Tag: team grades

Making Grades: Oregon’s offensive line is an enigma this season; Ty Thompson fills in admirably

The mystery of the offensive line needs to be solved quickly as the Pac-12 season is now here, but overall grades vs. Stony Brook look good.

It’s report card time again and there’s a lot to like in Oregon’s 48-7 win over Stony Brook, but there are definitely some improvements to be had as well, with conference play right around the corner. For the first time all year, the receiving corps played a key role in a win with a lot of freshman getting their first taste of Division I football.

True freshman Ty Thompson had to fill in for an injured Anthony Brown and the secondary dominated with three interceptions.

But the offensive line continues to be a mystery. The group played poorly against Fresno State, but were great on the road in Columbus and was the No. 1 key as to why the Ducks pulled off the shocker. Now against Stony Brook, an FCS school, the offensive line was below average to put it mildly. So are they that great line we saw at Ohio State or are they just an average line we saw in Weeks 1 and 3? Just like how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know.

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

Grade: A

Before Brown was knocked out of the game right before halftime, he was having his best game in an Oregon uniform, going 14-of-18 passing for 159 yards and a touchdown. He also added another rushing touchdown as well.  Then due to a couple of big hits, true freshman Ty Thompson was forced to make his college debut and the offense didn’t miss a beat. He connected on two touchdown passes and finished the game 6-of-9 passing for 82 yards, leading a total of four scoring drives in the end.

Overall, it was an encouraging day for the future of the Ducks’ QB position.

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Here’s CBS Sports’ grade for Florida after Alabama loss

Barrett Sallee is mostly positive on the Gators despite them coming up just short against Alabama.

Moral victories don’t exist, and close, emotional losses count just as much as five-touchdown blowouts. With that being said, against an Alabama team who rarely even sweats during regular-season games, Florida had a real chance to win in the final minutes. The Gators were a missed extra point and/or a failed two-point conversion away from sending the game to overtime, and it seems the team made quite a national impression despite the loss.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee graded the performance of several college football teams, and he gave Florida a B+ grade, even with the loss.

Losing leaves a small margin for error for the rest of the season, but the Gators gained a ton of street cred by pushing the Crimson Tide. The defense showed up in a big way after falling behind early, while the offense found an identity with QB Emory Jones. It’s a loss, but we learned a lot of good things about Dan Mullen‘s team. Florida is the only team to come within 15 points of Alabama in one-plus years, and it’s done so twice.

While Sallee is right that UF really can’t afford another slipup if it wants to return to Atlanta or compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but the Gators proved beyond a reasonable doubt on Saturday that their performance in last year’s SEC Championship was no fluke.

Even without Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney, the Gators remained within one score of the best team in the nation. Florida will be a trendy pick the rest of the year, and it will hope it fares better, outcome-wise, in what will likely be its second top-five matchup against Georgia on Oct. 30.

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