History Repeats as Oregon Gets Blown Out in “Payout Game”

[FishDuck Article]

I was a 10-year-old kid in 1985. The Ducks were playing at Nebraska for the first game in a two-year agreement to play at Nebraska. That is right, the Big Red Machine in its heyday under legendary coach Tom Osborne.

 

History Repeats as Oregon Gets Blown Out in "Payout Game"

FISHDUCK.COM

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Darren Perkins of FishDuck.com reflects on how the blow-out loss to Georgia takes him back in time to the 1980s, when the Oregon program...

 

[Jester]

Darren, I love this article, but hate that it had justification to be written

 

Sweet piece, my man.  

[Log Haulin]

I disagree with the premise of this article. I disagree with likening this game to a payout game. And I wholeheartedly disagree that Oregons journey the past couple decades wasn't worth it.

 

Offensively Oregon made plays, moved the ball to Georgia's side of the field several times. Got into the redzone several times. Just couldn't get into the endzone. 

 

Scoring touchdowns is hard against the Dawgs. They gave up less than 1 in 4 in the redzone last year. Georgia looked mid season form and should be applauded for it.

 

This was Lanning's 1 game ever as a head coach, not his ninth season. I am going to cut him some slack. I believe he is the right guy.

 

The defense has me concerned. The secondary was lit up, linebackers were non existent,  and tackling was atrocious. Could have a lot to do with UGA scheme and talent. I suspect not entirely, got to fix that coach.

 

If we are comparing this game to the 85 Neb game, the stats show a different story. Yea, it wasn't a good look for Oregon. But there were some good moments offensively. They did some things right.

 

Georgia just might be what we saw Saturday,  arguably the best team in college football. Perhaps the best in history, we will know more in late November. 

 

                            ORE       NEB
First downs                   7        29
Rushes-yards              27-73    77-444
Passing yards                33       145
  Comp-Att-Int           7-28-4    9-14-0
Total offense            55-106    91-589
Return yards                 55        77
Sacks by                    1-2      2-12
Punts                      9-43      4-40
Fumbles-lost                4-2       3-0
Penalties-yards            9-75      8-68
Time of possession        18:51     41:09

 

[CalBear95]

An UGA fan I used to be close with when we both lived in SF (he now is in the burbs of ATL) but who has now drifted off my radar texted me late in the 3rd quarter with the sole intention of trying to provoke me (now you know why we drifted).  
 

I didn’t engage and he finally texted something to the effect of ‘the Ducks got paid $4.5MM to be obliterated.’

 

Honestly, I didn’t think of the Ducks as lambs but, I suppose it worked out that way.  Whatevs.  
 

But while he was (wasting his time and energy) trying to make me angry a thought crossed my mind: the days of the SEC never playing these games, say, in Seattle, are rapidly coming to an end. 
 

When the CFP expands, the risk of losing these games goes way down.  
 

I’d like to see Georgia come to the Clink (yes, I know, but that’s it’s name just like the Kraken play at the Key vs whatever name it might have at the time) after DL has 3 years of building under his belt.  
 

Mercedes is a tomb compared to the Clink.  Today Georgia won’t do it because they don’t need to.  
 

But when the CFP expands, teams are going to be rewarded by early wins in tough environments.  And the delta between the SEC will begin to close once they are part of the B1G ($$, conference brand and strength, etc.)
 

IOW, the day of the PAC as lamb to SEC in their chosen stadium should be coming to an end (if for no other reason than the PAC is coming to an end  )

Edited September 5, 2022 by CalBear95

[Haywarduck]

And the reason you don't travel to an underdog is because you just might lose or as in 1982 tie a team who only wins two games that year. 

 

I remember those Nebraska games and the reason that tosu game was so sweet was because of those memories against them back in the day.

 

I also remember the game where Notre Dame showed up at Autzen. Oregon, under Brooks, tied the domers, and it might as well have been a win. That was a huge game for Oregon, and the program at the time. That game might have saved Rich Brooks job, a huge tie.

 

That game was also the second game after losing 41-0 to the domers in Indiana. So the moral of the story is Georgia better not show up in Eugene because they just might get shocked, and lose.

 

I would love to see Georgia try and come to Eugene. Come on Dan, work your magic and get Kirby to bring the Bulldogs to Autzen, what, are they afraid of us!

[Jester]

Loghaulin, I see where you’re coming from.  At one point during the game, I believe the Ducks converted on something like 6 of 9 third downs.  That’s a great number, and had you told me we would reach that benchmark prior to the game, I wouldn’t have believed you.

 

The problem is that football is quite frequently NOT a numbers game.  I think baseball has the market cornered on that one.  I surmise the writer feels just as I did in that the Ducks didn’t feel like a threat in any facet, at any point, of that game.  It was apparent that Oregon was the team that had to execute to near perfection to move the ball, and in what quarter did you lose faith in Oregon being able slow the Dawgs offense?  Perhaps in the first, and if so, at what minute mark? 

 

An appropriate handicap may have been to permit UO to continue using 10 yards for a first down marker while moving the sticks to 20-yard increments for GA.  That would have impacted the game, but given this hypothetical scenario, I still believe Oregon gets handily beaten. 

 

In one of the Night at the Museum movies the character Jedediah said, “I don’t like to be manhandled!”.  Well, no one does, and to watch it makes you feel empathy for the recipient of the manhandling.  Embarrassingly, Oregon was on the receiving end to which they could do nothing to stop the harassment.   

 

Couple our expectations with what was taking place on the field, and you can easily feel as if we were the sacrificial “Payout Game” lamb. 

 

I credit Darren for putting this into words, and for sharing his ’85 experience and how he handled seeing his beloved Ducks manhandled. 

 

Perhaps right now we all need a distraction like "tossing the old football around."  I'm opting for hitting and chasing a little white ball.  Catch y'all later. 

[Log Haulin]

On 9/5/2022 at 8:19 AM, Jester said:

Loghaulin, I see where you’re coming from.  At one point during the game, I believe the Ducks converted on something like 6 of 9 third downs.  That’s a great number, and had you told me we would reach that benchmark prior to the game, I wouldn’t have believed you.

 

The problem is that football is quite frequently NOT a numbers game.  I think baseball has the market cornered on that one.  I surmise the writer feels just as I did in that the Ducks didn’t feel like a threat in any facet, at any point, of that game.  It was apparent that Oregon was the team that had to execute to near perfection to move the ball, and in what quarter did you lose faith in Oregon being able slow the Dawgs offense?  Perhaps in the first, and if so, at what minute mark? 

 

An appropriate handicap may have been to permit UO to continue using 10 yards for a first down marker while moving the sticks to 20-yard increments for GA.  That would have impacted the game, but given this hypothetical scenario, I still believe Oregon gets handily beaten. 

 

In one of the Night at the Museum movies the character Jedediah said, “I don’t like to be manhandled!”.  Well, no one does, and to watch it makes you feel empathy for the recipient of the manhandling.  Embarrassingly, Oregon was on the receiving end to which they could do nothing to stop the harassment.   

 

Couple our expectations with what was taking place on the field, and you can easily feel as if we were the sacrificial “Payout Game” lamb. 

 

I credit Darren for putting this into words, and for sharing his ’85 experience and how he handled seeing his beloved Ducks manhandled. 

 

Perhaps right now we all need a distraction like "tossing the old football around."  I'm opting for hitting and chasing a little white ball.  Catch y'all later. 

2nd q, I think Oregon was trailing 21-3 or 21 --0. Oregon was having success moving into UGA territory and the redzone. Bo threw that 2nd pick and thats when I started rooting for Ducks to get it inside 17.5. Then 28-3 and I knew, just like everyone else.

 

Defensively? It was early, 2 UGA score.

[Mic]

But...wasn't the win at Ohio State last year a "payout" game too?  How quickly we discard the successes.

 

This was a road game, against the defending national champs, with an entirely new coaching staff, new QB and sans our best RB to transfer.  Did anyone here really expect Oregon would win this?   Yeah, we thought it would be competitive so it's a bad loss.  But let's not forget what Oregon did last year in the Horseshoe.

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 4:54 AM, Jester said:

Darren, I love this article, but hate that it had justification to be written

 

Sweet piece, my man.  

Thank you. Thankfully I had to delve into a distant memory to make a comparison and nothing recent. Though those Utah games were ugly last year, this was on a whole other level.

[Jester]

On 9/5/2022 at 11:40 AM, Mic said:

How quickly we discard the successes.

You're right, Mic.  We do discard successes that are from a prior season.  Right or wrong, that's just the way it goes.  It's a "what have you done for me lately" world and the field of athletic endeavors is not excluded.  Different personal, and in our case a different coaching staff, so the slate gets wiped clean.  Each season we all start at 0-0.    

