David Marsh

Are the Beavers better than Boise State? Maybe... but we'll find out later this season. But they are similar. Both are dependent on a run game to get things going. So it will be another week for the Ducks to contain the run game on defense. It would also be nice for the offensive line and the offense to get some push and get our own run game going so that the defense isn't on the field for as long. That is what really hurt us against Boise is that the defense never seemed to leave the field. Those special teams touchdowns are great, and without them we would have lost, but it doesn't give the defense a whole lot of rest.

Take away half the penalties on the offensive line and take away one of the fumbles... and the Ducks win by 14 at least. Take away both fumbles and the Ducks win by 21. That second fumble was just too close to the goal line for the defense to really keep Boise out of the end zone. First fumble... the defense messed up big with that long touchdown run. But at the end of the day a big piece of how this team is supposed to function is with an offense that can take medium to long drives and punch it in for touchdowns. Then put the defense on the field and have them force a three and out and have the offense repeat. Desperation sets in for the opposing offense and the defense capitalizes on it. But with the offense riding the bench for so long it is asking the defense to make stop after stop ... and eventually they'll mess up and that's what happened. Could the defense have played better? Yes... but they were also not given any help from the offense for a second week in a row. The biggest thing that showed up at the end of the day is that the Ducks bled 6 minutes off the clock in that final drive to cap it off with a walk-off field goal to win the game. They bled the clock and put up points like they're supposed to.

If we take the Fiesta Bowl offensive line there is only one player who is missing from that line-up, right guard Steven Jones. Everyone else is returning. Granted, I do feel that Nix did a lot of the pre-snap reads and helped Poncho out a lot more than we give him credit for, but that line played very well. This current offensive line is a far cry from that line considering there is only one missing lineman. This needs to be figured out real soon.

I like these Huskies better...

I'm going to bump my old article by adding a comment. In the article I talked about how the tech might be detrimental to a team because it might be too much of a distraction. One thing I didn't consider is that after a series the last couple of weeks I saw Gabriel and others head to the sideline and evaluate film. This is something new but what they didn't seem to do enough of was being around their players and rallying together. Sure the film might tell them what went wrong exactly but from a team perspective they need to be rallying each other. Now there has been a lot of time on the bench for the offense so there could be plenty of rallying going on that I'm not seeing but to be honest I kinda doubt that. This team needs to get their head out of the tech and just be with each other on the sideline a bit more.

The line-up they used mostly through the third quarter looked pretty good. But I think two things need to happen. 1. Settle on a starting offensive line... but this will also change when Bedford and Ilui are back from injury but they might plug and play better because both were already in the two deep. 2. Simplify the offense.... this feels awful but the truth is that this offense has three weeks (this week, bye week, UCLA) to really drill in on basics. As Mike said, get the communication and blocking assignments down. I felt there were too many cute plays that got nothing done. Like that weird bubble screen then backwards lateral to James play. The blocking didn't hold up on that play to make it work, better off just handing James the ball and having him run it. This team needs time and as long as they progress they have three weeks where the schedule isn't too bad. In four weeks we get Michigan State at home, they aren't playing for the top of the conference but they're a Jonathan Smith team so they'll be progressing as well. Week after that is Ohio State.... which we are not ready for.

Win by 28 and I'll say we're worthy. I'm making artificially high standards.

For all the Pac-12 network's woes... They at least knew the players and programs.

His tackle on Jeanty on the bubble screen was epic!!! The Ducks had issues containing Jeanty in the run at times. But credit these linebackers in making him irrelevant in the passing game for the most part. If Jeanty was a big part of their passing game that would have been game over.

Boise should run the table from this point forward. Jeanty is a very good back.... Frustratingly so. He made a lot of the yards himself with yards after contact.

This is fine. Still loads of football to play.

I disagree here. Linebackers in Lanning's defense aren't simply run pluggers but they need to cover in space as well. And in terms of coverage they did a fantastic job. Bassa had two deflections right over the middle that were also nearly interceptions. The linebackers also did a pretty good job running the Boise running back down when he was bouncing to the edges. Minus a couple of plays but he's a legit good running back. Devon Jackson also had an incredible play covering Boise State runningback Jeanty as he slipped out of the backfield as a receiver on a critical third down. He forced an incompletion. I think the linebackers did a great job showing off their required versatility. Even in the run game for much of the third and fourth quarters Jeanty was picking up barely any yards or was picking up some negative yardage. Just couldn't keep him contained forever. Especially when the offense didn't spend much time on the field.

Knock us out of the top 25. If we are worthy of it we'll work our way back into it. We'll have plenty of opportunities to do so and this team showed last night some flashes of potential greatness but that's now how they played for the entirety of the game. Unless the Ducks make a significant jump this week, I expect a dog fight in Corvallis on Saturday against a Beaver team that was gutted with the departure of Jonathan Smith. We might also prove we're worthy of a top 25 ranking if we demolish the Beavers but I have a feeling it will be closer than it should be.

UPS and downs for sure. But flashes of what this team could be. We are currently not a top 25 team but if things settle we could be.

Let me put things this way. Oregon beat Boise State in one of the worst Duck games I've ever seen. It was horrendous. The Ducks did everything they could to lose the game it felt like. But they won. Despite the score the defrnse played well. They were just stuck in the field for an insane amount of time because the offense doing something dumb and coming off the field prematurely. As for the offense... We saw flashes of what this offense could be and what it could be is incredible. Those deep balls were something to behold. Overall when things clicked they looked good. I mean special teams scored twice this game! That has happened in forever. But with all that said... They need to really start putting it together. Or else this is just a 6-6 team if they're lucky.

Survived game two. We tried really really hard to lose.

Or drain the clock to nothing and get a walk off field goal. I'd take that at this point.

At least a player trailing him picked the ball up.

In truth right now... I don't even know what could be done to save this team and this season.

There are two combos they keep switching in and out. They can't seem to fully settle on an o-line.

Especially after we got ourselves a solid kicker.

Missing the game extra points!!???? Come on Ducks! Good TD. But still.

Just me... Or is this feeling like 2016? Barely beat am FCS team followed by complete offensive line collapse and defensive collapse..

No more fly sweeps! They get nothing constantly!

Offense squanders a possession... And Boise Scores. Ughh