<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3XFgeJ_0vWqv00c00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3XFgeJ_0vWqv00c00" width="1182" height="619" >As Dillon Gabriel said last week after the Ducks' 37-34 win over Boise State, things needed to change for the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks were undefeated and won two games at home, but Oregon had gotten off to a slow start to the season with two close wins. The offense was inconsistent; the defense allowed too many big plays. The Ducks were sloppy. Mistakes were plentiful. Those changes started in practice this week, and the end result was the Ducks blowing out their rival Oregon State 49-14. The Ducks altered their practices slightly, adjusted both sides of the football, and got honest about how they've played the last two weeks. What the Ducks put on the field in wins over Idaho and Boise was not up to the standard, and it was on themselves to change that approach this week before facing Oregon State."It made us realize everyone is going to give us our best shot," said Oregon star linebacker Bryce Boettcher to the first two close wins. "I think guys really started to realize that, and now it's here we go."The Ducks came into its week three matchup 2-0, the most crucial stat that matters in college football. Yet the feeling around the program from those outside was that the Ducks were on the path for disappointment. The Ducks opened the season No. 3 in the country but, after two wins, found themselves ranked No. 9. Chatter about how good this team really was started to build up.Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel praised his team's ability to block out the outside noise and focus on what matters most in practice this week."We live in a world where if it doesn't look a certain way, there are opinions but also panic," said Gabriel. "I just love how everyone in the building has focused on the process to get better every single day. I think that allowed us to play confidently and let it loose."Boy, did they ever let it loose? An offense that struggled to get out of first gear the first two weeks found their high-octane gasoline and became unstoppable against the Beaver defense. The Ducks scored on every drive of the game, but it's final in the first half, where they just took a knee to go into halftime. The 16 explosive plays on offense were more than the first two games combined. The Ducks ripped off their four longest-running plays of the season against Oregon State. Oregon's running game found itselve and then some. Gabriel completed his first 15 passes to yet another impressive stat line."It was going back to the basics," said Oregon starting center Iapani Laloulu. "It was the one thing we've been preaching, especially along the offensive line. Let's get back to playing with good hands, good leverage, and good feet. It's something we really focused on all week in practice."When Oregon's offense wasn't scoring the football at will, the defense made countless big plays. The Ducks were credited with seven pass breakups in the win, four times they were given credit for a quarterback hurry, and the Ducks recorded two more sacks against Oregon State. The Beavers had just 91 yards in the second half and averaged just 3.6 yards per play. Oregon State ran just 25 plays in the second half, two more than they had in the first quarter."Honestly, I didn't need to see it to believe it," Boettcher said if this win validates the Ducks' ranking. "I've seen it in practice; I've seen it in camp to realize how special this team can be.""The past couple of weeks wasn't to our standard. That's something that we noticed as players, and we took control of that," added Teitum Tuioti. "There were some things we need to improve, so let's improve them."Dan Lanning said that this week, in practice, there was an uptick in how the Ducks prepared for the game on Saturday. His team was growing and learning from their two wins."Usually what shows up in practice is what shows up in the games," said Lanning. "I would say that we were able to have more attention to detail. I don't think the want to is any different. I think the focus, the focus of execution, was probably a little bit different this week.""I think we continued to make adjustments, and that won't stop, but we found the formula for your unit, and you keep going," added Gabriel.Now the Ducks head into a bye week with momentum and a 3-0 record. Vibes are high, and the feeling after a win is closer to what it should be than it was the last two weeks. The Ducks can point to the end result to what happened during the week matters as much as what happened on the weekend."I think our guys realize it's not just going to happen on accident," said Lanning. "You have to practice it to make it happen."</div></body>

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Oregon's mid-week improvements lead to breakout win at Oregon State

As Dillon Gabriel said last week after the Ducks' 37-34 win over Boise State, things needed to change for the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks were undefeated and won two games at home, but Oregon had gotten off to a slow start to the season with two close wins. The offense was inconsistent; the defense allowed too many big plays. The Ducks were sloppy. Mistakes were plentiful.

Oregon's mid-week improvements lead to breakout win at Oregon State

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