 

And no, I don't think many people really did expect Oregon to win for the exact reasons you cited.  It's the manner of the loss that's disappointing.  Going way back to a prior thread many of us posted what we wanted to see this season.  The majority of the comments dealt with a return to an up-tempo style of play, and just generally a brand of ball that is synonymous with Oregon football - not MC's 3 yards and a cloud of dust style.  Another popular response pertained to being competitive.  The team dramatically missed this mark in the first game.   

 

In a recent post I stated the team needs all our support now.  If I was with them, I'd pat them on the back and offer words of encouragement.  I wouldn't even reference that first game as I'm viewing it as a "do-over" just like when I was a kid shooting an imaginary free throw to win the championship in game 7, and missed, but Julius Erving stepped in the lane too soon, so I'd get a another shot to bring us victory.  Sadly, there were occasions when the entire starting 5 stepped in the lane before I'd get it done .

 

I still think this is a good football team capable of winning many games, and I'm very much looking forward to watching them develop as the season goes along.  

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 6:44 AM, Log Haulin said:

I disagree with the premise of this article. I disagree with likening this game to a payout game. And I wholeheartedly disagree that Oregons journey the past couple decades wasn't worth it.

 

Offensively Oregon made plays, moved the ball to Georgia's side of the field several times. Got into the redzone several times. Just couldn't get into the endzone. 

 

Scoring touchdowns is hard against the Dawgs. They gave up less than 1 in 4 in the redzone last year. Georgia looked mid season form and should be applauded for it.

 

This was Lanning's 1 game ever as a head coach, not his ninth season. I am going to cut him some slack. I believe he is the right guy.

 

The defense has me concerned. The secondary was lit up, linebackers were non existent,  and tackling was atrocious. Could have a lot to do with UGA scheme and talent. I suspect not entirely, got to fix that coach.

 

If we are comparing this game to the 85 Neb game, the stats show a different story. Yea, it wasn't a good look for Oregon. But there were some good moments offensively. They did some things right.

 

Georgia just might be what we saw Saturday,  arguably the best team in college football. Perhaps the best in history, we will know more in late November. 

 

                            ORE       NEB
First downs                   7        29
Rushes-yards              27-73    77-444
Passing yards                33       145
  Comp-Att-Int           7-28-4    9-14-0
Total offense            55-106    91-589
Return yards                 55        77
Sacks by                    1-2      2-12
Punts                      9-43      4-40
Fumbles-lost                4-2       3-0
Penalties-yards            9-75      8-68
Time of possession        18:51     41:09

 

You bring up good stats, yes, the Ducks were able to move the ball and put a nice yards per run average.  But, this was more about "feel" than data. I personally, have not felt Ducks I have been so thoroughly dominated since that Nebraska game. It is subjective. Others obviously feel differently and that's totally cool. 

 

And the struggle has been worth it, as I wrote" "As the struggle has been worth it over the years as an Oregon fan." I was just pointing out. in jest really, during that brief 3-hour or so window on Saturday it didn't seem like it as we were getting dominated. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 8:40 AM, Mic said:

But...wasn't the win at Ohio State last year a "payout" game too?  How quickly we discard the successes.

 

This was a road game, against the defending national champs, with an entirely new coaching staff, new QB and sans our best RB to transfer.  Did anyone here really expect Oregon would win this?   Yeah, we thought it would be competitive so it's a bad loss.  But let's not forget what Oregon did last year in the Horseshoe.

It was not a "payout game." Ohio State was a home and home series but the Eugene game was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. Why would I forget that game? It was a great victory! 

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 6:49 AM, CalBear95 said:

An UGA fan I used to be close with when we both lived in SF (he now is in the burbs of ATL) but who has now drifted off my radar texted me late in the 3rd quarter with the sole intention of trying to provoke me (now you know why we drifted).  
 

I didn’t engage and he finally texted something to the effect of ‘the Ducks got paid $4.5MM to be obliterated.’

 

Honestly, I didn’t think of the Ducks as lambs but, I suppose it worked out that way.  Whatevs.  
 

But while he was (wasting his time and energy) trying to make me angry a thought crossed my mind: the days of the SEC never playing these games, say, in Seattle, are rapidly coming to an end. 
 

When the CFP expands, the risk of losing these games goes way down.  
 

I’d like to see Georgia come to the Clink (yes, I know, but that’s it’s name just like the Kraken play at the Key vs whatever name it might have at the time) after DL has 3 years of building under his belt.  
 

