Is the Passing Here to Stay?
Question: For once, we saw a really impressive passing attack from Anthony Brown and the Ducks vs. UCLA. Do you think that’s repeatable? Or do you feel it was a one-off and expect regression going forward?
Neel: I don’t expect Anthony Brown to get booed again at home for his passing inefficiencies, but I also don’t expect another 300-yard passing day with 11 WRs getting on the stat sheet. That mainly happened because Oregon’s running game was stifled by UCLA, which is not something that I expect to be a problem vs. Colorado. Brown should be solid, and hopefully cut down on mistakes, but I don’t foresee the Ducks having to rely on the pass in the same way they did last week going forward.
Smalley: Colorado is in the middle of the Pac in pass defense. The Buffaloes are sixth, giving up 216 yards per game in the air on average. Oregon needs to use this talented receiving group on a weekly basis. The running game was suspect last week, so the passing game has to be more prominent. I think this is definitely repeatable going forward.
Patton: Colorado has a conference-worst three interceptions and eight sacks on the year. Brown has a very easy path to a productive afternoon on Saturday, and if he plays down once again it will almost certainly lead to coach Cristobal’s wishes being ignored by a fan base who is tired of inconsistency under center. I suspect he’ll do enough to stave off the boos and give Oregon a comfortable win.