Oregon’s Bear Alexander Reveals ‘Fire Lit’ by Ducks’ Loss to Indiana

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks lost their first game of the season to the No. 3 Indiana Hoosiers, and Oregon defensive lineman Bear Alexander revealed the team’s mindset as they prepare to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

“This one definitely lit a fire up under our coaches, I’m sure the players too. We back to work, it’s a work week. We got to grow from it, learn from it, continue to get better as the season goes on,” said Alexander when speaking to the media after Tuesday’s practice.

The Oregon defensive lineman was asked how the Ducks are responding to the loss with a spot in the College Football Playoff still in reach.

“It’s just something we can’t let linger,” said Alexander. “We can’t doubt ourself on it. Those guys, obviously, Indiana’s a good team. They played a cleaner game than us, so just something we got to shake back from, improve, get better as a group. Come out ready to kick ass.”

Alexander highlighted the usual suspects like Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and center Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu as leaders who have stepped up after the loss. However, Alexander also noted freshmen running backs Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. as leaders of the team.

“This team is full of leaders,” said Alexander.

Despite being a young team, Oregon coach Dan Lanning has often praised the maturity of the Ducks, but how the team responds after the loss to Indiana will be their toughest litmus test yet.

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On Monday, Lanning highlighted how Alexander has been able to make an impact in his limited time at Oregon. Prior to transferring to the Ducks, Alexander played for the Georgia Bulldogs and USC Trojans.

“He’s doing a really good job. He’s improved throughout the season. He’s a guy, we talk about taking our medicine every single week and saying, what can we improve? What can we get better at? He’s a guy that’s done a good job of attacking those things, each week, and proven to be a guy that can play snaps for us,” said Lanning.

On Tuesday, Alexander spoke to the media about how he’s changed and grown at Oregon.

“It was just a lot of stuff I was still growing from. We just prepared every day, been pushed by Coach T (Tony Tuioti), Coach Tosh (Lupoi). Just having elite preparation to get to this point, continue to execute,” Alexander said.

Specifically, Alexander revealed the message that defensive line coach Tony Tuioti gave him:

“Take it one day at a time. There’s no rush to success. Just take it one day at a time, continue to be a good person, keep treating your teammates good and the guys in the room, and know that I’ll pan out,” said Alexander.