Standard practice these days for a football program is to "block out the noise" heading into a big game.
To ignore the narratives permeating media coverage. To disregard storylines that may be interesting to fans, but could distract players and coaches from the task at hand: winning a football game.
Oregon was having none of that in December. And the Ducks' embrace of the big picture only served to make their 28-27 Rose Bowl victory, capping a 12-2 season that included a Pac-12 Championship, that much sweeter.
The Ducks' victory on New Year's Day bookended a season that began with defeat, a narrow loss to Auburn in a neutral-site game Aug.