EUGENE, Ore — When the talent and depth of 20th-ranked Oregon crashed into the youth and inexperience of San Jose State, the 35-22 loss for the Spartans was no surprise — except it wasn’t the pushover game the Ducks were expecting. The Spartans came out energized with a physicality that surprised the Ducks and the 50,049 in attendance at Autzen Stadium. It was a Ducks team probably looking at the game as the last dress rehearsal before it starts Pac-12 play next week. If anything, it probably leaves more questions for the Ducks, as they kept most of their starters playing into the fourth quarter, when they were expecting to get the second and third stringers in. And though Oregon QB Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns, two of them on broken coverages, the Spartans intercepted Herbert twice and made his 16-for-34 and 309 yards day look relatively pedestrian. A 13-point win for the Ducks just wasn’t the blowout they and their crowd was expecting. For the Spartans, it was about good defense and rotating quarterbacks. Spartan QB Josh Love was the surprising starter over Montel Aaron. Love played well enough to play most of the second half, going 15-of-31 for 238 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the game. “I thought Josh Love played well. He and Montel (Aaron) played well at times and that’s what we were going with.” said Spartans head coach Brent Brennan. “Josh did a great job standing in there in the wash against a bunch of big, fast athletic bodies flying around and delivering the football really well at times. I’m encouraged.” The idea for two QBs was less on individual assessment and more based on the scheme from first-year offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven according to Brennan. “One of the challenges coming into this week was the trouble we had with the defensive front at Washington State and we’re thinking Oregon’s defensive front was even better, so I thought coach McGiven did a good job moving the quarterback, mixing in the screen game and the combination to prepare for two quarterbacks slowed them down at times and kept things difficult.” The Spartans defense was impressive against the Ducks offense and that wasn’t much of a surprise considering how it played in the first two games. If not for coverage breakdowns, and an early interception, SJSU could have only been down 7-6, instead of 21-6 at halftime. The key takeaways: 1) Defense Linebackers Kyle Harmon and Jamaal Scott each had nine tackles followed closely by Ethan Aguayo and Jesse Osuna. The defensive line, anchored by Boogie Roberts and Bryson Bridges, held the Ducks’ run game in check (134 yards and no runs going for more than 9 yards). The pressure and physicality forced a number of bad Herbert throws and more three-and-outs than anyone expected. At one point, the Spartans defense made the Ducks give up the ball on the Spartans’ own 22-yard line after the Ducks tried to go for it on fourth down. “I’m excited about the progress of our football team, but we still got a ways to go.” said Brennan. “To come into a place like Autzen Stadium and to stand there toe-to-toe with Oregon and play the way we did – I’m excited.” 2) The turnovers For the second straight game, the Spartans did not lose the turnover battle, which is a big sign of improvement Brennan insists they’ll maintain. Though each team gave up two turnovers, both on interceptions, the Spartans were also able to sustain drives and keep time of possession relatively even, which is a better sign. In fact, there were a couple more Spartans interception opportunities. But the coulda-woulda-shoulda chances are only signs of an opportunistic defense, yet another good sign. 3) Still no running game Without Tyler Nevens and DeJon Packer, the Spartans were light at the running back position with only Malik Roberson and freshman Brendan Manigo leading the way. While only mustering 29 yards on the ground, the running attempts were just enough of a counter in the bigger offensive picture in McGiven’s plans. McGiven will surely look to open the run game up somehow and when that happens, more good things should happen. At the very least, continuing to sustain more drives for longer periods. 4) The receivers Josh Oliver and Bailey Gaither are the men. Gaither’s six catches for 90 yards continue to prove he has star potential going up against anyone. In Oliver’s case, the Ducks defense was clearly keying in on him, often having a linebacker spying him and limiting shovel passes for short gains. Oliver ended the day with 41 yards on six receptions and a touchdown. The big takeaway here is there were a few other likely touchdown catches with just a bit more accurate passes. Yet again, another coulda-woulda-shoulda, but all a continuing good sign. 5) Special teams play A 96-yard kickoff return by receiver Thai Cottrell put the Spartans on the Ducks’ 4-yard line and put a nice shock into the Autzen crowd. Bryson Bridges blocked field goal attempt also surprisingly garnered crowd groans. It all fed into the surprising showing by the Spartans. Related Articles FBI involvement in San Jose State athletic trainer sex abuse case raises stakes In midst of sex abuse scandal, San Jose State names interim athletic director San Jose State demotes beleaguered athletic director Marie Tuite in sex abuse scandal San Jose State, Olympic track legend Lee Evans has died Cal State’s Academic Senate calls for support of San Jose State whistleblower in sex abuse scandal Yet, special teams’ coverage was suspect where it wasn’t really before. It gave up too much field position on kickoff and punt returns. — The Spartans have a bye week next week to regroup, recalibrate and rethink things before facing stiff conference play with back-to-back home games against a surprising Hawaii team and Colorado State. Hopefully, the like promise and potential from a “good loss” will carry over. “We’re getting better. We’re fighting. We’re trying to rebuild this thing and we believe whole-heartedly that we can have an incredible program at San Jose State and you’re always looking for those moments and steps that push us in that direction.” said Brennan. “We know we got a long ways to go and how much work we have to do.”