Tag: Travis Dye

5 takeaways from Oregon Ducks’ convincing win over Washington Huskies

Has Mario Cristobal ever been more loved? Is Travis Dye officially an Oregon legend? Should we be worried about AB? Those takeaways, and more…

There was nothing stylish about it. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t convincing, though.

The Oregon Ducks went into Husky Stadium on Saturday afternoon and ran it down Washington’s throat, to quote running back Travis Dye. With a total of 329 rushing yards on the day, Oregon quickly turned around another putrid offensive start and managed to cruise through much of the second half with ease, leaving Seattle with a 26-16 win over their biggest rivals.

That score can be misleading. With 10 seconds left in the game, Oregon had the ball on Washington’s 1-yard line, an easy run up the middle away from making it a 33-16 win. Instead, they ran the clock out and showed some restraint. The Huskies’ 16 points are also misleading, considering that their first touchdown of the game came on a two-play, six-yard drive after an interception, and they were also gifted a safety.

Regardless of the semantics, the Ducks were clearly the better team, and they made it known throughout the second half, and in the locker room after the game. Here are our biggest takeaways from the day as a whole:

Oregon Ducks Player of the Game: Running Back Travis Dye

The Oregon Ducks were carried by a career-best performance from Travis Dye, who had 211 yards on the ground.

For the third game this season, Oregon Ducks running back Travis Dye has been selected as the Ducks Wire Player of the Game.

This time, there was almost no mystery about whether he should get the selection.

In a game with ugly weather, poor quarterback play, and plenty of penalties, Dye shone brightly by posting a whopping 211 rushing yards and a touchdown.

He broke his previous career-high of 199 rushing yards, set against Oregon State in 2018. It was also his 11th touchdown of the season, and gives him a career-high with 820 rushing yards on the year.

Oregon and Washington both struggled to generate much firepower on offense, particularly through the air in the harsh wind and rain coming down in Seattle.

Anthony Brown finished with just 98 passing yards and one touchdown, along with an interception on the first drive of the game.

Meanwhile, Dylan Morris averaged just 4.1 yards per completion, and failed to throw a touchdown pass while tossing an interception.

Oregon had a much more successful game on the ground, with Dye continuing to establish himself as one of, if not the best, running backs in the Pac-12.

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HIGHLIGHTS: Watch all of the Ducks’ TD’s and game-changing plays in 52-29 win over Colorado

Did you miss the game? Relive all of Oregon’s 7 touchdowns in a 52-29 blowout over Colorado here.

We saw everything that we wanted to see from the Oregon Ducks’ offense in a blowout win over the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon. Anthony Brown got after it early and often, scoring on all 8 drives that he was in the game for and giving the Ducks their highest point total of the season at 52.

In all the Ducks compiled 568 yards of offense with 32 first downs. Brown had his best day as a Duck, throwing 25-for-31 for 307 yards and three touchdowns. The freshmen were a big story on the day, with Byron Cardwell, Seven McGee, and Troy Franklin all getting their first career touchdowns.

Here are some of the best highlights from the day:

Opening Touchdown from Travis Dye

First Career TD for Byron Cardwell Jr. 

29-yard TD pass from Anthony Brown to Troy Franklin

Travis Dye’s second TD run of the day

Insane Leaping Catch from Devon Williams

Travis Dye picks up TD No. 3

Devon Williams grabs first TD of the year

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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Flashes of greatness in 34-31 win over UCLA keep Oregon’s postseason hopes alive and well

Oregon proved a lot on Saturday in a 34-31 win over UCLA. It’s still a longshot, but their chances to be considered for the CFP shouldn’t be out of the question.

Going into that game against the UCLA Bruins, we felt pretty confident that the Oregon Ducks could finally get off the snide and put together a nice game where they looked worthy of a top-10 ranking in the nation.

After about 11 minutes of game time, with the Bruins leading 14-0, we felt like the dumbest guy in the bar, ashamed for getting fooled once again.

However, fast forward to the middle of the third quarter after the Ducks went on a 34-3 run to take a sizeable lead into the final frame, you could feel a sense of calm confidence. This is the team that many Oregon fans expected to be watching in 2021. Not a team that struggles to put away Arizona or Cal. But rather a team that can go on the road to Ohio State and UCLA and prove that they belong in a conversation among the best in the nation.

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There are still problems to fix, of course. A pair of late interceptions from QB Anthony Brown kept the Bruins in it until the final drive, and made sure that nobody was quick to turn away from the final minutes of the game. However, those are mistakes that can be cleaned up and fixed. What is almost impossible to fix is attitude and confidence. If you don’t believe you’re one of the best, there’s no changing that.

The Ducks looked like they were playing with swagger once again on Saturday. In front of a national ABC audience with College Gameday on-site, they aired the ball out in the passing game and allowed the defense to feast upfront. Brown had his best game as a Duck, going 29-for-39 with 296 passing yards, 85 rushing yards and a TD. In his first full game of the season, Kayvon Thibodeaux led the team with 9 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, one forced fumble, and one QB hit. DJ James grabbed two interceptions on the day, including the one late in the 4th quarter that sealed the victory. Travis Dye rushed for 4 touchdowns.