Mercedes is a tomb compared to the Clink.  Today Georgia won’t do it because they don’t need to.  
 

But when the CFP expands, teams are going to be rewarded by early wins in tough environments.  And the delta between the SEC will begin to close once they are part of the B1G ($$, conference brand and strength, etc.)
 

IOW, the day of the PAC as lamb to SEC in their chosen stadium should be coming to an end (if for no other reason than the PAC is coming to an end  )

Yeah, I agree, would be really nice if the SEC would travel out west more. I guess they're afraid of pulling an LSU at UCLA last year. Florida is at Utah next year. Ugh, I had a bad feeling Utah would choke that game on Saturday. 

[Log Haulin]

On 9/5/2022 at 9:20 AM, Darren Perkins said:

You bring up good stats, yes, the Ducks were able to move the ball and put a nice yards per run average.  But, this was more about "feel" than data. I personally, have not felt Ducks I have been so thoroughly dominated since that Nebraska game. It is subjective. Others obviously feel differently and that's totally cool. 

 

And the struggle has been worth it, as I wrote" "As the struggle has been worth it over the years as an Oregon fan." I was just pointing out. in jest really, during that brief 3-hour or so window on Saturday it didn't seem like it as we were getting dominated. 

Fair enough. The feel started before the first snap. The camera was on Bo Nix and you could see fear and doubt on his face. He knew and that carried over to his teammates. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 7:02 AM, Haywarduck said:

And the reason you don't travel to an underdog is because you just might lose or as in 1982 tie a team who only wins two games that year. 

 

I remember those Nebraska games and the reason that tosu game was so sweet was because of those memories against them back in the day.

 

I also remember the game where Notre Dame showed up at Autzen. Oregon, under Brooks, tied the domers, and it might as well have been a win. That was a huge game for Oregon, and the program at the time. That game might have saved Rich Brooks job, a huge tie.

 

That game was also the second game after losing 41-0 to the domers in Indiana. So the moral of the story is Georgia better not show up in Eugene because they just might get shocked, and lose.

 

I would love to see Georgia try and come to Eugene. Come on Dan, work your magic and get Kirby to bring the Bulldogs to Autzen, what, are they afraid of us!

That would be great to see Georgia at Autzen. Especially if we have an established QB if it ever happens. I was at that Notre Dame game, I was too young to understand the significance of it all, but I remember all the excitement. Good memories. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 8:19 AM, Jester said:

Loghaulin, I see where you’re coming from.  At one point during the game, I believe the Ducks converted on something like 6 of 9 third downs.  That’s a great number, and had you told me we would reach that benchmark prior to the game, I wouldn’t have believed you.

 

The problem is that football is quite frequently NOT a numbers game.  I think baseball has the market cornered on that one.  I surmise the writer feels just as I did in that the Ducks didn’t feel like a threat in any facet, at any point, of that game.  It was apparent that Oregon was the team that had to execute to near perfection to move the ball, and in what quarter did you lose faith in Oregon being able slow the Dawgs offense?  Perhaps in the first, and if so, at what minute mark? 

 

An appropriate handicap may have been to permit UO to continue using 10 yards for a first down marker while moving the sticks to 20-yard increments for GA.  That would have impacted the game, but given this hypothetical scenario, I still believe Oregon gets handily beaten. 

 

In one of the Night at the Museum movies the character Jedediah said, “I don’t like to be manhandled!”.  Well, no one does, and to watch it makes you feel empathy for the recipient of the manhandling.  Embarrassingly, Oregon was on the receiving end to which they could do nothing to stop the harassment.   

 

Couple our expectations with what was taking place on the field, and you can easily feel as if we were the sacrificial “Payout Game” lamb. 

 

I credit Darren for putting this into words, and for sharing his ’85 experience and how he handled seeing his beloved Ducks manhandled. 

 

Perhaps right now we all need a distraction like "tossing the old football around."  I'm opting for hitting and chasing a little white ball.  Catch y'all later. 

Thanks, Jester. Yeah, it was totally about the "feel" of being dominated as opposed to the stats. We got crushed. I don't like having to admit that, but it's the damn truth. 

[Desert Duck]

"I disagree with the premise of this article. I disagree with likening this game to a payout game."

 

Loghaulin - At first I read Darren's piece similarly as I think you did, and I wasn't pleased with the "payout comparative." But then, after my pulse rate slowed down a little bit, I read it again and he clearly makes the point that this was not a "payout game."

 

"Of course, while the Ducks did get paid handsomely to play in Atlanta, this was not a payout game."

