INSIDE SLANT

Oregon coach Chip Kelly is as relentless as his offense.

Starting with his decision to suspend running back LeGarrette Blount and continuing through his decision to bring Blount back, Kelly has shown that he will do things “his way” and not do anything to appease fans or media.

He refuses to be drawn into anything big picture. If he has said it once, he has said it a million days: All he wants to do is “win the day.”

So with the Ducks (8-2 overall, 6-1 Pac-10) in first place in the Pac-10 with two games to go, he’s not going to start changing now, even as a huge game looms Saturday at Arizona.

The Wildcats are 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the league. Like Oregon, they control their own fate in the conference if they win out and would be in the driver’s seat with a win over the Ducks.

Even that is way more information than Kelly needs.

“I went through every scenario for every team and then told (the players) that it really doesn’t matter,” Kelly said. “That was my point. You can go through 27 million different things, but it really doesn’t matter. All that matters to us is Arizona. I really made fun of the whole process, to be honest with you.”

With wins against Arizona and Oregon State, Oregon will win its first Pac-10 title since 2001 and go to its first Rose Bowl since 1995.

“Haven’t talked about the Rose Bowl,” Kelly said.

“We’re not an end-goal operation. We’re a process deal.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Arizona coach Mike Stoops was asked if he would do anything to prepare for the possibility of Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount playing this week. Stoops’ answer: Nothing special. “They are going to run their plays,” he said. “They always have, they always will.”

• Last year’s game against Arizona was a shootout, as the Ducks led 45-17 at halftime—QB Jeremiah Masoli accounted for all five first-half touchdowns—but then the Wildcats staged a furious rally. Oregon led 48-17 early in the third quarter, but Arizona scored the next 28 points before LeGarrette Blount scored on a 40-yard run with 3:38 left to provide the final margin. “They made an unbelievable comeback,” said coach Chip Kelly. “That team fights. That team competes. And that is a reflection of the job Mike (Stoops) has done down there.”

Series History:   Oregon leads Arizona 20-14 (last meeting, 2008, 55-45 Oregon).

Scouting The Offense:   Oregon has scored at least 42 points in each of the six Pac-10 games in which QB Jeremiah Masoli has played. The Ducks play with speed and tempo that is impossible for opponents to replicate in practice, making it hard for teams to catch up early and difficult for them to hold up late in games. Oregon is sixth nationally with 237.0 rushing yards per game, and this will be an interesting matchup against Arizona as it will be speed on speed. “The one thing that jumps out at you is their team speed on the defensive side of the ball,” coach Chip Kelly said.

Scouting The Defense:   Oregon has to prepare for two distinct Arizona offenses—a four-receiver spread and a power formation that is a bit of a holdover from last year, when UA had TE Rob Gronkowski, who is out for the season with a back injury. The Ducks won’t mind not seeing him, as he caught 12 passes for 143 yards. Oregon coach Chip Kelly likes the way his defense is playing with passion, and improving depth in what has been an injury-ravaged secondary is making the unit more complete. The Ducks are 22nd nationally in total defense at 312.3 yards per game.

Quote To Note:   “If you merit playing time, you will get playing time.”—Oregon coach Chip Kelly, referring to the status of RB LeGarrette Blount.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: Oregon at Arizona, Nov. 21—The Ducks get another big stage, with a late-night national telecast from Tucson and the presence of ESPN’s GameDay program. Both teams enter the game with control of their own fate in the Pac-10 race, but only the winner will leave with it.

Keys To The Game:   Oregon’s defensive front. Cal stymied Arizona last week because it was able to stop the Wildcats’ running game without devoting extra personnel, which enabled the Bears to get into manageable third-down stops and drop eight into coverage. The thinking is that the Ducks, no matter what, will get their points on offense. Question is, can the Oregon defense slow down QB Nick Foles enough to come away with the win?

Players To Watch:  

QB Jeremiah Masoli—He rushed for three touchdowns and passed for two more—all in the first half—in last year’s 55-45 victory over Arizona. He also completed 21 of 26 passes for 298 yards.

TE Ed Dickson—Because defenses have to send extra personnel to spy on the Ducks’ read-option running game, Dickson often finds himself against single coverage. He is one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end. He has a team-high 37 receptions for 488 yards and five touchdowns.

FS T.J. Ward—He has been in on 30 tackles in the past three since returning to his starting spot after missing five full games before of injury.

Roster Report:  

• RB LeGarrette Blount was activated from suspension for last week’s game, but four running backs played ahead of him against Arizona State. Blount did not play.

• True freshman CB Cliff Harris made his first career start in the game against Arizona State. He dropped a potential interception for a touchdown early in the game and split time with Anthony Gildon.

• Senior CB Willie Glasper is out for the season because of a non-contact knee injury suffered in practice Oct. 6.

• Senior CB Walter Thurmond III is out for the season because of a knee injury suffered in September.