On Wednesday, Oregon head men’s basketball coach Dana Altman received a three-year contract extension, keeping him in Eugene through the 2019-2020 season.

“I’m excited,” Altman said before Wednesday’s practice. “I appreciate the university, in particular (athletic director) Rob (Mullens), for having the confidence in our staff to try to build something here.”

Altman initially signed a seven-year contract with Oregon in 2010 that was set to run through the 2016-17 season. Before joining the Ducks, Altman was the head coach at Creighton for 16 seasons.

“This is a great place,” Altman said of Eugene. “I’ve been really fortunate the last 20 years coaching at Creighton and here.”

Altman’s teams have gotten progressively better in his three-plus years at Oregon. In 2010-11, the Ducks went 21-18 and won the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) championship over Altman’s former team, Creighton. The next season, Oregon went 24-10 and reached the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Last season, Oregon went 28-9 and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

The Ducks don’t look like they’ll plateau this season, either. They’re currently 4-0 and ranked No. 14 in the AP poll.

“Dana has been masterful at elevating Oregon basketball and generating renewed excitement for our program,” Mullens told GoDucks.com. “He and his family are a great fit at Oregon and we are pleased to extend our commitment to them.”

“Numbers speak for themselves,” senior guard Johnathan Loyd said. “He’s improved every year. He’s just a great coach. He gets good players here. He deserves (the extension).”

Redshirt junior guard Joseph Young tranfered from Houston before this season, so he’s hardly played under Altman. But he’s liked what he’s seen from his coach during his first couple of months with the Ducks.

“Good coach,” Young said. “He wants you to get better.”

Altman pointed to another benefit coming from the extension, and that’s in the area of recruiting. High school or transfer players often like to know that the coach who recruits them will be with the team long-term if they decide to accept the school’s offer.

“I think a lot of recruits ask that, ‘Where are you at in your contract?’” Altman said. “Whether it’s me or anybody else.”

Altman doesn’t plan on treating himself now that he has a contract extension but he said he will celebrate with his family this Thanksgiving weekend.

“My daughter’s coming into town today and my sons will be here tomorrow, so I’ll celebrate with them,” Altman said. “It will be great to have them here.”

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Mark Helfrich couldn’t recall a specific childhood memory from a Civil War game, but he fondly spoke about his experience with his family watching the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers battle.

“We came to a few (Civil War games) but it seemed like there was always something going on, whether it was a game or something that my brother and I have,” Helfrich said after Wednesday’s practice. “But I remember sitting at the bleachers at Parker Stadium. It wasn’t very full and it was pouring down rain.”

Oregon State’s Parker Stadium is now Reser Stadium and Helfrich is now the head coach for Oregon, so Friday’s game against the Beavers will not be the relaxing experience it once was for him decades ago. Helfrich and the Ducks will look to win their 10th game in a season for the sixth straight year, and although the Beavers have a 6-5 record, Helfrich expects them to be a tough test. He said he’s especially impressed with quarterback Sean Mannion.

“Physically, he’s got the tools of a great quarterback,” Helfrich said. “A big – physically – guy. A big arm. He’s got a clean release.”

Mannion might not be Oregon State’s most dangerous offensive weapon, either.

“Obviously, having (wide receiver) Brandin Cooks is a helpful thing to be a quarterback,” Helfrich said.

Across the sideline from Helfrich on Friday will be Mike Riley, the Beavers head coach who, like Helfrich, is an Oregon native. Helfrich said it’s impressive that two coaches from the same state are now coaching at rival schools in that state.

“Is there any place like that?” Helfrich asked a reporter. “I don’t know of any rivalry situation where both guys are from the same state, so that’s a neat deal.”

Before the Civil War kicks off, though, the Ducks will celebrate Thanksgiving. After practice on Thursday, Helfrich said they’ll try to get everyone out fairly quickly and make sure players have a place to eat, whether it’s with their families, another player or with a position coach.

“[We’ll] bump back meetings a little later tomorrow night and all of the coaches will try to get home and have some family time,” Helfrich said.

