Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Oregon Ducks lost their first game of the season, a brutal upset to Stanford in OT. Here is everything we know immediately after the game.
The Oregon Ducks played well enough to win. In the end, they didn’t.
Blame it on the refs. Blame it on the playcalling. Blame it on the players. Whoever you wish to be the scapegoat in this one, the end result is the same: Oregon is now 4-1 on the season with yet another brutal loss to the Stanford Cardinal, once again as a highly-ranked team.
Here is everything we know following the loss:
The Ducks haven’t quite looked as good as their record so far this year, but we have several reasons to believe they will handle Stanford on Saturday.
Let’s be honest, the Oregon Ducks haven’t quite looked like the No. 3 ranked team in the nation in three of their four games so far this year.
The reached the mountain top in their Week 2 victory over Ohio State on the road, but in home wins over Fresno State, Stony Brook, and Arizona, the Ducks struggled at times and played down to their opponent. Through four weeks of the year, they rank 51st in total offense, and 103rd in total defense. Despite this, they are undefeated and have an inside track to the College Football Playoff.
How you ask? By making plays when it matters and finding a way to get the job done. It may not be the identity that a championship-contending team wants, but it’s good enough to get by at the moment while the stage continues to be set for late-season football.
Despite the early struggles, Oregon will face one of the biggest tests of the season this week as they travel down to California to take on the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford is 2-2 but has an impressive win over USC, and a close loss to No. 24 UCLA. The Cardinal are a big and powerful team that is absolutely worthy of giving the Ducks a test on the road.
After a handful of uninspiring wins, Oregon fans may be a bit warry of the Ducks’ ability to go on the road and stick it to the Cardinal. However, we’re here to offer you some confidence. Here are 4 reasons that we think Oregon will find success this weekend in Palo Alto:
There are a lot of things that we don’t really know about this Ducks’ team, but one thing that has become clear over the first four weeks of the season is that they get up for big games, and tend to play it cool against mundane opponents. There is no doubt that Stanford has been circled on Oregon’s schedule, despite their non-ranking in the Top-25.
Stanford is a good, extremely physical team that is well-coached and capable of knocking any team off if they aren’t ready. Look at USC earlier in the year. Look at UCLA last week. David Shaw is surely going to have his team ready for the Ducks this week.
Fortunately, we can be 100% confident that Mario Cristobal will do the same with his squad. We saw how prepared this team was for a big test against Ohio State early in the year, and we witnessed the fire and intensity that they played with in the ‘Shoe. This Oregon team is one that shows up when people are watching, and they prove that they are as talented and disciplined as almost any team in the nation.
After a few subpar performances, there will be eyes on Oregon this week to see if they can take care of business and assert themselves as the top team in the Pac-12. I have very little doubt that they will do so with authority.
Up Next: The Return of Kayvon…
It was definitely a mixed bag when it came to grades this past week in the 41-19 win over Arizona. Here’s a look at the report card:
The report card this week is going to be a bit different because well, the Arizona game was a bit different.
It was a game where the Ducks came out on top on the scoreboard, but the grades probably won’t reflect a 22-point win over a conference opponent. Grades will be vastly different even within the offense and defense. For example, the defensive line probably had its worst game of the year, but the secondary had their best game.
After the Ducks defeated the Wildcats 41-19, it just didn’t feel like a win to celebrate. Oregon has a lot to work on this week as they prepare to go down to The Farm and take on a tough Stanford team. Let’s get into the report card:
QUARTERBACK
Grade: B
One could tell that something just wasn’t quite right with Brown, whether it was the effect of the injury he sustained the previous week against Stony Brook or the stout Arizona defense. He was 10-of-21 for 206 yards, but it’s the three touchdown strikes that elevate his grade to a B. He was good enough but good enough likely isn’t going to cut it as the conference season rolls along.
The Ducks couldn’t have beat Ohio State without perfect games from top players. In our eyes, it was these guys who benefited the most in Oregon’s upset over the No. 3 Buckeyes.
We’ve all now had a chance to sleep it off, and Oregon fans across the country are waking up on Sunday morning with a feeling that has come rarely over the past decade.
It is the feeling of success and accomplishment after a big game on a big stage.
The Ducks went into Columbus on Saturday and upset the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, shocking a sports nation who gave them very little chance to even keep the game competitive once it became clear they’d be playing without both Kayvon Thibodeaux and Justin Flowe, two of Oregon’s best players.
In that victory, a number of Ducks performed well above expectations and going forward, will be held in a higher light when it comes to media and fan attention.
So who were the heroes of this game, and who might have shown they still have some things to work on? In a game where the Ducks upset one of the premier teams in the nation, there are going to be far more stocks rising than falling, so here’s who we picked:
Oregon’s huge 35-28 upset win over Ohio State was a win for the ages. This is how they got it done.
The day for Oregon started out grim even before kickoff as it was apparent that defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and linebacker Justin Flowe would not participate in the Ducks’ biggest game of the year.
