Oregon Ducks Ready for a Bowl

December 20, 2012, 3:50 pm

Nick Aliotti Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator joins The Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano to talk about the upcoming Fiesta Bowl matchup with Kansas State. With the long break for the Ducks before the bowl game Aliotti gives us the input on how they are staying in shape and keeping the mind set.

“I think two weeks would be fine just like they do for the Super Bowl. I think that they got the right formula, but because of all these bowl games they spread them out, so the more elite bowl game the later you play”.

One major fear for any coach before a big game like a bowl game is the fear of a player getting hurt during or outside of practice. As Aliotti is a defensive coach he must stay just as cautious with his players getting hurt as much as they have to watch out with hurting their own offense.

“We’ve gone a month now and so have they probably. You don’t tackle live. You practice tackling in different ways, shapes and forms. But you don’t tackle live for fear of getting somebody hurt.”

Kansas State has a good team and it’s going to take more than practicing tackles to beat them. Aliotti believes that K State’s quarterback is the one to watch out for, especially with his run game.

“So we need to stop him in the run game. Obviously if he’s effective running the ball then that opens up the passing game. We do want to keep him in the pocket when he goes back to pass and not let him scramble. We have to control him on their designed running plays”.

As most people believed that the Ducks would have gone to the BCS Championship their upcoming bowl game will be just a though. Aliotti does not see in his players any regret or sadness for not getting the top game.

“I’ve seen no disappointment, I can say that. They’ve given us no indication with their actions, practice wise, their attention to detail in the film, in the classrooms or in the team meetings. I think we’re excited to play and if you’re not then we’re out of our mind”.

For Aliotti he wishes that it was a quick trip where they practiced the night before, flew out for the game and came back the next day. However, Aliotti says that many of the players are excited for the game but most are also excited to go to a new place a experience new things.

To listen to the full interview click below

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