Stock Report: Which Ducks impressed the most in Holiday Bowl win over North Carolina?

Throughout the season, we often spend the morning after Oregon Duck football games looking back at the contest and determining the players who did the most to improve their standing and those who hurt their standing in a “stock report” format. We look at the tape, the stats, and the general outlook of the game, trying to highlight those who stood out the most and those who can stand to get better.

After the Holiday Bowl victory over North Carolina on Wednesday night, a 28-27 thriller that came down to the final seconds, we don’t want to do that, though. It’s the end of the season, and we want to stay positive. Of course, there are several players who didn’t play to the peak of their powers, but we’re not going to focus on that today. Instead, we want to look at players who impressed us the most and used the final game of the season to boost their stock going into the long off-season.

Here are the guys who stood out in the bowl game victory:

RB Bucky Irving

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Bucky Irving was a revelation in 2022 during his first year with the Ducks, and he arguably had his best game at Oregon on Wednesday night against North Carolina. It was the fourth time that Irving crossed the 100-yard mark on the season, and the second time that he totaled exactly 149 yards. What’s more impressive, though, is the fact that he got those 149 yards and 2 TD on just 13 carries, averaging a remarkable 11.5 yards per clip.

With two years of eligibility remaining, it’s clear that Irving will enter the 2023 season as the RB1 and I’m sure the hype surrounding his future campaigns will grow to an all-time fever-pitch over the offseason.

LB Mase Funa

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Without Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe on the field, we wondered which linebackers would step up the most and impact the game. It turns out that Mase Funa was one of them, racking up 7 tackles, tied for the team-high. Funa also had 1 sack and two tackles for loss, winning the Defensive MVP award.

After the game, Funa declared that he will return to Eugene for his final year of eligibility in 2023, where he now projects to be one of the top linebackers in Dan Lanning’s defense.

LB Keith Brown

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We can’t give Funa all of the shine on Oregon’s defense; LB Keith Brown had an outstanding game as well, arguably the best of his career as a Duck. Brown tied Funa for a team-high 7 tackles and added a QB hit as well. Flying around all over the field and constantly having an impact on the game, it became clear that Lanning will have a hard time keeping Brown on the sideline in 2023.

WR Chase Cota

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What a way to go out, huh? In what was his final collegiate game, Chase Cota spent his final play on the field catching the go-ahead touchdown to tie the game at 27-27. He finished with 3 catches for 42 yards and a TD, and ended his collegiate career on top, notching a win in the last game of the season for the first time of his career. No matter what comes next in Cota’s career, his final year spent with the Ducks was a smashing success.

TE Terrance Ferguson

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Over the course of the season, it became increasingly clear that the Ducks have something incredibly special in TE Terrance Ferguson. He made sure that was known on Wednesday night, hauling in 5 catches for 84 yards, including an impressive catch and run that helped put Oregon in scoring position late, allowing them to grab the go-ahead touchdown.

As a sophomore, Ferguson totaled 32 catches for 391 yards and 5 TD, establishing himself as one of the best red zone receiving threats that Oregon has and setting up an impressive career ahead of him.

DL Brandon Dorlus

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Not a lot of people expected Dorlus to play in this game — myself being one of them — but he suited up for potentially one final time as a Duck and had a major impact. Dorlus was a force on the defensive line, helping to stifle North Carolina’s rushing attack, holding the Tar Heels to just 84 non-QB rushing yards on 22 attempts — 3.8 yards per carry. Dorlus finished the game with 5 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 QB hit and 1 pass break-up. If it was his last game as a Duck, it was a great way to go out. If not, then he would come back to Eugene as one of the marquee players on the roster in 2023.

RB Jordan James

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Confined to a mostly short-yardage, goal-line role for his true freshman season, Jordan James proved to be an asset on offense. That role expanded a little bit on Wednesday night, though, where James had rush of 16 and 13 yards when given the opportunity outside of the red zone. It was a small sample size, but James averaged 9 yards per rush against North Carolina and showed that the Ducks might have yet another great RB on the roster.

CB Trikweze Bridges

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There were a lot of concerns about Oregon’s secondary going into this game with CB Christian Gonzalez opting out, but the Ducks stood up well against great competition. North Carolina QB Drake Maye finished the game throwing for just 206 yards and 3 TD on 18-for-35 passing. Remarkably, 108 of those yards and all 3 touchdowns came in the first half for Maye, with the Ducks buckling down in the second half and forcing some big stops. Bridges was a big part of that, grabbing a pair of pass break-ups down the stretch, one of which came in the end zone. Going into 2023, he is absolutely in the conversation to keep his starting job and move into the CB1 role.

DL Casey Rogers

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Much like Brandon Dorlus, we don’t know whether or not Casey Rogers is going to return for another year with the Ducks in 2023, but if this was it for the transfer, then it was a great way to go out.

Rogers was a force in the run defense against North Carolina, racking up 4 tackles, 0.5 TFL, and 1 pass break-up on the night. In one of the most crucial spots of the game, Rogers had a massive run-stuff that forced the Tar Heels to settle for a field goal in the 4th quarter, giving Bo Nix and the offense the chance to score a go-ahead touchdown on their final drive. We will see in the coming days or weeks whether or not Rogers chooses to run it back with the Ducks or not.

WR Troy Franklin

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It was a relatively quiet night for Troy Franklin, but his impact on the game was far greater than what the stat sheet shows. While he only had 5 catches for 24 yards and a TD, Franklin’s TD grab was among the most impressive we saw on the season, fully extending to catch a ball thrown behind him in the end zone.

There were a couple of defensive pass interference calls that Franklin was able to draw down the stretch as well, helping to put the Ducks into scoring position on both of the final drives. As a true sophomore, it seems likely that Franklin has one more season in Eugene before going to the NFL Draft. 2023 is certainly going to be a lot of fun.

LB Jeffrey Bassa

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The door was open for Jeffrey Bassa to establish himself as one of the top linebackers for the Ducks going into the 2023 season with Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe not in the picture. The sophomore did a good job of taking advantage, racking up 6 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 TFL. While there is still a lot to improve for this young safety turned linebacker, Bassa did a good job of establishing himself as an important piece on Oregon’s roster this past season, and his future is bright going forward.

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire