Oregon put the hurt to Nevada on Saturday to the tune of a 77-6 shellacking the Wolf Pack cannot forget soon enough. The scoring onslaught gives me extra work this week as I break my usual Takeaways piece into two, with this installment focusing on the offense.

Offense

For the second straight week, the Oregon offense, and by extension the playcalling of Marcus Arroyo, got off to a hot start. For the first straight week, the offense kept the pedal to the metal. I was not alone last Sunday morning in suggesting the Ducks tightened up their offense after overworking for a tenuous lead in Dallas, not that this makes us right.

But we were.

This Sunday nobody is complaining as the Oregon drive chart looks like a meteor shower. Mario Cristóbal acknowledged after the game that this week was different.

“There were some that were designed to go downfield, and we probably called a few more,” conceded Cristobal. “And some were open that we tried last week but were taken away and you wish you could have had them, but you don’t and that’s gone, but certainly thought staying aggressive paid off tonight.”

Offensive aggression paid off indeed and this is actually what Duck fans were spoiled into expecting under Chip Kelly. They loved it about those teams, and they would love it about this team.

This is not to say Cristobal should abandon his cause of physicality. Quite the opposite. That is what would have taken Chip’s teams to the next level.

RB

What a display of depth by these guys yesterday. Five deep were playing like it was high school including true freshman Sean Dollars in his debut. I remarked then and I say now, there is not that much dropoff one to five right now. There are differences which the coaches recognize through their playcalling. Verdell and Dye may get about equal carries, but Dye goes out in patterns more. Darrian Felix showed us, again, that he is serious speed guy. Habibi-Likio eats inside the red zone. Dollars looked like a young CJ Verdell with, perhaps, an extra step.

It is making Jim Mastro look very smart.

QB

Herbert started off the game somewhat off target but after a few balls was throwing strikes. With the help of his receivers, he made it look so easy with a big, easy arm and pinpoint accuracy.

Then he was benched for redshirt freshman Tyler Shough who made his real game debut. Not the type where he goes in and hands off. The kind where he spins the rock all over the field and shows what kind of arm he has, and QB he will be.

This was something we were hoping to see before the game; Shough with the ones against ones. He delivered.

“He deserves to play, he’s a really good football player,” said Cristobal afterwards. “He’s proved it in the spring, and he proved it in fall camp. We want him in there during meaningful time.”

TE

Last year the tight end group seemed thin with injuries, this year it seems fat with talent.

“Proud of the tight ends,” said Cristobal. “You know they became such a big part of the passing game tonight, really opened up things for us, and we got to continue to use them because they can stretch the field, they can do the intermediate stuff as well, and they blocked extremely well tonight.”

They did more than just contribute as tight ends, with Breeland, Bay and Kampmoyer all with touchdown receptions. They also sent Spencer Webb and Patrick Herbert to the receiver corps to help with depth. And their blocking as a group was quite good.

OL

The starters got around 50 snaps and the second unit around 20, exactly what coaches would plan if they had complete control of a game. Which in this case they did.

Top OL grade this week went to sophomore Penei Sewell who played very well in front of his extended family, and Calvin Throckmorton graded out well also.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing I saw when I graded this game was the play at right guard of Malaesala Aumavae, who had a well-rounded game in his 23 snaps with very good run and pass blocking alike.

WR

This group has seen an unfair amount of injuries, with five scholarship receivers out for this game with injury. The coaching staff adjusted including moving two tight ends to more of a WR role, and Daewood Davis from DB to WR.

Davis picked things up on offense where he left off in high school.

“His transition back to wide receiver has been, he’s been very unselfish, total team player,” said Cristobal. “Went out there, did it. And it’s in practice that he has shown that he is ready to play major league football for us, and he showed it in his couple of opportunities tonight.”

Seven different players caught a touchdown pass from the two Duck QB’s on Saturday: Three WR’s, three TE’s, and an OL in a TE jersey.

Looks like Next Man Up is everybody.