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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

2

Minute Drill

1 Deal with the Autzen Stadium experience. It’s as loud as it gets in the Pac-12 and possibly the country. “We’re practicing with crowd noise all week, doing silent counts, working on making our calls by pointing instead of verbally,” said WSU center Matt Goetz, who will be making his first trip to Autzen. “When it comes down to it, I don’t think the crowd noise is going to affect us any.” The 54,000 have helped propel the Ducks to a 20-game home winning streak. Oregon has sold out its last 78 games, dating back to 1999.

2 Deal with the Ducks’ speed on both sides of the ball. The offensive quickness is most apparent, with No. 7 Oregon featuring such speed running backs as Kenjon Barner and freshman De’Anthony Thomas (star LaMichael James is not expected to play with an elbow injury) and quarterback Darron Thomas expected to return from a troublesome knee. Oregon has 38 plays of 25 or more yards this season.

3 Deal with the Ducks’ speed rush off the outside. Although Oregon had five first-time starters to open the season, and three players have made their debut since, the defensive unit is still second in the conference in scoring and pass defense. A big part of that is their ability to pressure the passer, with the Ducks’ 20 sacks also second in the Pac-12. Watch for linebackers Josh Kaddu and Dewitt Stuckey (moved into the middle last week) coming from all angles in Nick Aliotti’s defense. With Marshall Lobbestael back at quarterback, the offensive line must be, at the least, assignment perfect.

4 Deal with all the fallout from last week’s 44-21 loss to Oregon State. The Cougars can’t let the past affect their future, especially when the immediate future is so challenging. No one, not even LSU in its 40-27 win in the season opener, has stopped Oregon this season, so the best WSU can hope for is to slow down the Ducks and possibly force a couple of turnovers. Then the offense must take advantage.