The No. 16 Oregon Ducks offense has experienced a resurgence since losing 21-10 to the Illinois Fighting Illini on Oct. 24 in Champaign.

Quarterback Dylan Raiola has been a vital part of the comeback, tossing for 593 yards and five touchdowns in wins over Northwestern and No. 20 Ohio State as the Ducks have climbed back into postseason contention.

The junior signal-caller looks to keep the momentum going on Saturday when No. 16 Oregon (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) welcomes the Buckeyes’ bitter rival Michigan (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) to Autzen Stadium. 

Raiola met with the press on Wednesday to discuss the team’s growing confidence, the Ducks’ deep wide receiver room and to thank his offensive linemen.

Impact of 'Operation Swagger Back'

“Just fun. Guys are smiling. Guys are having a blast playing the game we love. I think we kind of got lost in the monotony of football. It can get like that when you’re doing the same thing for a while. And coach Lanning has done a great job of mixing some things up and getting us different ways to kind of enjoy football, but also be focused-in on our job assignments. So, it’s a good mix we have right now and hopefully keep it going.”

Oregon’s Offensive Line Consistency

“I haven’t bought them a steak dinner yet, but they get an extraordinary amount of cookies every week. I make them or my girlfriend makes some cookies, so that’s cool. But no, those dudes, they strain. That’s the bottom line, is they strain and they just honestly want to fight to keep me clean. And I’m very grateful for that.”

Improving Pocket Awareness

“I’ve done so much pocket work in practice and feeling the spots in the pocket where I need to move to or get to. I feel like we’ve done a great job of working the pocket and kind of maneuvering around in the pocket when there’s push or pressure. And just being able to get the ball to my receivers in space.”

Oregon Ducks’ Healthy Receiving Corps

“It’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of options, a lot of guys to throw the ball to. It just gives us a little bit more of what we can do. I also think those guys are very selfless players. Normally they’d want the ball thrown to them every single play and they want all the attention, but they’re going to go block on the perimeter. They’re going to put their face in there in the run game and then they’re going to make tough catches.”

Recruiting Process with Wide Receiver Jeremiah McClellan

“We were on a couple of visits together. Through the recruiting, we just stayed in touch and we obviously both went our separate ways, but we stayed connected through it. J-Mac’s the type of guy who lights a room up with his smile, with his joy.”

Michigan’s Defensive Line

“Absolutely. Elite front. Elite front. Immediately when you turn the tape on, that’s what jumps out at you, and it’s a great challenge for us. I mean, tremendous respect. They’re the most winningest program in college football for a reason and they have players there for a reason.”

“It’s going to be a great challenge for us, and we’re going to keep preparing and getting ready to put our best foot forward and put our best resume on the field on Saturday because our resume is our film.”

Improving on Third Down

“We can be better on third and long by not being in it. And like you said, it ties back to first down efficiency. I think just us being able to communicate whatever the check or whatever we need to get down the line communicated. I think that’ll help us.”

“Sometimes ending in a punt’s not the worst thing. You’re gathering information on what they’re doing, and you get later into the game, and that’s when you see the big plays and that stuff kind of happening.”

Avoiding Old Habits

“I don’t think I’ll ever slip back into those habits. You never forget the feeling, what it was like, the times it got taken away from you or like in the moment of getting physically beat. That motivation keeps me going and I don’t want to experience anything like that again.”

Watching the College Football Rankings

“Obviously, you hear about it, you see about it. It’s cool, but we also don’t control our own destiny right now. So it doesn’t really mean a whole lot, to be honest. We just go to keep controlling what we can, and all we control is getting ready and preparing for Michigan, and it’s a great challenge."

"It’s a great football team. Their record shouldn’t say anything about the kind of team they are because they got the players.”