, 2014
Oregon should also be proud of its defensive effort. The Ducks surrendered a couple late scores, but they generally frustrated Washington’s offense throughout the evening. Washington gained 317 yards, which was the Ducks’ best defensive effort of the season.
With Saturday’s win, the Ducks currently reside atop the Pac-12 North standings with a 4-1 conference record. The program’s biggest game of the season will come in two weeks against the Stanford Cardinal. But Oregon has to get through an explosive Cal Golden Bears offense next week.
The collegiate season has reached a point where the Ducks can once again aspire to make the College Football Playoff. The team’s victory against the Huskies could be the first step in achieving that goal.