Helfrich sounded excited for the time he’ll spend with his family on Thursday, where he’ll chow down on some turkey (he said he prefers white meat) and all of the other Thanksgiving treats. However, when asked what his favorite Thanksgiving dish is, his answer was as specific as his childhood memories of Civil War games.

“I like everything,” he said. “I’ll eat.”

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The Ducks play Oregon State in the 117th Civil War game in two days. Oregon native and Ducks head coach Mark Helfrich attended a few Civil Wars when he was young but found it hard to recall memories from those games. After Wednesday’s practice, he also talked about lessons learned from the Arizona loss and his relationship with Beavers head coach Mike Riley.

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John Neal can’t remember what he did for Thanksgiving last year, but one memory from more than two decades ago still stands out.

Oregon’s secondary coach was celebrating the holiday with his family in Alabama. As Neal’s daughters, Kristin and Caitlin, devoured their turkey, his teenage son, Casey, would make an annoying sound with a handheld toy.

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

The girls would stop and glare at Casey for a few seconds, then go back to eating.

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

The girls’ frustration mounted with each subsequent squeak, causing the boys — young and old — to become increasingly amused.

“It was hysterical!” Neal said.

Coaches like Neal treasure Thanksgiving memories like these because they’ve occurred so sparingly in recent years. The day after this Thanksgiving, the Ducks play Oregon State, causing many coaches to sacrifice time with family and friends. This is standard procedure for football coaches every November.

“Certain professions don’t allow you to do certain things,” linebackers coach Don Pellum said.

Offensive coordinator Scott Frost said he hasn’t been home to Nebraska for Thanksgiving in 15 years. Running backs coach Gary Campbell has experienced the conflict between football and Thanksgiving for three decades, but he said he’s content giving up time during the holidays.

“I’m accustomed to it,” Campbell said. “Some policemen and firemen work on those holidays.”

Pellum admitted he’s forgotten birthdays because of football, but he said family members understand the grind coaches go through each fall and winter.

Besides, the grind doesn’t prevent coaches from celebrating Thanksgiving.

Head coach Mark Helfrich said the team will get together for a big meal Wednesday night and that players will get a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families the next day. Some players won’t have their families in Eugene, but they’ll have plenty of options if they’re looking for a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

“Our doors are open on Thanksgiving,” said Campbell, who helps his wife cook a big Thanksgiving meal every year.

Frost’s parents flew into Eugene earlier this week, and his mom will cook a Thanksgiving dinner for the family and any players who want to join them. She did the same thing last year for a group of Oregon wide receivers.

Pellum also hosted players for Thanksgiving last season. Linebacker Boseko Lokombo was one of them, and he appreciates the plethora of invitations players receive from coaches every Thanksgiving.

“It’s a good way for us to bond with the coach and just get to know how he is and eat a good meal,” Lokombo said.

While Oregon coaches might not be able to experience Thanksgiving like many other people, they still manage to squeeze the festivities in between practice and team meetings. Pellum can still cook his assortment of meats. Campbell can still barbecue his favorite ribs. Neal can still enjoy his wife’s broccoli casserole, which he said “might be the best food thing ever made.”

“There are some other things during the fall that people get to do that we don’t get to do,” Frost said. “That’s part of the job.”

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Oregon players, coaches and fans can all agree: Saturday’s loss to Arizona hurt. Not only did the Ducks get blown out by 26 points, they saw their Pac-12 Championship, Rose Bowl and BCS bowl hopes evaporate like dew in blazing sunlight.

But the loss hasn’t caused head coach Mark Helfrich or defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti to lose perspective on Oregon’s tremendous success the past half decade. If the Ducks beat Oregon State this Friday, they’ll have won 10 games for the sixth-straight season.

“Before, (the Civil War) was a game we had to win so we could feel good about going 2-9,” Aliotti said. “Now, it’s a game we have to win so we can be 10-2. That’s a pretty good deal. 10-2’s a pretty good record.”

