Christian French doesn't have much of a night life at the University of Oregon, not with football practice usually looming the next morning with the second-ranked Ducks.

"I try to get to sleep in the 9:30 range and get at least eight hours of sleep," he said.

Unlike most colleges, the Ducks practice in the morning at 9 or 9:30 for a few hours. Then comes lunch, afternoon classes, homework, night-time football meetings and back to sleep at 9:30.

"Sometimes you want to stay up or think 'I want to catch this on TV' or something like that," he said, "but then you realize, if you do that one day, you're going to feel it the next morning. We do get our rest."

And they do get their victories.

Oregon smashed Washington, 52-21, Saturday night before 58,792 fans at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., to raise its record to 6-0.

French, a redshirt freshman from Cedar Rapids Kennedy, made three tackles against Washington as a reserve defensive end, giving him 10 stops this season.

Life is good. He's getting to play, the Ducks are winning and he's grown accustomed to living 2,000 miles away from home. Given all that, going to bed early and practicing in the morning is not a big deal.

"It's the way we do things," he said, sounding like a true Duck. "It works out the best for us."

Oregon is averaging 52.3 points, but he's not a member of that potent offense any more. He practiced at tight end last year as a true freshman while being redshirted, then switched to defensive end after the spring game.

He played both sides of the ball as an all-state player at Kennedy, but French and the Oregon coaches agreed he should play defense in college.

"It was more of a mutual thing," he said. "When I first got here, it was 'either/or' at either position. I felt like later on I might be more successful at this position."

Christian has added nearly 30 pounds of muscle to his rangy 6-foot-5 frame since arriving at Oregon. His speed has slipped a little from 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash to 4.4 or 4.5 these days, but that's still extremely fast for a defensive end.

"I came here at 218 and now I'm at 246 or 247. The weight has picked up," he said. "I have the ability to push people around and I feel comfortable out there."

He said the added weight came naturally.

"Just working out. Eating and working out," he said. "You can see by the way we look it's not bad weight at all, because we run so much. It's hard to keep on weight anyway."

The Ducks look like a track team at times, with great speed at most spots. They play fast and furious under Coach Chip Kelly.

French said he's having fun in college, playing for the No. 2 team in the country before big crowds and adoring fans, but said the most fun is just playing the game.

"I just love the game," he said. "I just love the game of football, being here with these guys and just helping this team get as far as possible. That's what it is. Every day in practice gives you the opportunity to work hard.

"You can say it's the atmosphere. You can say it's the crowd, but if the crowd wasn't there you'd still be playing football."

Life is good. He's getting to play as a redshirt freshman and the Ducks are ranked No. 2 in the country with a shot at the national title.

That makes going to be bed at 9:30 a lot easier to digest.

"It's as good as it gets, coming over from offense, getting the opportunity to play more and more," said French, a business major. "I try to pick up as much as I can each day."

French was always one of the best athletes on the field in high school. Now, just about everybody is a great athlete and he has to hustle to compete.

"When you first get here, it's definitely eye-opening," he said. "You come here as the fastest, strongest guy in high school ... It's not like that here.

"It's motivation to work harder every day. Everybody is fast."

Go to bed early, get up early, eat a good breakfast, work hard in practice, go to class, do your homework, pay attention in the meetings and go back to bed.

"Now it's just routine. It just flows," he said. "You know what to expect each day and you go out there each day and work your hardest."

He's a long way from Iowa, but loving it.

"It's become home," he said. "At first, I was a little bit homesick. It is far away from home. My parents don't come out here very often."

The Pac-12 Conference has its own television network, so his parents -- Cherokee French and Caroline Luter French - and his four siblings (two brothers, two sisters) can watch Oregon's games from the comfort of their home.

Oregon is also a frequent guest on ESPN. Saturday night's game against Washington was televised by ESPN, and the Ducks will be featured again on ESPN on Thursday, Oct. 18 when they play at Arizona State.

Number 82 for the Ducks is Christian Lanier French from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.