Ducks have plenty of work to do on Saturday

Oregon isn't yet a complete football team. The talent and potential is amazing, but if they mail it in against the Missouri State Bears on Saturday, they may have trouble with the Cal Bears in October. This is a team that will have to get better every week to achieve as much as they have have in the last two seasons.


Nick Aliotti's defense ranks 108th nationally in run defense. That's uncharacteristic for the veteran head coach, who's spent 19 years at Oregon in three stints. His unit hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher, just two 99s and a 92. That's concerning, because Chris Polk and Stepfan Taylor are on the schedule. Aliotti's trademark has always been to make the opponent one dimensional, and Nevada looked far too dimensional racking up 506 yards of offense. Containing the run is crucial. It creates more of those 2nd and 11, third and eight or more situations where the defense has the advantage. That's when most turnovers happen. Nevada ran downhill with consistency on the defense, and in the second half, LSU did too.

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