Some are concerned that Oregon’s string of excellence has spoiled fans (For example, student tickets for this week’s Civil War game were still available well after the ticket lottery began on Sunday night.) After all, winning 10 games for six straight years is a historic college football feat. However, Helfrich said he understands if fans have high standards and he even embraces the extra pressure to consistently win.

“I think that’s the reality of any place that’s had recent success,” Helfrich said of hard-to-please fans. “This is the kind of place you want to be. The lines are very thin. The margins of error are very thin. Like I said on game day, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot and we know that.”

Helfrich added that losing games makes for valuable losing experiences.

“How we bounce back from those situations, that will be what defines us in the long term,” Helfrich said.

Both coaches have been impressed with how their players have rebounded in the three days following the loss to the Wildcats. Aliotti said the team’s energy has been “outstanding” since Sunday and he expects the Ducks to be fired up for Friday, no matter how negative the fans and pundits might be.

“They’ll be ready to play,” Aliotti said of the Oregon players. “They’re tigers and they’re lions and I don’t think they worry about the opinion of sheep.”

Part of Aliotti’s excitement to play the Beavers is the quick emotional swing a win would create. The Ducks didn’t have much time to sulk after the Arizona loss because they had to prepare for Oregon State, and although a win on Friday still won’t net them a BCS bowl berth, it would provide a much jollier atmosphere going into their bowl game.

“The good thing about (football) is you have the next week and the next game,” Aliotti said.

While Aliotti reiterated that he’s focused on Oregon State, he made an early prediction about the outcome Oregon’s bowl game if they win on Friday. Aliotti might appreciate how difficult it is to win 10 games in a season, but he, like many Ducks fans, would love to win even more.

“If we win 10, I’ll bet you we’ll win 11,” Aliotti said. “But we’ve got to win 10.”

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After Tuesday’s practice, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti talked about upcoming opponent Oregon State and briefly discussed the loss to Arizona. He said the energy this week following the defeat has been “outstanding.”

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After Monday’s practice, Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost explained why he didn’t talk with the media after Saturday’s loss to Arizona and reflected on the 42-16 defeat in Tucson, Ariz.

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Mark Helfrich entered Arizona Stadium’s press room after the Saturday’s game with a demeanor one would expect from a coach whose team just lost by 26 points in a game it was expected to win. A slumped posture. A solemn voice. Eyes expressing a mixture of pain and sadness. He looked like someone who just committed a colossal mistake, and his words reflected that.

“How we started, very sluggish in every phase, that’s 100 percent my fault,” Helfrich said after the game.

Oregon’s head coach uttered similar phrases later in the press conference following the 42-16 loss to Arizona. During his Sunday conference call with local media, Helfrich was asked why he seems to take full responsibility for losses while deflecting all of the praise toward his players after wins.

“I guess that’s just my belief,” he said. “Good things are because of what they (the players) do, and if things don’t go our way, we couldn’t help but have done something better. That’s kind of always been my deal.”

Helfrich said his team has responded well in the 24 hours since the loss to the Wildcats, saying his players were attentive in Sunday’s team meetings.

“We had some very good conversations,” Helfrich said. “We talked about accountability from starting with me to ending with me and everything in between. I had some conversations with some of the leaders and those guys did a nice job today.”

While the Ducks’ aspirations of playing in the Pac-12 Championship, the Rose Bowl or even the BCS title game have all been demolished, they still have one more regular season game left. Not only will it determine which bowl game the Ducks go to, it’s against Oregon’s in-state rival, Oregon State.

Helfrich remembers growing up in a town (Coos Bay) that was divided when it came to the Ducks-Beavers rivalry, but he was far from neutral when it came to Civil War allegiance.

“I was a Duck fan,” he said.

Helfrich said the OSU game this upcoming Friday at Autzen Stadium will involve an “element of redemption” because of the loss in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday. He knows Oregon State is a big rival with a solid team this season that could upset the Ducks if they don’t prepare well.

