For all of Chip Kelly’s talk about winning the day, and every game being Oregon’s Super Bowl, the moment has finally come for that talk to be taken literally. The regular season comes to a close Saturday against Oregon State, and this game truly is the biggest of the year.
Win, and the Ducks will play for a national title on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. Lose, and it is back to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“This is by far the biggest game of this year for us,” defensive tackle Brandon Bair said. “Hopefully that’s our mentality for every game, and it has been, and we’ve been able to step up to it, and we’ve just gotta keep doing the same thing this week. We don’t want to lose what we’ve worked so hard on this year.”
The Beavers certainly won’t make it easy on the Ducks, and Kelly knows that the Ducks will have to remain focused throughout the game.
“It’s about battling and playing ‘till the end of the game,” Kelly said. “We talk about being a 60-minute football team, and we’ve proven it 11 times.”
To make it 12, much of the load will fall once again on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas. Luckily for Oregon, Thomas has shown poise beyond his years in his first season as the starter.
“Darron’s been the same in every game,” Kelly said. “Darron doesn’t get rattled, extremely strong mentally. Doesn’t get too hyped, you know I think he’s a real calming influence on our offense, and everybody kind of looks to him.”
Should the Ducks fall behind early, as they have done numerous times throughout the season, the players know not to panic.
“We’ve experienced being behind this season,” Bair said. “The best part about the way we play is that no matter what happens, we don’t blink. We just keep pushing forward and we just keep playing our game.”
The possibility of falling behind is distinct, despite Oregon State’s 5-6 record. Playing for a bowl game appearance, Oregon State would like nothing more than to knock its bitter rival out of the national championship.
“We know that we’re going to get their best game,” senior linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. “We’re going to get their lights out performance, as they did against USC.”
With the stakes so high, the Ducks are lucky to be coming into the matchup with a roster of mostly healthy players. One notable absence, for the second straight game, will be junior wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei. Playing in his stead, however, will be freshman sensation Josh Huff.
“Josh is special,” Kelly said. “And he keeps getting better and better, and we’re finding new ways to try to get him the football and get him involved in the game.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Oregon will have the advantage of a full year’s worth of tape on the Beaver offense.
“We’ve all played 11 games,” Kelly said. “It’s not like you’re playing the opening game of the year and you’re not sure what Ryan Katz is. We have a body of work on him, we’ve got a pretty good feel for what he can do. And it’s not like you’re going to show up on Saturday and go, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t know they did that.'”
The Ducks know what to expect on Saturday and are perfectly aware of the stakes involved. All that is left is to go out and play.
“They’re going to give their best shot,” sophomore cornerback Cliff Harris said. “We’ve just gotta give them ours.”