Making Grades – Syndication Server

Report Card: Ducks get failing grade in opener against Georgia Bulldogs

Unfortunately, we have to look back before moving forward. Here is how each position group graded out in the 49-3 loss to Georgia.

Did you ever come home from school back in the day with a report card stuffed in your backpack, and hurry up to your room in order to stash said report card deep in the annals of your closet so your parents wouldn’t find it? That’s probably what the Oregon Ducks feel like doing after Saturday’s performance.

At the end of the game, the scoreboard read Georgia 49, Oregon 3. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t a good day for the players or coaches wearing green and yellow.

There wasn’t a lot of good to find when it comes to grading out each position group. The offense was lackluster. The defense was dominated. Camden Lewis did make a 35-yard field goal, so there’s that.

A day later, Oregon has to put this game in the rearview mirror because the Ducks have 11 regular season games left and plenty of talent to have a special season in the Pac-12.

But before we can all move forward, and everybody is anxious to do so, we must look at exactly how bad it was in Atlanta.

Making Grades: Ducks were inspired with a division clinching victory

Making Grades: Ducks were inspired with a division-clinching victory over the Beavers

There was just too much on the line for the Oregon Ducks not to get the job done.

The Pac-12 North was there for the taking. A rematch with Utah for the Pac-12 title and of course, the 125th meeting with the Beavers were all in front of the Ducks as they took to the field last Saturday.

Oregon wanted to get a couple of nasty tastes out of its mouth also. Utah had spanked the Ducks the previous week and Oregon State won the game last season up in Corvallis.

With so much to play for, Oregon turned in a very inspiring performance as they jumped on the Beavers early and went on to win 38-29. Every position group played very well, especially the offense, which turned in their most complete game of the season.

QUARTERBACK:

Grade: A+

Anthony Brown was Anthony Brown once again after a miserable game in Salt Lake City. He was as efficient as ever by moving the ball down the field with his arm and legs. In his last game inside Autzen Stadium, Brown was 23-of-28 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 83 yards and another score. It’s the kind of game Brown and the Duck need if they want to beat Utah and go to the Rose Bowl.

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Making Grades: Oregon shows tremendous prowess in defeating Washington

The Ducks should be happy with this report card. They got the job done on the field and avoided embarrassing themselves off of it.

The scoreboard won’t tell the entire story of this game. Oregon defeated Washington by a mere 10 points, 26-16, but it wasn’t even that close. Once the Ducks found themselves down 9-3 in the first quarter, they had enough juice to get going and thoroughly beat their rivals up north despite the rainstorm.

Travis Dye outgained the Dawgs all by himself with 211 yards on the ground. Washington’s ground game of 55 yards was non-existent and one could say Oregon gave the Huskies most of their points. They had one legitimate drive against the Ducks, with the others coming from a 6-yard TD and a safety.

In the midst of Oregon’s win, frustrations boiled over on the Huskies’ sidelines with head coach Jimmy Lake striking and shoving a walk-on player, and then on Sunday, Washington fired offensive coordinator John Donovan.

But on the other sideline, Oregon kept to themselves and eventually got the last laugh. The Ducks are No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Pac-12 North.

Here’s how the Ducks graded out with the big win in Seattle.

QUARTERBACK

Grade: Pass/Incomplete

Giving Anthony Brown a “pass” for his grade isn’t a cop-out, but we just feel giving him a letter grade wouldn’t be appropriate. The passing game was severely hampered because of the weather and as the game played out, Oregon saw that Brown’s arm just wasn’t needed to be on display as much.

After a rough start that saw an interception returned to the Washington 6-yard line, Brown played well. He gave the Ducks the lead for good with a nice 31-yard touchdown pass to Devon Williams. We’re confident Brown’s talents will be on display more this week against Washington State.

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Making Grades: Oregon offense shines, while defense falters late against Colorado

Oregon’s offense turned in its best game of the season vs. Colorado, but the defense had a rare off day. Here are our full grades for the matchup.

It was definitely two different teams against Colorado on Saturday. While the offense was full of treats, the defense struggled to completely stop a bad Colorado offense.

But if you’re going to have a clunker, you might as well do it against one of the worst teams in the conference.

The offense, however, was as efficient and dynamic in both the running game and the passing game as the Ducks scored on eight of their nine possession. It’s the kind of performance Oregon has been looking for since the Ohio State game.

Now on to the grades:

QUARTERBACK

Grade: A+

In a word, Anthony Brown was awesome. The super senior turned in his best game of the season going 25-of-31 for 307 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon scored on all eight possessions that Brown was on the field, including seven touchdowns. The last time Brown was in Autzen Stadium, he was hearing boos. But he turned those boos into cheers against the Buffaloes.

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