Ducks take care of Stony Brook 48-7

Oregon entered the game today in a no win situation. Win big and it is dismissed as expected. Won one or lose and the team must be over-rated. All the Ducks could really hope for is to win handily and get some good game film on younger players.

The Oregon defense set the tone early with a Verone McKinley interception on the third play of the game and the Ducks never looked back.

Though the Ducks settled for a field goal following the interception, this game was going to be about getting some work on the scheme and getting young players some live game experience. Stony Brook had a different thought: they weren't in Eugene for moral victories.

CJ Verdell picked up where he left off against Ohio State gaining 54 yards on 11 carries but the Oregon offensive line struggled against an outmatched opponent.

After settling for a field goal following the interception, the Ducks marched 86 yards on 9 plays on their second possession for the early 10-0 lead.

Stony Brook would not let the atmosphere or a top five ranked opponent stymie their game plan as the Sea Wolves were able to breech Oregon territory early and challenge a defense coming off a big win a week ago.

A perfect fourth down pass from Tyquell Fields put Stony Brook in early scoring position. Oregon struggled to contain the athletic quarterback for much of the first half as Stony Brook scored a late first quarter touchdown to close the gap to 10-7 following a touchdown run from Ty Son Lawton.

After rushing for 269 yards against Ohio State, Oregon seemed intent on working the passing game early against Stony Brook throwing 18 passes in the first half as Anthony Brown followed his solid performance against the Buckeyes completing 14 of 18 attempts for 159 yards and 1 touchdown before ceding the reins to Ty Thompson in the 3rd quarter.

Despite the talent gap, the Oregon secondary struggled once again as DJ James gave up a couple of explosion plays including a clean release for 49 yards to Shawn Harris late in the first half with the Ducks holding a closer than expected 17-7 lead.

Another McKinley interception would stop the drive and give Oregon possession inside their own one-yard line with just over two minutes left in the first half.

Oregon held a slim advantage in total yards at that point before quickly moving the ball near midfield. A protection breakdown left the Ducks nursing a slimmer than expected 17-7 halftime lead as the Stony Brook pass rush was better than the Oregon offensive line.

Stony Brook rushed for 82 yards in the first half (versus 83 for Oregon) and averaged 15.6 yards per completion making Oregon's top five ranking seem like a mirage.

With a slimmer than expected 10 point lead, Oregon opened the second half with possession of the ball but failed to convert a first down as a loss on first down followed by a holding penalty left Oregon facing third and long where the offensive line struggled once again.

The offensive line has been a Jekyll and Hyde unit this season and will need significantly better play in conference this season if they expect to deliver on the hope created on the heels of their upset won in Columbus.

Travis Dye, who led Oregon with 87 yards rushing on 15 attempts got hot on Oregon's second possession of the half as the Ducks took advantage of exceptional field position and scored on a short touchdownnto pull ahead 24-7 midway through the third quarter.

After allowing 191 yards of total offense in the first half, the Oregon defense - playing without Kayvon Thibodeaux again - clamped down in the second half giving up just 62 yards of offense after the break.

With 3 interceptions, a fumble recovery, and dominant line play in the second half, the defense was the shining light in a game marred by inconsistent offense and an undisclosed injury to Brown.

In his first action as a Duck, Thompson threw for two touchdowns to Terrance Ferguson and Dont'e Thornton. For the game, Thompson completed 6 of 9 attempts for 82 yards including the 54-yard catch and run by Thornton.

The future looks bright for Thompson, though the present is somewhat ambiguous at the moment. There is a lot of talent and depth at the skill positions, but the Ducks will need to show marked improvement along the offensive line moving forward.

With the 48-7 win, Oregon moves to 3-0 on the season.

Next up for Oregon is their conference opener against Arizona in a 7:30 game at Autzen Stadium next Saturday night.