 

However, Darren is simply using personal historical reality as a semi-comparative, as I believe poor Darren may have momentarily been overtaken a bit with some major-league, long-time, and often misdiagnosed, "Oregon Duck PTSD." (If this classification is not yet in the ICD-10, I here to tell you that it outta be.)

 

I may be taking some liberties with this comment and adding my own self-projection, but I know that's exactly what I felt on Saturday, and I'm still trying to get over it and figure out what the heck just happened. As of this morning, I think I am making progress as I have stopped cowering in the corner, rocking back & forth while repeatedly muttering, "This is not 1970s or 80s Duck football" :-). My first Duck game as a kid was in 1973: Oregon 0 - UW 58... and yet, I kept coming back.

 

But as Darren beautifully illustrates, not all the memories were bad. The image of Darren heading outside with his brother to throw the football around, brings back some great memories.

 

Sadly, for a short period of time (hopefully short),  this past Saturday transported many of us 'seasoned' (read: 'really old') Oregon fans right back to what I affectionately refer to as the "Dark Ages of Oregon Football."  

 

But thankfully, with the love of my family, fishduck.com, and some seriously good Duck PTSD therapy, I'm confident I will be able to return to 2022!

[Mic]

On 9/5/2022 at 9:24 AM, Darren Perkins said:

It was not a "payout game." Ohio State was a home and home series but the Eugene game was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. Why would I forget that game? It was a great victory! 

I guess I don't understand the meaning of the term "payout game".  

 

There's an interesting contrast at work here. The Ohio State win was unexpected by many of us and it generated a ton of enthusiasm that, unfortunately, didn't carry us thru to the end of the season.  

 

The loss to Georgia wasn't unexpected but its effects on the team (while yet to be determined) has the potential to devastate the moral and confidence of the team going forward the next 11 games. Coach Lanning has his real work cutout for him.  The x's & o's he can leave to his Coordinators and assistant coaches for the most part.  He's gotta rally his team and make sure this loss doesn't define the rest of the 2022 season.

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 10:02 AM, Desert Duck said:

"I disagree with the premise of this article. I disagree with likening this game to a payout game."

 

Loghaulin - At first I read Darren's piece similarly as I think you did, and I wasn't pleased with the "payout comparative." But then, after my pulse rate slowed down a little bit, I read it again and he clearly makes the point that this was not a "payout game."

 

"Of course, while the Ducks did get paid handsomely to play in Atlanta, this was not a payout game."

 

However, Darren is simply using personal historical reality as a semi-comparative, as I believe poor Darren may have momentarily been overtaken a bit with some major-league, long-time, and often misdiagnosed, "Oregon Duck PTSD." (If this classification is not yet in the ICD-10, I here to tell you that it outta be.)

 

I may be taking some liberties with this comment and adding my own self-projection, but I know that's exactly what I felt on Saturday, and I'm still trying to get over it and figure out what the heck just happened. As of this morning, I think I am making progress as I have stopped cowering in the corner, rocking back & forth while repeatedly muttering, "This is not 1970s or 80s Duck football" :-). My first Duck game as a kid was in 1973: Oregon 0 - UW 58... and yet, I kept coming back.

 

But as Darren beautifully illustrates, not all the memories were bad. The image of Darren heading outside with his brother to throw the football around, brings back some great memories.

 

Sadly, for a short period of time (hopefully short),  this past Saturday transported many of us 'seasoned' (read: 'really old') Oregon fans right back to what I affectionately refer to as the "Dark Ages of Oregon Football."  

 

But thankfully, with the love of my family, fishduck.com, and some seriously good Duck PTSD shock therapy, I'm confident I will be able to return to 2022!

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Desert Duck. Correct, this 100% was NOT a "payout game," but the end result felt like one and took me back to the "dark ages" for sure. This post was just a subjective personal journey back in time. 

[Desert Duck]

I thoroughly enjoyed your piece. You and your brother heading outside to throw the football around, reminded me of growing up in Eugene as a kid, and heading outside with my friends to play football (tackle w/o pads) on the grass in front of Spencer Butte Junior High -- the parking lot and concrete sidewalk were the out of bounds lines. 

 

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have grown up in Eugene when I did. At that time, in many ways, it still had a little bit of that "Mayberry" thing going for it. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 10:32 AM, Mic said:

I guess I don't understand the meaning of the term "payout game".  

