Stock Report: Dontae Manning steps up, while Jordan Burch puts on a clinic
The end of the regular season as come, and if you’re someone who had stock in the Oregon Ducks from the start of the year, then your portfolio is likely looking pretty great right about now.
For the most part, we’ve seen a lot of stocks on the rise, and only a couple that have fallen off from the start of the year. That was the trend once again on Friday night with the Ducks’ 31-7 win over the Oregon State Beavers, clinching a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game against the Washington Huskies.
It was another great showing from Bo Nix and the Oregon offense, while the Ducks’ defensive line had one of the best games of the year, holding the Beavers’ vaunted rushing attack to just 53 yards on the ground. Here are some of the biggest stock risers and fallers from Friday’s game:
Stock Up: Dontae Manning
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It appears that the Ducks are dealing with an unfortunate injury to starting cornerback Jahlil Florence, but they fortunately saw Dontae Manning step up in a big way on Friday night against the Beavers in his stead.
Manning took over the starting role and had 3 tackles and grabbed his first career interception, while getting another pass-breakup as well. It is unclear when Florence will be able to return to the field, if at all this season, but but Manning showed this past week that he can at least be a solid replacement, if not a great player on the outside. That will be important this week going up against the Washington Huskies and their passing attack.
Stock Up: Jordan Burch
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Defensive stats don’t always correlate with massive impacts on the field, but it was clear from watching the game on Friday night that EDGE Jordan Burch was among the best players on the field. He finished the game with 4 tackles, 2 QB hits, and 3 QB hurries, and was in the backfield constantly applying pressure to DJ Uiagalelei. With the continued excellence from Brandon Dorlus, it’s clear that the Ducks have one of the top defensive lines in the nation at this point in the season.
Stock Down: Camden Lewis
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We’re unfortunately having this conversation again. A week after breaking the all-time scoring record in Oregon history, Camden Lewis came out and missed a 34-yard field goal, and then kicked a ball out of bounds for the sixth time this season, which is tied for the most in the nation. Lewis has missed 6 of his last 10 field goal attempts dating back to the Stanford game, and it’s clear that he is losing the confidence of the fanbase. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that the team has anyone capable of replacing him at this point in the season.
Stock Up: Tez Johnson
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While Troy Franklin gets most of the headlines, it’s clear that Tez Johnson is among the most electric receivers that Oregon has had in quite some time. He had another big day, racking up 11 catches for 137 yards against the Beavers to go along with 128 yards and a TD from Franklin.
Between the two, it’s quite possible that this is among the best receiving tandems that we’ve seen in Eugene.
Stock Up: Dan Lanning
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This was the biggest win of Dan Lanning’s head coaching career. His Ducks clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game and kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive. On top of that, Lanning picked up his first win against a rival at Oregon, after previously going 0-3 against both the Beavers and the Huskies.
While this was a big-time win for Lanning, the stakes only get higher going forward. A win next week against Washington would become the biggest of Lanning’s career, likely getting the Ducks to the CFP. A win there would obviously be the biggest of his career, and so on. Welcome to late-season football. It’s all high-stakes from here on out.
Stock Down: Oregon State
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It’s been a tough weekend to be a Beaver. Not only did they lose to the rival Ducks on Friday, but they also saw their beloved head coach Jonathan Smith accept the head coaching job for the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, which is a move that will likely gut their roster as players choose to leave via the transfer portal for better situations this offseason.
On top of all that, there is uncertainty surrounding Oregon State’s future when it comes to conference affiliation and upcoming schedules, with the entire program seemingly sinking quickly. Not a great year to be in Corvallis.
Stock Up: National Championship Hopes
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There are still games to be played, and business to take care of, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Ducks have a real chance at history this year. At the moment, they have the third-best national championship odds in the nation, sitting behind only Michigan and Georgia. Should they win the Pac-12 Championship this week against Washington — a game where they’re favored by more than a touchdown — then they likely get a CFP matchup against the Bulldogs, the Wolverines, the Florida State Seminoles, the Texas Longhorns, or the Alabama Crimson Tide, in all likelihood.
You could argue that they would be a favorite in a few of those matchups, or a slight underdog at most in a couple.
None of that matters unless the Ducks can take care of business this week, but it’s at least worth being aware of.
