What a brutal, gutty, win for the Ducks over the top team from the South Division, with LaMichael James out and Darron Thomas injured early in the third quarter.
Bryan Bennett and Kenjon Barner showed how much character, poise and depth the Oregon team has. 25 years ago, or perhaps even five, the Ducks would have lost a game like this by 40. Anyone remembers awful years when Bill Musgrave or Tony Graziani went down, or Rueben Droughns, and the suffering and misery that ensued, will understand that reference. In the old days the Ducks were competitive until they lost a couple of starters. Last night they beat a 5-1, #18-ranked team, first in the South Division, with a redshirt freshman quarterback and a backup tailback, with 60 touchdowns on the sidellines wearing raincoats.
photo left: Justin “Rudy” Hoffman, typifying the gutty effort for a team playing without their two stars, had three clutch catches for the Ducks, all for first downs.
The game was a reminder of how violent and dangerous football is. It reminded many fans of 2007, when Cameron Colvin, Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart all suffered injuries; the Ducks lost about seven starters in all. But steadily the depth and talent level has risen. In recent years Oregon survived season-ending injuries to Jeremiah Johnson and Walter Thurmond. They reloaded when LeGarrette Blount got suspended and Jeremiah Masoli got kicked off the team. Chip Kelly has created a culture of no excuses, and the readiness and calm Bennett, Barner, and De’Anthony Thomas displayed in taking that game over were beautiful to watch.
Here are the letter grades, based on the keys to game we identified Saturday morning:
Be fine on the offensive line
The first half running game was dismal, overwhelmed so often at the line of scrimmage Kenjon Barner had seven carries for 14 yards, with a fumble on his first rushing attempt. The Ducks were plowed under and stifled, and the only thing that staked them to 21-17 halftime lead was success in the passing game and two timely returns by Cliff Harris, a 23-yard scamper with a punt, and a 50-yard dash with an interception out of the end zone.
At halftime Oregon made adjustments, and the Ducks finished with 327 yards on the ground. Both Thomas and Bennett had time to throw downfield. Barner rushed for a career-high 171 yards, DAT for 73 on 7 carries, Bennnett off the bench for 5-65. Bennett’s quickness gave the running attack an extra dimension as he reeled off two long runs on one drive, freezing the linebackers and keeping the playside defensive end at home.
But Steve Greatwood and the offensive line did a terrific job of adjusting, and again did not surrender a sack. Oregon finished with 536 yards of offense and the 41 points, and in the third quarter they were utterly brilliant in difficult circumstances.
Grade: B+ (downgraded for a poor start, but extra credit for persistence and will)
Have the knack at quarterback
Wow! Both Oregon quarterbacks did a tremendous job in this game, leading the team under pressure and leading comebacks in a tight, aggressive game. Darron Thomas made a glaring unforced error early when he tossed an awful overthrown ball directly into the waiting arms of an ASU defender, an ugly-looking balloon that missed his receiver by several feet. But he responded beautifully, 13-17 passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns, getting the ball downfield as he averaged 11 yards per pass attempt. After the miscue he was accurate and resourceful. His 28-yard scrambling touchdown pass to Lavasier Tuinei was one of the best improvisations of his Oregon career.
Bennett was a revelation. The redshirt freshmen had been in that situation before: when he was a sophomore at Crespi High he took over in the first game when senior Kevin Prince (now the starter at UCLA) suffered a season-ending knee injury. Bennett guided the team to the State Championship Game. Last night, he displayed the calm athleticism and quickness that coaches had been raving about after practice, getting loose for 65 yards, keeping on three terrific zone read plays, giving the Ducks a dimension they haven’t had since Jeremiah Masoli fell victim to laptops and an illegal left with weed in the glovebox. Bennett can run, but the amazing thing is, practice observers over the last two years exclaim how beautifully he spins the ball. His composure leading two touchdown drives in the third quarter, followed by two field goal drives in the last, showed what talent and character the Ducks have at backup qb.
Grade: A+ (With LaMichael James out, the quarterbacks led an impressive victory in difficult circumstances, executing and managing the offense brilliantly.)
Turn Brock Osweiler into David Bowie: keep him under pressure
In the third quarter, Brock Osweiler had four yards passing. The Duck defense gave up 436 yards of offense, but they broke Osweiler’s rhythm, had a crucial, game-changing turnover, and broke up what seemed like a dozen passes with perfectly-timed, legal secondary hits and great one-on-one plays in coverage. The Ducks got crucial stops and sacks from their defense. Arizona State had to punt eight times, and after taking a 24-21 lead with a drive early in the third quarter, the Sun Devils were held to one field goal the rest of the way while the Webfoots scored four times, 20 points. There was bending and some breaking, but it was a relentless, athletic, aggressive, gutty performance by the defense, just enough intensity to win a very tough game.
Grade: A- (Osweiler had his way early, but Aliotti and his troops turned up the heat and responded like champions at the perfect time.)
Be a loud crowd and an ungracious host
The crowd never wavered, intense, vocal and engaged, except for an understandable worried hush when Thomas lay crumpled on the turf. It was too reminiscent of Dennis Dixon and ’07. The Oregon crowd deserves kudos for staying in the game even when it seemed ASU was getting the best of it.
On the field, Oregon’s players never panicked; you never got the feeling they were out of this game or overwhelmed. The focus over a full 60 minutes was wonderful. However, the Ducks lost their poise for awhile. They had three stupid personal foul penalties (Stuckey, DAT and Grasu), playing down to the Sun Devils level, chippy unnecessary stuff and late hits. Regaining their composure and focus was a huge key in this game. ASU never did.
Along those lines, has a talented player ever done more to undermine his own team than Vontaze Burfict? He’s as quick, tough and powerful as any linebacker you’ll ever see, but he deteriorates the game around him and makes his team a target. In the first half he had two costly personal fouls, and his style of play rubs off on other players, leading to a chippy, violent game and a flag-fest–officials begin to feel they have to penalize everything to regain control of the game. Burfict has Ray Lewis talent but he’s danger of making himself into Brian Bosworth or Mike Tyson, a cartoon, a cautionary tale of wasted potential. It will be interesting to see which way he goes.
Grade: for the crowd, A; for the players, D- for losing control, A+ for regaining their focus
Extra Credit bonus grade: A for Jackson Rice and Alejandro “Candy” Maldonado, Oregon’s punter and place kicker, who continued two fabulous, accurate consistent seasons on a night they were really needed.
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