Short of the game ending in a loss, that was about as “worst-case scenario” as you can get for the Oregon Ducks in the season-opener against Fresno State.
Of course, a win is a win, and the Ducks will be traveling to Columbus next week with a 1-0 record, still in a prime position to shock the nation and take down the 4th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. However, I challenge you to find any fan who says they are just as confident in Oregon’s ability to win that game as they were on Saturday morning.
Quarterback Anthony Brown lacked the explosion and playmaking ability that fans desired to see from him through most of the game, and Oregon’s defensive leader, Kayvon Thibodeaux, exited the game with an ankle injury and spent the second half of the contest on the sideline in street clothes and a walking boot.
There were definitely some good moments sprinkled in there; the defense forced three turnovers and looked elite at the start of the game, and Oregon’s rushing offense finally got into a groove as the game came to a close. However, it’s hard to put things more precisely than Brown did after the game.
“As a whole, I would say that it wasn’t clean enough.”
That can be expected in the first game of the season, and the first chance to play in front of fans in 644 days. However, a performance like that a week from now in Columbus will have the Ducks standing as one of the laughing stocks of the nation against Ohio State.
Here are 5 of our biggest takeaways from the game: