Despite a few costly errors, Oregon played a good game against Auburn. The defense showed strong and the Ducks generated more than enough offense to win.
Unforced blunders took points off the board, making the game agonizingly tight in the end.
Playcalling isn't to blame when the senior quarterback and 1000-yard rusher run into each other, fall down and fumble the football at the opponent's 10. That took a 21-3 lead off the board. A 28-3 lead went off when an open receiver let a touchdown pass carom off his chest.
To win big games, the Ducks have to stop letting the opponents write the script. They have to stop finding ways to mismanage the clock and shoot themselves in the foot.
What the Ducks have to do now is build on the positives, and there are plenty they can use to become an exceptional and successful football team.
Penei Sewell as a sophomore appears even more powerful and mobile than he did in his Freshman All-American season. On Saturday he did a sound job in a very tough assignment, while making big blocks both at the line of scrimmage and at the second level.
Johnny Johnson III's 7 receptions for 98 yards were both career highs. He made clutch catches in traffic and latched on to every ball thrown to him, showing dramatic improvement from a subpar 2018 season, improvement that is really going to help the Oregon offense going forward.
He got loose for the Quack Attack's biggest play of the night, 47 yards down the right sideline.
In the clip below, Justin Herbert makes a play fake and gets terrific protection from his offensive line:
Spencer Webb is a mismatch. He displays good hands and makes a terrific adjustment to the ball on this touchdown catch that made it 14-3. Note also the poise Herbert displays under pressure. The Herbert-to-Webb connection is one the Ducks can use to exploit smaller defensive backs, particularly for a big play in an obvious-pass situation.
On Monday the Ducks released their Nevada depth chart. Webb is being moved to wide receiver. This will give them some interesting options, included a strong, agile blocker in front of Jaylon Redd on quick screen plays.
They can use Webb the way Auburn got Seth Williams one-on-one on Verone McKinley with 9 seconds to play for a winning TD. Nickel backs will have trouble matching up with Webb, provided the Oregon coaching staff has the foresight to exploit the opportunity.
In the second half running yards were extremely hard to come by for the Ducks. They actually did a smart job of making the most of what was available. Coach Mario Cristobal said a lot of the short passing plays were RPOs. The run wasn't there. In fact, the Ducks had just 13 yards rushing in the second half. Jaylon Redd was their 2nd "running back" and he did a great job, 9 grabs for 64 yards, every ball caught.
His 9 catches tied for 11th in the nation after week one.
On this catch-and-run center Jake Hanson misses a block that could have led to an even bigger play, but it's a good gain nevertheless.
The new Avalos defense showed a lot of depth and promise. They were attacking and aggressive. They harried Bo Nix into a 13-31 performance and picked him two times.
There were some great individual plays by a group that got worn down after the offense failed to score in their last five possessions and squandered the opportunity to kill the clock.
Freshman Mase Funa recorded a tackle for loss in his first career game. He's textbook here in setting the edge on this trick play, finishing it with great discipline and good technique in the open field.
Funa's emergence helps compensate for the loss of fellow outside linebacker Adrian Jackson, lost for the year after a foot injury.
Sampson Niu's athleticism and quickness led to Oregon's only sack. It was timely, coming on 1st and 10 from the 18.
Jevon Holland is the smooth criminal in the Oregon secondary. He was also absolutely flawless receiving and returning punts, generating 131 yards of vital field position. In this clip, note how he smartly picks up and tracks the ball, resulting in an easy interception. He maintains great leverage on the receiver, then has the instincts and skills to get his head around and make a big play.
In the end, the Ducks needed to be nine seconds better. Finishing any one of about six critical plays would have won it for them. Particularly frustrating was the fact that the offense had 176 yards of offense in the first quarter, followed by just 156 for the entire rest of the game.
They've got to find a way to keep their foot on the gas. Marcus Arroyo must generate more counters and complementary plays for the ones that work early.
Still, the fact that they can explode with that much offense out of the gate on the road in a huge game shows this team is very potent and focused. Road games shouldn't be an issue this year unless they get discouraged by this early setback.
