Tag: Noah Sewell

First Half Takeaways: Oregon Ducks jump out to 31-14 lead over Colorado in impressive first half

The Ducks offense showed everything we wanted to see in the first half, putting up 31 points on the CU defense.

After seeing some life from the Oregon Ducks last week in a win over the UCLA Bruins, a lot of fans were curious which team would come out to play on Saturday against Colorado.

Would it be a team capable of blowing out a lesser opponent, or rather one that played down to competition once again?

The Ducks answered that question early, marching down on the first drive and putting points on the board. They ultimately built a 31-14 lead in the half, and seem to be playing with passion. Here are some of our first-half takeaways:

  • The Oregon Ducks came out firing on offense, having an easy time establishing the rushing attack in the first couple of drives of the game. Travis Dye was up to his usual business, capping off the first drive with a 10-yard TD on a swing route from Anthony Brown.
  • Freshman RB Byron Cardwell scored his first career touchdown, going 34-yards untouched up the middle to put the Ducks up 14-0 in the first quarter. Earlier on the same drive, Cardwell got his day started with a 29-yard drive up the right sideline to get the Ducks into scoring position.
  • Anthony Brown Jr. was spectacular for the Ducks, finishing the half with 19-for-24passing (79%), 201yards and 2 touchdowns. At one point in the second quarter, he stood in the pocket, took on pressure, and delivered a strike to true freshman Troy Franklin for No. 11’s first career TD. It was a perfect pitch-and-catch. This is exactly what you wanted to see from the Oregon offense as a Duck fan.
  • The Ducks offense was able to get anything it wanted in the first half, scoring a TD on each of their 4 possessions of the game. They finished the half with 344 total yards and 21 first downs.
  • Penalties are usually an issue for Oregon, but that wasn’t the case in the first two quarters of this one. They finished the half with 0 penalties for 0 yards. On the other hand, Colorado struggled mightily in that department, getting flagged 8 times for 50 yards.
  • Pass blocking from the running backs was huge in this first half, as was run-blocking from receivers. Check out this pass block from Seven McGee on Anthony Brown’s TD pass to Troy Franklin:

Now look at this incredible pass block from Johnny Johnson III on Dye’s touchdown run to start the game:

  • The Ducks’ defense wore down a bit in the second quarter, allowing Colorado to get into the endzone a couple of times. In the half, Colorado managed 147 yards and 8 first downs, despite ranking near the bottom of the Pac-12 in total offense.

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5 takeaways from Oregon’s uninspiring win over the Cal Golden Bears

Travis Dye was spectacular, but penalties were once again an issue, and the offense elicited boos. Here are our major takeaways from Oregon’s 24-17 win over Cal.

It’s tough to walk away from Oregon’s 24-17 win over the California Golden Bears with much more confidence than you had going into it. The Ducks lost their first game of the season two weeks ago against Stanford, and a well-placed bye week gave them an opportunity to correct mistakes and get back on the right track entering the second half of the slate.

On Friday night, it didn’t look like they made many improvements at all, needing a 4th quarter comeback led by QB Anthony Brown in order to escape with a victory against a now 1-5 team that is near the bottom of the Pac-12 power rankings. For the second straight game, Oregon’s defense faced a 4th and goal situation with less than 5 seconds on the clock and their inferior opponent looking for a chance to send the game into overtime.

The result was better against Cal on Friday, but it’s still not a situation that you want your top-10 ranked team to repeatedly be in.

A win is a win, and the Ducks live to fight another day, but the questions we had about this team going into the bye week have only been magnified. There were some good moments on Friday and some bad. Here are a few takeaways we had from Oregon’s close win over Cal:

Oregon Early-Season Awards: Taking stock of Ducks’ success four-weeks into the 2021 season

Four games into the season, we have a decent idea of who the Ducks are thus far. We decided to hand out some early season awards to break it down.

The Oregon Ducks have completed four of their 12 allotted games, and at this point, it is not crazy to expect that they might be able to play in a total of 15 games this season, if all goes correctly.

The Ducks are 4-0 with impressive wins over Ohio State and Fresno State. They are the only remaining undefeated team in the Pac-12, and they have an inside track to the College Football Playoff.

While the season is still incredibly young with a whole conference slate of games to be played, we wanted to take a second to review what has happened thus far, and take stock in the past four weeks.

Our staff at Ducks Wire — Managing Editor Zachary Neel and writers Don Smalley and Andy Patton — got together to give out some awards at the one-third mark in the season. We expect to reconvene at the two-third mark, and then of course once the season is over as well. Here is where things stand in our opinions after Week 4.

