Montana vs Oregon is the final non-conference game Oregon will take part in before starting conference games next weekend. To start conference play Oregon will be traveling to Stanford. However, first things first, taking care of Montana.
The Oregon football team is coming off of a 77-6 win over Nevada and will be looking to do much of the same.
Montana vs Oregon: To-Do
Come Out Fast
Believe it or not, but Oregon didn’t come out fast last week. The score at the end of one quarter was a 7-3 lead for Oregon. Now, of course, Oregon went on to outscore the Wolfpack 70-3 the rest of the game.
That’s certainly impressive, but coming out faster in the first quarter and setting the tone should be the goal. Oregon is going to be by far the more talented team on Saturday. However, Montana will come in with nothing to lose, meaning Oregon will need to come ready to play.
Of course, they will likely be able to overcome a slow start, but that’s not a habit that a team wants to get in to.
Dominate On the Ground
The running game was good last weekend, going for 221 yards on 39 carries. However, Darrian Felix had a 62-yard TD run late in the fourth. Take that out and it’s 159 yards on 38 carries, which is 4.18 yards per carry.
Against Nevada, that’s not where you want to be. With this offensive line, the offense should be averaging closer to 5.0 yards per carry no matter who they’re playing, and even more in these kinds of games.
This falls on both the offensive line and the running backs. The offensive line has done a good job of opening up holes in the first two games, but the running backs need to do a better job of breaking tackles.
Keep Up the Defense
Outside of a fourth-quarter where they were exhausted against Auburn, this defense has been dominant.
Montana can put up some points, but Oregon should be able to do a good job against this defense. If you’re a fan you should want to keep seeing great play out of the secondary and more players continuing to get involved in the pass rush.
Kick a Field Goal
Camden Lewis missed the only field goal attempt of the season so far. Now, Adam Stack is transferring and Zach Emerson is dealing with legal issues after being arrested earlier this month.
That leaves just Lewis. Lewis has a strong leg, but he needs to show that he can make a field goal during game action. If this game comes down to an important field goal there are issues. However, there will likely be a game this season where a big field goal will need to be made, and Oregon has not shown the ability to do that this season.