The Ducks, wearing their brand new ‘eggshell’ uniforms, looked like a team worthy of conversation once again.

So should we talk about it?

Technically, the door is still open for this team. They held the No. 10 ranking in the nation going into this week, and losses from No. 7 Penn State and No. 8 Oklahoma State are sure to boost them back into the single digits. On top of that, it is becoming clear the impact that offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead has on the gameplan, and it’s absolutely fair to believe that if he was healthy enough to be at the Stanford game, the Ducks likely would have been able to win, giving them an undefeated record on the year.

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Do you think the College Football Playoff committee isn’t going to look at that fact when making a decision and almost give the Ducks a pass on the loss?

Of course, before we get too far, it is important to note that none of this matters unless the Ducks continue to play the way that they did on Saturday. If they can keep the offensive momentum going forward, and rely on a completely dominant defense in the weeks to come, there should be no questions about their place among the top teams in the nation. However, if they revert back to the mean and give us duds like Cal and Arizona again, they don’t belong in the conversation.

What Saturday showed us, though, is that Oregon still has a pulse. Sure their chances to make the CFP may be considered a longshot, at best, but it’s still greater than zero. If they can continue on this path and show that their defense is something to be feared, with an offense that can routinely put 30-40 points on the board, why wouldn’t the committee consider them?

Maybe this is just me being naive again and thinking that this team is better than they really are. Twice this year they’ve gone on the road and been able to take down a really good football team and doing it with authority. If they go back to their inconsistent ways a week from now, the joke’s on me.

All I know is that going into this game against UCLA, I wanted the Ducks to show me that they can play to their ceiling once again; that they can prove that talent matters, and that the win over Ohio State wasn’t a fluke.

They absolutely did that and gave me confidence that all hope isn’t lost for the rest of the season. Dreams of a postseason appearance in the playoff are still lofty, but at their ceiling, the Ducks just might be good enough to get there.

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Oregon’s Travis Dye scores TDs on 4 consecutive carries

Travis Dye of Oregon sets an NCAA record with TDs on 4 consecutive carries

Late in the third quarter of the Oregon-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl, Ducks RB Travis Dye had gained 17 rushing yards.

That would not seem to be worthy of notice or a story …

… until you realize he had scored 4 touchdowns as Oregon overcame a 14-0 deficit to take a 27-17 lead over the Bruins.

Dye scored twice in the second quarter — runs of 1 and 4 yards. He added another pair of TDs in the third quarter, those on runs of 1 and 5 yards.

Oh, the 4 touchdowns? They are an NCAA record because they were on consecutive carries. That is correct, Dye accounted for 24 points on 4 consecutive carries.

He didn’t make it 5 as his next carry was a 3-yard run.

The previous mark was 3 by Howard Griffith of Illinois.

First Half Takeaways: Ducks overcome another slow start to trail UCLA 17-14 at half

The Ducks fell behind to UCLA early, but were able to right the ship and make it a close 17-14 game at the half.

The Oregon Ducks were playing the same old tune in the first quarter of their game against the UCLA Bruins on Saturday.

In any other year, that would be a good thing. However, fans know that during this season, it means that Oregon got off to a slow start and continually committed dumb penalties that shot themselves in the foot.

UCLA was able to march down the field on the first drive of the game and go up 7-0, and a turnover on downs for Oregon, followed by a blocked punt allowed the Bruins to punch it in and go up 14-0 before the quarter was over.

Fortunately, the Ducks took a 12-play drive down the field and got a score from Travis Dye to cut the lead, and later got another nice drive led by Anthony Brown, evening the score at 14-14 until UCLA converted a FG as time expired to take a 17-14 lead into the break.

Here are a few takeaways from the first half:

  • The UCLA running game was having way too much success early on, making everything look easy. They averaged 6.6 yards per rush on the first drive of the game. Dorian Thompson-Robinson got out of the pocket often, picking up 26 yards on the ground, and UCLA totaled 93 rushing yards in the half.
  • Johnny Johnson III and Devon Williams had solid showings in the first half, hauling in 7 catches for 105 combined yards. It is hard to predict which WR is going to have the biggest impact each game, but the Ducks seem to be making an effort to get some receivers into the action this week.
  • Another slow start was brutal for the Ducks. They allowed UCLA to march down the field and score easily on the first drive, and then a failed 4th-down conversion gave a turnover on downs soon after. An interception from DJ James helped on the next defensive possession, but the Ducks were unable to turn it into anything and allowed the Bruins to block their punt, giving UCLA a prime opportunity on the 30-yard-line, which they easily turned into points. On top of that, penalties were once again an issue, which is nothing new for the Ducks.
  • Though the start was slow, Oregon’s offense got into a rhythm in the second quarter, putting together a couple of nice drives and evening the score up at 14-14. Anthony Brown did a good job in the passing game, throwing 15-for-22 for 167 yards and 0 touchdowns. However, he found his playmakers and was able to move the ball down the field. That’s all we really can ask of him.

 

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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:

4 reasons Oregon Ducks should have confidence heading into road game vs. Stanford

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:

The Big Game Narrative

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…

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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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