Team MVP Award

WINNER: Verone McKinley III (Anthony Brown Also Received Votes)

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Zachary Neel: My vote here has to go to safety Verone McKinley III. Coming into the season, we had some questions about how the secondary was going to hold up with projections for both the defensive line and linebacking corps to be stout, and so far it’s been the DB’s who are the most impressive. McKinley leads the nation in interceptions with four, and he’s asserted himself as a huge leader of the team.

Don Smalley: My vote is for QB Anthony Brown. After battling for the job in the fall and being inconsistent at times, Brown has proven to be the ultimate game manager. His touchdown run to beat Fresno State late and his game at Ohio State completely changed the overall outlook of what this season can bring. He hasn’t made the big mistake to cost the Ducks a game.

Andy Patton: Verone McKinley III is the easy choice for Team MVP for me. He has four interceptions already this season, which is tied for first in the nation, and has been among the most lethal free safeties in the NCAA. Tim DeRuyter’s defense is making waves this season and McKinley is a huge reason why.

Up Next: Offensive MVP…

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Making Grades: Arizona game presents a mixed bag of the good, bad and the ugly

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:

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

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.

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Everything we know following Oregon’s 41-19 win over Arizona

Despite the win over Arizona and the final score, there’s plenty for the Ducks to work on before their game at Stanford next week.

A win is a win, and despite Oregon coming out on top 41-19 over Arizona, there will be plenty of teaching moments for Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal to show his team before going to Stanford next week.

For the most part, Arizona can say it defeated the Ducks in every way except where it counts … the scoreboard.

Oregon was dominated on both sides of the line and if it wasn’t for five interceptions by the Duck secondary, this could have been one of the biggest upsets in recent years.

But Oregon did create turnovers that held the Wildcats off the scoreboard enough to give them their 16th straight loss. The Ducks can definitely breathe a huge sigh of relief, but Oregon goes to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

Here are some instant reactions from the game:

Stock Up, Stock Down: Which Oregon players had biggest impact in blowout win over Stony Brook?

Oregon has a lot to clean up after the blowout over Stony Brook, but these players had great games, and deserve to be recognized.

The Oregon Ducks were once again the class of the Pac-12 on Saturday, and they did so without a particularly inspiring win over the Stony Brook Seawolves. Sure, the final score was a blowout, but the way they got there was a little sloppy, to say the least.

However, a win is a win, and that’s more than most of the other top teams in the Pac-12 can say on Sunday. No. 13 UCLA lost to Fresno State in a Pac-12 After Dark thriller, and No. 19 Arizona State fell to No. 21 BYU. After three weeks of the season, Oregon is the only team left standing with an undefeated record in the conference, which isn’t great.

So with that in mind, Duck fans can at least be happy with the fact that they are still spotless heading into the conference slate, with a game next week against Arizona, who lost their 19th consecutive game on Saturday.

Before we look forward, though, let’s take a look back and analyze what we saw against the Seawolves. Here is our stock report on the Ducks’ players, and how they impacted the game on Saturday:

Report: Linebacker Justin Flowe is out for the rest of the regular season

Fox Sports reporter Bruce Feldman says Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe will be out for the regular season.

The injury news on the defensive side of things just keeps getting worse for the Oregon Ducks.

Head coach Mario Cristobal announced Monday in his weekly press conference that that star freshman linebacker Justin Flowe sustained a significant foot injury and now Fox Sports writer Bruce Feldman reports Flowe will indeed miss the rest of the regular season.

To say this is a huge blow for the Ducks is an understatement. Flowe had an incredible debut in Week 1 with 14 tackles against Fresno State that earned him Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.

With Flowe out, linebackers Noah Sewell and Mase Funa will have to carry the load at the linebacker spot as well as Adrian Jackson and Keith Brown. All four linebackers had great games in the 35-28 upset at Ohio State, so all is definitely not lost.

Oregon is also expecting to get Kayvon Thibodeaux back on the field soon, but with the next opponent being FCS Stony Brook, don’t expect the star defensive end playing until Arizona comes calling Sept. 25.

 

While offense falters, defensive stars shine against Bulldogs

The Oregon Ducks may not have played up to their capabilities on Saturday, but the team’s defensive stars looked as good as advertised.

It was an underwhelming first game of the season for coach Mario Cristobal and the Oregon Ducks, who escaped Autzen Stadium with a 31-24 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday.

The offense struggled under quarterback Anthony Brown, who only threw for 172 yards on the day and was often in trouble thanks to a surprisingly inefficient offensive line, something that will need to change in a hurry against Ohio State this weekend.

