Against UCLA, Oregon Ducks Will Be Ready To Roll After Their Bye Week

By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN

Contributor, 750 The Game

Time flies when you’re having fun, which is roughly how Duck fans have likely felt since they last watched their team take the field. A 49-14 beatdown of Oregon State heading into the bye week was just what the doctor ordered after a pair of stressful home games against Idaho and Boise State. Now the Ducks are heading down to Los Angeles for a classic Big 10 matchup with UCLA.

I have high hopes for Oregon to go into the Rose Bowl and roll the Bruins, who are in year 1 of a teardown and rebuild under DeShaun Foster. There’s no reason Oregon, who’s a 24.5 point road favorite last I checked, shouldn’t play a game that looks much like the one that took place in Corvallis.

That game was competitive for a half, but Oregon dominated the second half and didn’t allow the Beavers to score a single point in the final 2 quarters on their home field. Coming off a bye while UCLA played at LSU last week (and played well), the Ducks should have more than a few advantages here.

The Bruins played inspired football last week in Death Valley and had LSU fans wondering how a team that lost to Indiana 42-13 at home was pushing them through 2 quarters. Then they woke up and blanked the Bruins’ offense in the second half, winning 34-17.

DeShaun Foster’s first impression as the Bruins’ head coach was…not good. It was an ugly press conference at Big 10 Media Days that made him look unprepared. I was down on the Foster hire before that moment, but it’s far too early to know how good he can be as the Bruins’ head coach. 

No matter who they had brought in, Oregon should be focused on Oregon this week. It’s Dan Lanning’s third season and he’s set up the Ducks for a national title-caliber season. They’ve only looked like that team once and coming off a bye, he should have his team ready to go from the start. If he doesn’t, concerns will permeate throughout the Oregon fanbase.

UCLA’s quarterback, Ethan Garbers, was on the roster last time these teams played at the Rose Bowl in 2021. He was subbed in late for an injured Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the Bruins staged a furious comeback, only to have Garbers throw a game-sealing interception to DJ James right in front of the UCLA sideline. Garbers can do some really nice things, when he is comfortable he can make some outstanding throws to a talented trio of wide receivers. 

This will be a good test for Oregon’s secondary as they gear up for Ohio State in a couple weeks. Boise State had some good wideouts and the Ducks’ secondary was up to the task, holding the Broncos’ QB to under 50% completion on the night. 

The reason Oregon SHOULD roll here is in the trenches. The Bruins have struggled to pressure the quarterback and Dillon Gabriel showed against Oregon State how good this offense is when the OL is getting beat on a consistent basis.

Oregon did not punt against the Beavs. Dillon Gabriel is completing over 80% of his passes to start the year, and if given time to throw could be over that number again on Saturday. Combine that with a disruptive Oregon defensive line and things could get out of hand quickly this week.

Matthew Bedford isn’t likely to play on the offensive line, but that same unit that dominated against Oregon State to the tune of 7.5 yards per rush and 0 sacks is all intact. I like Oregon to roll and play a great defensive game.

PREDICTION:

Oregon 38, UCLA 10

Spencer McLaughlin is an Oregon Ducks football contributor to 750 The Game. He also hosts the “Locked On Oregon Ducks” and “Locked On College Football” podcasts and has work featured throughout the season here.