I don't think Oregon is stopping our offense. 500+ yards to FSU? They blew them out, but it's not going out on a limb to say 1) FSU quit, 2) FSU turned the ball over 5 times causing that blowout. Credit to Oregon for taking advantage of turnovers, but I don't think they will get 5 of them vs Ohio State.
I keep seeing this and scratching my head. Yes, we gave up a lot of yards but that means very little. They were trying to catch up most of the second half, so they were throwing the ball a lot, right?
The only statistic that matters is the final score. I've been having this same conversation with a few Duck fans, as well, who haven't been happy with our new D-Coordinator this year. In a perfect world there'd be complete domination. But it doesn't work that way when your offense is only possessing the ball about 20 minutes per game. The stat that really matters is that we're only giving up slightly under 18.00 points per game over the last 7 games, including the FSU game.
Also, it's not like Florida State just dropped the ball on those turnovers. Oregon defenders took the ball away, knocked it out of their hands and recovered it, tipped a ball and allowed a defender to intercept in and straight up recovered another bonehead fumble. The Ducks had a hand in 4 of those turnovers that were more like "takeaways". The only "gimmee" was the fumble by Winston that we returned for a TD.
If we want to win, though, it'll be about how we handle their offense. I know Oregon fans scoff at this but the answer really is ball control...that is how they got beat in 2010, and their team is way better this year but that is still how you stop teams like that. EzE is going to need to have a big day. I think he's capable.
Your defense was able to keep us mostly in check in that game. That was the beginning of a long learning experience for Chip Kelly about how not to keep trying to run when there's nothing there. But what really killed us in that game was Terrell Pryor. That kid was a magician on 3rd down. We'd get you guys in 3rd and long and he'd keep finding a way to convert, mostly with his feet. It became demoralizing after awhile.
Fortunately, we're the ones with the stud QB this time. :-)
Been reading Oregon forums. They are pretty respectful. I don't know if that is just their nature or if it's a product of what Ohio State has done our last two games. Either way, it's pretty refreshing to not see stifling arrogance and hubris like we did on the Alabama boards.
We're very respectful unless treated otherwise. We've had several fans from opposing teams visit and had some great experiences. There were a few jerks, who were ejected immediately, but it's usually been pretty casual. Of course, there are Oregon fans that are idiots, too, that make us all look bad. If any jerks from our clan show up and start trouble feel free to kick them to the curb. We don't appreciate people like that either.
Finally, the past is just that, the past. You can pretty much throw that last game out the window. The game we played in the 2010 Rose Bowl will have little if any impact on this game. We have a few freshman that redshirted that year still on the roster, but about 98% of those players are gone and we both have new head coaches, new defensive coordinators and we have a new offensive coordinator. That game is pretty much moot.
One thing I will say about that is we were just beginning to find our way back then and you guys were already a national brand. We're on a lot more level playing field now nationally (excuse the pun) than we were back then, having made the playoffs this year and going to 4 BCS Bowls in the previous 5 years, including a national championship game.
Good luck!
Go Ducks!