However, Oregon’s new defense under Tim DeRuyter looked quite good at times, particularly the trio of five star recruits in Kayvon Thibodeaux – who had a sack-fumble early in the contest before exiting with an ankle injury – as well as linebackers Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe.

“That sack-fumble; you watch it on tape and that’s what you’re looking for when you recruit a player,” Cristobal said about Thibodeaux after the game. “A guy that can explode like that, because you change things. A guy tries to gap-hinge or tries to set him, but the set doesn’t get there, or the set line is cut off, and blow by him, all of a sudden you hit the quarterback and the balls on the ground.

“Same thing with Justin, they move at a different speed, so people have to adjust differently, and then all of a sudden the collisions are that much greater. All of a sudden, the opportunity to dislodge a ball, to close in a situation and get someone on the ground that may have broke for a first down or a touchdown. Those things are a reality with athletes of that caliber. Those are certainly two guys, them and Noah, and a lot of guys on the defense that are starting to play at a high level, and we just have to keep elevating the way that we play.”

Flowe in particular was excellent on Saturday, flying all over the field and finishing with a team-high 14 combined tackles, including five of the solo variety and one tackle for loss.

“He did a great job, and just plays with so much energy, so much passion,” Cristobal continued. “He’s a force. The more he plays, the better he’s going to get. We’re just really excited about the way he played today, and what he brings to this football team”.

Oregon’s offense will need to improve considerably if this team is going to beat the Buckeyes on Saturday, but at least the team and their fans can feel confident the defense will hold their own and keep them competitive.

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First half reaction: Thibodeaux, Duck defense means business

The Ducks lead 21-13 at the half. Tim DeRuyter’s aggressive defense was on full display, but the offense left fans wanting more.

The Oregon Ducks enter the half leading Fresno State by a score of 21-13. Here are our instant reactions from the first half:

Aggressive Duck defense on full display: When Tim DeRuyter was hired away from California to be the Oregon defensive coordinator, one of the first things he said was that he wanted the Ducks to force a lot of turnovers. If the first quarter against Fresno State was any indication, it’s going to be a very fun season.

Kayvon Thibodeaux got things rolling on the Bulldogs’ second possession when he came from the blindside and nailed quarterback Jake Haener, causing a fumble and giving the Ducks the ball at the 3-yard line where they quickly turned into their first touchdown on the season.

Not to be outdone, Noah Sewell managed to strip tailback Ronnie Rivers of the ball on Fresno State’s next possession. Oregon again quickly scored to make it 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

Brown and the offense could have been better: If you take out the two possessions where the defense gave the offense a short field to work with, the offense wasn’t that impressive. There wasn’t much of a down-the-field passing game until towards the end of the second quarter when Brown found Johnny Johnson III for a 31-yard touchdown. But before that, Fresno State’s front four dominated the Duck offensive line, which is not a good sign heading into the Ohio State game next week.

Mycah Pittman showing he can be a factor: There weren’t many opportunities for the receivers to make plays, but when Brown did find time to throw the ball, Pittman seemed to be his go-to guy. Pittman ended the first half catching three of Brown’s five completions for 40 yards. Considering his career has been plagued by injuries, it’s nice to see Pittman be a factor in Joe Moorhead’s offense.

Oregon holds a slim 21-13 halftime lead over the Bulldogs.

Four Ducks are on the Polynesian Player of the Year watch list

Popo Aumavae, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Mase Funa, and Noah Sewell are all on the watch list for the 2021 Polynesian Player of the Year.

Marcus Mariota and Penei Sewell may have to move over.

Four Oregon football players, Popo Aumavae, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Mase Funa, and Noah Sewell have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award, the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced on Thursday.

The 2021 list is composed of 63 players from 31 different FBS schools. Oregon is one of six schools with at least four players on the watch list.

Oregon has a rich history with the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award. Mariota, who also won the Heisman Trophy, was the inaugural recipient in 2014. Offensive lineman Penei Sewell took home the honor in 2019. Oregon is the only program to have had multiple players win the award as the Ducks are looking to make it three.

Five finalists will be unveiled on Nov. 30 with the winner being announced Dec. 14. The presentation of the award will be held during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week Celebration Dinner Jan. 21, 2022 and they will also be recognized at halftime of the Polynesian Bowl the very next day.

Among the four Ducks named, it’s likely Noah Sewell has the best chance to claim the award. The super freshman linebacker was the 2020 Coaches Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and was one of two true freshmen and the only among the Power 5 conferences to lead his team in tackles (45) in 2020.

The other three Ducks, Aumavae, Aumavae-Laulu, and Funa will all play major roles in defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter’s defense and are all expected to have great seasons.