Then the game started …
In front of 100,482 Ohio State Buckeye fans who have waited almost 650 days to watch their beloved team, Oregon shock the world with a 35-28 stunner in the Horseshoe.
Even without two of their star players, the Duck defense stepped up in a way only they thought they could and the offense turned in a performance that seemed to come out of left field after that lackluster game against Fresno State.
This will go down as Mario Cristobal’s biggest win of his career, even bigger than the Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin in the 2019 season. To go into Columbus and defeat the No. 3 team in the nation will go down as the biggest road victory in the program’s history.
Oregon running back CJ Verdell had nearly 200 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for the Ducks in their stunning win over Ohio State.
The Oregon Ducks did the improbable, rebounding from an ugly win over Fresno State in Week 1 to shock the college football world by upsetting No. 3 ranked Ohio State by a score of 35-28 on Saturday morning.
Oregon pulled off the win without their two best defensive players, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Justin Flowe, an incredible accomplishment buoyed by a strong game from just about everyone on the field, although no one was more impactful than our pick for player of the game – running back CJ Verdell.
Verdell got the scoring started with a touchdown early in the second quarter, which capped off a remarkable 99-yard drive and gave the Ducks an early lead.
He scored again about 10 minutes later, this time on a short pass from quarterback Anthony Brown, giving the team a lead heading into halftime.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he rattled off an outstanding 77-yard touchdown run right up the middle which gave the Ducks a 21-7 lead.
All told, Verdell finished the game with 20 carries for 161 yards, while tacking on three receptions for 34 yards to give him 195 all purpose yards and three touchdowns.
It was a remarkable performance from one of the most underrated running backs in the nation – as he helped lead this team to one of the biggest wins in school, and Pac-12, history.
[lawrence-related id=6790]
Oregon running back CJ Verdell racked up nearly 200 yards of total offense as the Ducks knocked off the Buckeyes
CJ VERDELL PUT ON A CLINIC AGAINST THE BUCKEYES 📈 pic.twitter.com/l4jTER5fba
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 11, 2021
Ohio State avoided a valiant upset bid in Week 1 against Minnesota, but they couldn’t finish the comeback at home against Oregon on Saturday, falling 35-28 to the Ducks in front of their home crowd in Columbus.
Oregon running back CJ Verdell led the way for the Ducks on offense, racking up nearly 200 yards of total offense, with three touchdowns.
The Ducks pulled off the big win despite being without star pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, widely regarded as the top prospect in the 2022 NFL draft class, due to an ankle injury.
It’s Oregon’s first win ever against Ohio State, and a huge boost to their chances of making a run to the College Football Playoff.
[vertical-gallery id=629332]
Oregon running back CJ Verdell scored his third touchdown on the day with a huge 77-yard run early in the third to take a 21-7 lead.
MAMA THERE GOES THAT MAN!!!
CJ Verdell 77 yards to the HOUSE 🦆🔥@oregonfootball
(via @CFBONFOX)
— 247Sports (@247Sports) September 11, 2021
Ohio State did not want to see this in real life or in their dreams. Oregon took a 21-7 lead early in the third quarter on a 3rd-and-3 on their own 23. CJ Verdell scored his third touchdown on the day after he broke through the defensive line and found himself in the secondary with nothing but green turf in between him and the end zone.
It was the exact kind of play that can demoralize a team who wasn’t expecting the team speed Oregon has shown on this Saturday in Columbus.
Verdell’s two other touchdowns came oom sweeps to the left side where there weren’t any defenders there to stop him.
Oregon is leading Ohio State in the third quarter, and running back CJ Verdell is leading the way for the Ducks
THERE GOES THAT MAN, @Cjverdell_ 🤯
The @oregonfootball star breaks free for his 3rd TD run of the game! pic.twitter.com/8iJrK4pa4V
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 11, 2021
Oregon is giving Ohio State all they can handle, and running back CJ Verdell is leading the way for the Ducks.
After finding the end zone twice in the first half to help Oregon take a 14-7 lead into the locker room, Verdell broke the game wide open with a 77-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the third quarter.
Verdell already has over 150 total yards and three touchdowns, and the Ducks still lead the Buckeyes.
[vertical-gallery id=629332]
Oregon faces a major test against the No. 3 Buckeyes this weekend, and after a frustrating game vs. Fresno State, we need some answers to these questions.
Do you remember a week ago when we went into the Oregon Ducks’ season opener against Fresno State extremely excited, noting that we were finally going to get some answers to a slew of questions that had popped up during the offseason?
Man, were we young and innocent back then.
While some things did become clear in the Ducks 31-24 win over the Bulldogs — yes, it looks like Justin Flowe is the real deal — we are still left wondering many of the same things. Which freshman QB has landed the backup job? Who is Anthony Brown’s emergency WR? What is the Ducks’ plan at RB behind CJ Verdell and Travis Dye?
While none of those things got answered in what turned out to be a much more competitive game than we anticipated, a whole crop of new quandaries came about. Here are five new questions that we hope Oregon will answer against No. 3 Ohio State this weekend.