But after the humiliating loss to Arizona, Helfrich said the opponent’s location, record and talent level mean essentially nothing this week. He knows the Wildcats simply outplayed his team, and he wants to make sure he doesn’t have that demoralizing post-game feeling on Friday.

“I think missing in a lot of this is Arizona played really well,” Helfrich said. “They beat us yesterday. There’s a lot of stuff that we contributed to that that we would like to control a lot differently. From that standpoint, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

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Ducks fans cringe thinking about their team’s costly end of game mistakes in recent seasons, like the missed field goals against Stanford in 2012 and USC in 2011. On Saturday in Tucson, Ariz., however, some early blunders put the Ducks in a hole from the start and they never recovered, losing to Arizona 42-16.

The first error involved a mix of Oregon sloppiness and Arizona brilliance. Wide receiver Bralon Addison dropped a Marcus Mariota pass right next to the Arizona sideline on just the second play of the game. But instead of the pass going out of bounds, Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson flew towards the ball, grabbed it with one hand and flung it back into the field of play right into the hands of linebacker Scooby Wright.

“I just wasn’t focused on the ball and it slipped out of my hands,” Addison said after the game. “Any other day, that ball goes out of bounds and it’s 2nd-and-10.”

Nine plays after the interception, Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey found the end zone on a 6-yard run. It would be the first of four touchdowns on a historic day for the junior running back.

The Ducks were stuffed on the first two plays on the ensuing drive, but Mariota found an open De’Anthony Thomas streaking down the middle of the field. The pass was perfect, but the catch was botched. A first down and a prolonged drive were squandered.

Arizona scored another touchdown on the subsequent drive, a pass from quarterback B.J. Denker to receiver Nate Phillips. Suddenly, the Ducks trailed 14-0.

Josh Huff said he didn’t think the early dropped passes — both within the first five minutes of the game — affected the outcome  too much. Rather, the Ducks had a myriad of mistakes that the Wildcats took advantage of.

“We were just poor with our execution and they were able to capitalize on that,” Huff said.

A touchdown run by Mariota on the drive following  Phillips’ TD was called back after a holding penalty by Pharaoh Brown. The Ducks had to settle for a field goal, and Arizona capitalized yet again by scoring a touchdown on the next drive. The score was 21-3, a hole so deep the Ducks could never climb out.

“It’s part of the game,” Mariota said of the early mistakes. “You can’t get frustrated with your teammates.”

Perhaps the final blow to the Ducks’ chances came on a 4th-and-2 on the Arizona 6-yard line five minutes into the second half. Mariota threw a fade pass into the left corner of the end zone that sailed over the head of Keanon Lowe. The score was 28-9 at the time and Oregon’s deficit would never get smaller.

The Ducks had a decent day statistically. Mariota threw for 308 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 27-of-41 passing (65.8 completion percentage). De’Anthony Thomas also had 157 total yards (83 rushing, 74 receiving). The Ducks actually outgained the Wildcats 506-482 in total yardage, but Arizona won the turnover battle 3-0 and finished drives on offense like Oregon normally does.

“If we would’ve held onto the ball and finished [drives] off like we know we can, it would’ve been a different game,” Huff said.

In the end, the Ducks had far too many mistakes and Arizona often answered them with six points of the scoreboard. The early drops, the costly penalties (Oregon had eight compared to two from Arizona) and the failure to consistently score touchdowns in the red zone accumulated into the 26-point drubbing at Arizona Stadium.

After the game, head coach Mark Helfrich was asked if the defeat changes his team’s identity.

“No,” Helfrich said. “We got beat today.”

Noteworthy: 

– Wright’s interception on the first play from scrimmage snapped Marcus Mariota’s interception-less streak at 353 pass attempts, a Pac-12 record. The last time Mariota threw a pick was Nov. 17, 2012 against Stanford. Mariota’s last pass on Saturday was also an interception.

– Ka’Deem Carey broke all-time Arizona rushing record and set all-time record for touchdowns on Saturday. He now has 3913 career rushing yards 49 total career TDs (45 rushing and four receiving). On Saturday, he rushed for 206 yards on 48 carries (4.3 yards per attempt) to go along with his four touchdowns.