<doc-sep>The Oregon Ducks will close out their 2018 non-conference football schedule with one final game out of conference on Saturday against San Jose State. The Ducks are looking to improve to 3-0 on the season for the first time since the 2014 football season and go into Pac-12 play ranked inside the Top 20 in the Associated Press poll. Here are the details of how you can watch today's game: When: Saturday at 2:00 p.m. PT TV: The Pac-12 Networks (Roxy Bernstein, play-by-play, and Anthony Heron, Analyst. Lewis Johnson on the sideline.) Online: Online: Pac-12.com, via your cable provider's online streaming service, or via the Pac-12 Network App Radio: KUGN 590 AM in Eugene and 1080 AM The Fan in Portland. The Oregon IMG Radio Network also broadcast in Astoria, Baker City, Bend, Burns, Coos Baym Florence, Grants Pass, Hood River, John Day, Klamath Falls, La Grande, Lakeview, Lebanon, Lincoln City, Medford, Newport, Pendelton, Roseburg, Salem, Tillamook, and Waldport. Jerry Allen will provide play-by-play on the Oregon IMG Radio Network and Mike Jorgensen will provide analyst work. Joey McMurry will report from the sidelines and Terry Jonz will host the pregame show. Oregon is one of just seven FBS football teams to score 50 or more points in each of their first two games. Oregon scored 58 in their season opener and then 62 last week against Portland State. The other six schools to do it are Alabama, Boise State, Boston College, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Syracuse. The Ducks are 2-0 this season when scoring 50 or more points, and have now extended their streak to 79 straight wins when they score 50 or more points in a game. The Ducks have also never lost a game when they reach 50 points. By scoring 50 or more points in two straight games, Oregon has hit that mark for the first time since the Ducks did it against Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship game and then against Florida State in the Rose Bowl back in 2014. The Ducks will now look to score 50 or more points in three straight games by doing so this weekend. If they do it, it would mark the first time since the 2013 football season. The 62 points scored last week against Portland State were the most in Mario Cristobal's career as a head coach. The two 50-plus scoring games this year also equal the amount his Florida International University teams had over six seasons. Follow DuckTerritory.com for full coverage of today's game. Not a member of DuckTerritory.com? Sign up for a FREE trial of our VIP MEMBERSHIP experience. You do not want to miss the latest scoops on all things Oregon Ducks and Oregon Football. Also, make sure you sign up for our FREE e-mail newsletter! Get all the latest news sent right to your e-mail inbox every day and not miss another Oregon story. Even better, this service is free and doesn't cost a single penny!<doc-sep>
Another week and another game to pick. The DuckTerritory.com staff is all in on Oregon beating San Jose State this week, the question then becomes by how much. The Ducks are a 41.5 point favorite on Saturday. Will they cover, or could San Jose State get a backdoor cover when the Ducks pull their starters in the second half? Oregon and San Jose State will kickoff at 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks. Here are the predictions for this weekend's game by the DuckTerritory staff: Matt Prehm's Pick: Oregon is by far the better football program and they've got the best players. They also have the better depth. Last week I had Oregon tying the school record for points against Portland State. I won't be making that pick this time around, but I still think the Ducks will flirt with going over the 70-point threshold. To get there, Oregon's first-team offense will need to have about 10 possessions and they'll need to score touchdowns on seven to eight of those possessions, at a minimum. A defensive touchdown would be huge as well. Justin Herbert throws for five touchdowns for the second time and the Oregon rushing attack runs for five more in a game that's over by halftime. Oregon 73, San Jose State 17 Erik Skopil's Pick: I’m not sure what would have to happen for this game to be close. What I do know is that Justin Herbert should have a field day against a defense which allowed both UC-Davis and Washington State to throw for over 420 yards. I also know that the Spartans struggled mightily offensively when they played Pac-12 talent last week in Pullman. They failed to score and didn’t surpass 100 total yards until the fourth quarter. In summary, this team has struggled to score and struggled to stop two quarterbacks who aren’t of Herbert’s caliber. This one screams blow out. I guess Vegas knows what it’s doing with the 41.5-point line. Oregon 68, SJSU 13 Kevin Wade's Pick: San Jose State is going to test the Ducks but not on the scoreboard. Can Oregon execute for a full 60 minutes? Can they play clean football with no mistakes? And can the Ducks stay healthy? We really don’t know how good Oregon will be in 2018 but tomorrow will give us a better idea of how they make adjustments and how they adapt to the challenges they’ve been presented. Oregon allowed Portland State’s tight end to make a few good plays and SJSU has a tight end with similar skills. With Stanford looming and all of their tight ends, Oregon will need to contain the SJSU receivers. I predict Oregon going full gas with both the first and second offense. Braxton Burmeister and Tyler Shough will have their last chance to get basic competition as they head into Pac-12 play as reserves. Ducks should be able to win easily, but the defense will need to hold a bit more than last week. Ducks 64, SJSU 10 Alek Arend's Pick: San Jose State will look to attack Oregon’s secondary with their talented tight end Josh Oliver — who leads all FBS tight ends with 13 catches in two games. Bowling Green’s receiver, Scotty Miller, had 13 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns against the Ducks. Portland State’s tight end, Charlie Taumoepeau, exposed Oregon’s secondary with five receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns. The cornerbacks and safeties need to figure this out fast. I hate to look ahead to next week, but Stanford is bringing some big, talented receivers and tight ends to Eugene. There’s no question Oregon is on a different level than San Jose State overall, but the Spartans will try to take advantage of mismatches in the secondary. This needs to be a game where Oregon’s secondary, specifically their cornerbacks, prove critics wrong and shut down the passing attack. Oregon 70, San Jose State 7 Zach Regelin's Pick: Oregon has rolled over its first two opponents by a combined score of 120-38, and the outcome should be no different against San Jose State. The Spartans were shut out last week by Oregon’s PAC-12 North rival, Washington State, 31-0. In the previous week, San Jose State lost to an FCS opponent in UC Davis 44-38. With Oregon seemingly tightening things up on both ends of the ball, it should be another easy victory for the Ducks Oregon 56, San Jose State 10