Report Card: Ducks receive passing grades, but without much room to spare
It’s a stat Oregon football usually doesn’t have to worry about all that often, but in last night’s 38-30 win over Texas Tech, penalties were almost as much of an opponent for the Ducks as the Red Raiders were.
The Pac-12 refs that were officiating the game threw a flag on Oregon 14 times, with most of them being either false starts or defensive pass interference. Perhaps it was the combination of some growing pains that come with a new offensive line and new secondary playing their first road game, but Texas Tech will hardly be the most hostile crowd Oregon will face this season. If Dan Lanning and his staff don’t find a way to clean this up, the Ducks won’t be as lucky to come out with a win the next time.
When Oregon wasn’t getting flagged, it was able to move the ball on a fairly consistent basis, but the defense had some problems keeping containment. Tyler Shough led all rushers with 103 yards. Again, Shough won’t be the most mobile signal caller this defense is going to face.
Fortunately for the Ducks, not all wins are going to be the Mona Lisa and a prestigious work of art. At the end of the day, they got the win.
Here are the ups and downs of the Week 2 report card.
Quarterback
Grade: A-
In the midst of everything, quarterback Bo Nix had one of his better games as a Duck. He was 32-of-44 passing for 359 yards and two touchdowns. Though he put the ball up for grabs in one critical moment in the second half, Nix also led Oregon on a game-winning drive with less than four minutes to go in a hostile environment. That’s big time and should serve Oregon well in the future.
Running Backs
Grade: C
The running game wasn’t on full display last night partly due to the play calling, and the situation with the score due to Oregon needing to rally in the second half. Most of Oregon’s “runs” came in the form of swing passes that were mainly sweeps in disguise.
Bucky Irving led Oregon with just 40 yards on the ground and a touchdown, but he did have 50 receiving yards. Noah Whittington added 60 receiving yards. Obviously, the ground game needs to be better and more consistent moving forward.
Offensive line
Grade: C-
When the offensive line wasn’t getting ahead of itself and committing false starts, they played well. Texas Tech had a tough time pressuring Bo Nix and early on, they opened holes for the tailbacks. But the grade was brought down a couple of notches because of those flags. If they clean that up, Oregon should be excited about the potential of this group.
Receivers/Tight Ends
Grade: B+
Oregon’s receivers and tight ends played well, though they had a few drops. They came up big in the last drive to set up the game-winning field goal, beginning with Patrick Herbert’s catch along the right sideline to get things rolling. Troy Franklin had 103 yards receiving, including a 72-yard touchdown and Tez Johnson added seven catches and a touchdown.
The receivers also did a nice job blocking downfield for all of those swing passes to the tailbacks and a couple of scrambles from Nix. All in all, it was a good day for the group.
Defensive line
Grade: B-
It was a bit of a mixed bag for Oregon’s defensive line on Saturday. They had 4 sacks, caused a fumble and forced a few interceptions, but they weren’t able to contain Tyler Shough in the pocket and allowed him to be the leading rusher for the game.
Rushing the passer was something Oregon wanted to improve upon from last season and they definitely proved that’s a facet of the game in which they can excel at. However, they need to shore up on the contain and limit opposing QB rushing yards in the future.
Linebackers
Grade: B-
The linebackers also played a part in allowing Shough to rack up all of those rushing yards and again, that aspect of the game could have been better. But Jeffrey Bassa led Oregon with nine tackles, an interception, and a touchdown. Bryce Boettcher also added a sack.
Defensive Backs
Grade: B
While Shough was hurting the Ducks with his legs, the secondary did a good job to limit his passing game. A lot of those sacks were coverage sacks where Shough just couldn’t find anyone open.
But there were several instances that the Ducks’ defensive back chose to play the receiver and not the ball, which would have ended up in a pick. This led to a long list of pass interference calls, often giving Texas Tech a free first down/ Shough had three interceptions, but better fundamentals would have led to three more picks, at least.
Special Teams
Grade: A+
Camden Lewis is quickly becoming one of the best kickers in the nation and he proved it in Lubbock with two fourth-quarter field goals, including the game-winner with just over a minute left. Lewis had three for the game.
It’s a huge source of comfort knowing you have a reliable kicker for a team. Many times it’s the difference between a win and a loss.