– B.J. Denker threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-22 passing (86.3 completion percentage). He also rushed for 102 yards on 14 carries.

– Arizona rushed for 304 yards on Oregon, the most the Ducks have given up on the ground all season.

– This is Oregon’s largest loss since Oct. 4, 2008 when USC beat the Ducks 44-10.

– Oregon’s 28-9 halftime deficit was its largest since Sept. 11, 2004 when Indiana had a 23-0 lead through two quarters.

– This is the first time since 2006 that Oregon has trailed by at least 26 points in two games during a single season.

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It took just one play from scrimmage for one of the nation’s most impressive streaks to end. The play also served as an omen for how the first half would play out.

To open the game, Troy Hill returned the ball 40 yards to the Arizona 45-yard line. The next play, Marcus Mariota threw a short pass to Bralon Addison toward the Arizona sideline. Addison got both hands on the ball but couldn’t reel it in. The dropped pass appeared to be heading out of bounds but Wildcats cornerback Shaquille Richardson made a tremendous diving play, tossing the ball back in play with his right hand to teammate Scooby Wright, who caught it and returned it 13 yards.

Mariota had gone 353 pass attempts without an interception, his last one coming against Stanford last season on Nov. 17, 2012.

After the crazy interception, Arizona marched down the field and scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run by Ka’Deem Carey, his 13th rushing touchdown of the season.

The Ducks couldn’t bounce back on the next drive, going three-and-out after gaining just one yard. The drive ended on a dropped pass by De’Anthony Thomas after a perfect pass by Mariota down the middle of the field. The pass would’ve gone for at least 20 yards and a first down for the Ducks.

The Wildcats took advantage of Oregon’s missed opportunity, scoring a touchdown the following drive. On a third-and-one play at the Oregon 12, Oregon linebacker Rahim Cassell was called for an encroachment penalty, giving Arizona a first down. The Wildcats would score their touchdown two plays later on a 9-yard pass from B.J. Denker to Nate Phillips.

The Ducks finally got something going on the next drive, going from their own 20-yard line to the Arizona six. But yet again, mistakes hurt Oregon.

Mariota waltzed in for a touchdown on a 3rd-and-6, but the score was negated by a holding penalty from Pharaoh Brown with 2:58 left in 1st quarter. The Ducks would have to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Matt Wogan.

The next drive, Arizona scored another TD on a 5-yard pass from Denker to receiver Terrence Miller, putting them up 21-3. Denker had a huge first half, passing for 142 yards on 13-of-15 passing and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 41 yards. Carey rushed for 95 yards on 24 carries (4.0 yards per carry) and two touchdowns, while Miller had 86 passing yards.

With 7:39 left in the half, the Ducks finally got on the board, but it took a close throw-and-catch to do so. On 4th-and-goal from the one, Mariota threw one up to Brown in the middle of the end zone for a bobbled catch. The Ducks went for two the next play but couldn’t convert.

The Ducks are actually neck-in-neck with Arizona in total yards but their two turnovers, an interception form Mariota and a fumble by Thomas Tyner with 5:20 left in the half, cost them. The Wildcats also had two punts (one by Denker) to pin Oregon deep in their territory.

Arizona’s final touchdown came with 18 seconds to go in the half. Carey rushed the ball up the gut for a 1-yard score.

Mariota went 12-for-18 for 130 yards and one touchdown, rushing for 29 more yards on 4 carries. Thomas contributed 121 total yards (65 rushing, 56 receiving), as well.

Oregon running back Byron Marshall was ruled out for the game with a injury to his ankle. He rushed for four yards on three carries

What to watch for in the second half:

Can Oregon’s defense contain Denker?

Can they stop Carey, who will surely get the bulk of the carry load in the second half?

Can Oregon force some turnovers?

Can Oregon find a rhythm in the rushing game?

Can Oregon make some big plays?

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