Stock Report: Dontae Manning, Jahlil Florence show major improvement in Ducks’ win
The Oregon Ducks’ stock has been steadily on the rise for the past five weeks. After a precipitous drop in Week 1 after a 49-3 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, Dan Lanning and his team have done a good job of building the team back up, brick by brick, and now sit in a position where they are once again among the best teams in the nation.
In a couple of weeks’ time, that stock is either going to skyrocket, or drop, once again, as a ranked matchup with the UCLA Bruins takes place at Autzen Stadium.
Before we get into that, let’s revisit Saturday’s game against Arizona and break down some of the most solid play between Ducks and Wildcats. As we do every week, let’s identify players who saw their stocks go up, and a few who might have seen a slight dip against Arizona:
Stock Up: CB Jahlil Florence
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
We’ve been waiting for one of the young members of Oregon’s secondary to take a step up this season and prove that they can hold things down opposite Christian Gonzalez on defense. On Saturday, both Jahlil Florence and Dontae Manning did a great job of that.
For Florence, a true freshman, it was an impressive display, finishing with four tackles and an interception on the day. Florence was targeted a total of 9 times, giving up 4 catches for 50 yards and only 4 yards after the catch. There is a lot to still improve on, but Florence showed for the first time this season that he has developed nicely and can be a difference-maker on defense as time goes on.
Stock Up: CB Dontae Manning
We just spoke about Jahlil Florence, and now it’s time we talk about Dontae Manning. His night, unfortunately, got cut short after a targeting penalty in the 2nd quarter saw him ejected from the game. However, before that, Manning was playing as well as we’ve seen him play in an Oregon uniform. The CB finished with a pair of solo tackles and three more assisted tackles, and he looked good in the passing game, only allowing one reception on three targets.
For this former 5-star recruit, it is the first real signs of life that we’ve seen out of him since coming to Eugene. If you’re someone who worries about Oregon’s secondary, this is a great sign.
Stock Down: CB Trikweze Bridges
(AP Photo/Young Kwak)
One of the reasons that both Manning and Florence were able to have such good games was because of opportunity. That opportunity came seemingly because Trikweze Bridges wasn’t having the best game. He finishes with 5 total tackles and one holding penalty but was getting picked on for a lot of the night against Arizona’s stout receiving corps. I wrote last week about how Oregon had seemingly settled the competition at the CB2 spot, but after this week I’m not so sure.
Stock Up: LB Justin Flowe
Justin Flowe saw a lot of the field on Saturday, and he was playing with his hair on fire. After missing the Stanford game with an injury, Flowe saw 39 snaps against Arizona and turned that into one QB pressure and four tackles. The stats don’t quite do his day justice; Flowe was flying around out there. We’ve wondered how healthy he can stay this year, and after doubting his availability going into this game, it was great to see him have an impact.
Stock Down: Oregon Curses
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
It felt like everything was setting up perfectly for an Oregon letdown on Saturday. Other top teams in the Pac-12 had already faltered, and the Ducks were getting ready for a game in the desert — a place they don’t typically play well — against a team with one of the top passing offenses in the nation — an area where Oregon struggles to defend. It had the makings of a tough night in the desert.
That didn’t turn out to be a problem for Dan Lanning and Co. In three-straight weeks now, the Ducks have shown that trap games aren’t a big deal to them, and they can go into enemy territory and stand up against a dangerous competition. I’m not saying that Oregon will never falter in a trap game going forward, but I certainly feel more confident about their ability to blow out teams they’re supposed to blow out.
Stock Up: Ducks' Offensive Line
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
At times I wanted to give this to Noah Whittington. At times I wanted to give it to Bucky Irving or Bo Nix. In the end, I think that the most appropriate stock up is for the offensive line as a whole. Everyone gets a share in the running game.
The Ducks rushed for 306 yards and an incredible 7 touchdowns, all of which came on consecutive drives. The averaged 7.5 yarrds per rush. Whittington finishes with 92 yards and a score; Nix with 70 yards and 3 scores; Jordan James with 69 yards and a score, and Bucky Irving with 67yards and a score.
We already knew going into this game that the Ducks had one of the best rushing attacks in the nation, but Saturday really drilled home the notion that if Oregon wants to run the ball, they’re going to run the ball.
Stock Down: RB Fantasy Points
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
If this were like the NFL and we had fantasy football leagues surrounding college teams, I have a feeling that a lot of managers would be upset with Bo Nix today. Once again, Nix proved to be a vulture of fantasy points, taking a pair of TD runs in from 2 yards out and capitalizing on work from other backs to get him there.
Of course, this is not fantasy football, so it shouldn’t matter who scored or how they scored, the fact that the Ducks got into the endzone is enough. Nonetheless, I found it comical when watching this game to think what the reaction of Irving or Whittingham managers were this a real thing.
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