 

There's an interesting contrast at work here. The Ohio State win was unexpected by many of us and it generated a ton of enthusiasm that, unfortunately, didn't carry us thru to the end of the season.  

 

The loss to Georgia wasn't unexpected but its effects on the team (while yet to be determined) has the potential to devastate the moral and confidence of the team going forward the next 11 games. Coach Lanning has his real work cutout for him.  The x's & o's he can leave to his Coordinators and assistant coaches for the most part.  He's gotta rally his team and make sure this loss doesn't define the rest of the 2022 season.

A "payout game" is generally against a lower division opponent who takes the game because they need the money, and they always play at the superior programs stadium. So, next week's game against EW is a "payout game." The Ducks playing the likes of Portland State and Stoney Brook are good examples. The superior program pays the fee for an almost automatic W and they get another home game in which to make money. Usually best to have these as the first game of the year to workout the kinks. 

 

A win wasn't expected against Georgia but the hope was that the Ducks would compete, but unfortunately, it didn't happen. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 9/5/2022 at 10:53 AM, Desert Duck said:

I thoroughly enjoyed your piece. You and your brother heading outside to throw the football around, reminded me of growing up in Eugene as a kid, and heading outside with my friends to play football (tackle w/o pads) on the grass in front of Spencer Butte Junior High -- the parking lot and concrete sidewalk were the out of bounds lines. 

 

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have grown up in Eugene when I did. At that time, in many ways, it still had a little bit of that "Mayberry" thing going for it. 

Nice memories. In high school my friends and I would play tackle football (no pads) on the front lawn at Spring Creek Elementary School in the north eugene area. 

[Annie]

On 9/5/2022 at 6:44 AM, Log Haulin said:

I disagree with the premise of this article. I disagree with likening this game to a payout game. And I wholeheartedly disagree that Oregons journey the past couple decades wasn't worth it.

 

Offensively Oregon made plays, moved the ball to Georgia's side of the field several times. Got into the redzone several times. Just couldn't get into the endzone. 

 

....

 

The defense has me concerned. The secondary was lit up, linebackers were non existent,  and tackling was atrocious. Could have a lot to do with UGA scheme and talent. I suspect not entirely, got to fix that coach.

 

Plus, GA mostly likely knew what the Duck defense was going to do on every play, which gave them at least a bit of an advantage.

[shawnski]

On 9/5/2022 at 9:24 AM, Darren Perkins said:

It was not a "payout game." Ohio State was a home and home series but the Eugene game was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. Why would I forget that game? It was a great victory! 

Yes

We've had home and homes with Michigan, Michigan st., Purdue, Ohio St., Tennessee, Mississippi St., Virginia, etc.

 

In fact we had one against Georgia (2018?) but they pulled out 

 

 

The stupid games in Jerry World (LSU 2011) and this one are detrimental 

[CalBear95]

On 9/5/2022 at 9:27 AM, Darren Perkins said:

Yeah, I agree, would be really nice if the SEC would travel out west more. I guess they're afraid of pulling an LSU at UCLA last year. Florida is at Utah next year. Ugh, I had a bad feeling Utah would choke that game on Saturday. 

The choke happened earlier in that game when they didn’t punch it in at the goal line.  Wittingham is a really good coach so I was shocked to see him refuse the sneak not once but twice.

 

That set of decisions loomed large as the game went on. 

[EzDucksIt]

On 9/5/2022 at 6:44 AM, Log Haulin said:

I disagree with the premise of this article. I disagree with likening this game to a payout game. And I wholeheartedly disagree that Oregons journey the past couple decades wasn't worth it.

 

Offensively Oregon made plays, moved the ball to Georgia's side of the field several times. Got into the redzone several times. Just couldn't get into the endzone. 

 

Scoring touchdowns is hard against the Dawgs. They gave up less than 1 in 4 in the redzone last year. Georgia looked mid season form and should be applauded for it.

 

This was Lanning's 1 game ever as a head coach, not his ninth season. I am going to cut him some slack. I believe he is the right guy.

 

The defense has me concerned. The secondary was lit up, linebackers were non existent,  and tackling was atrocious. Could have a lot to do with UGA scheme and talent. I suspect not entirely, got to fix that coach.

 

If we are comparing this game to the 85 Neb game, the stats show a different story. Yea, it wasn't a good look for Oregon. But there were some good moments offensively. They did some things right.

 

Georgia just might be what we saw Saturday,  arguably the best team in college football. Perhaps the best in history, we will know more in late November. 

 

                            ORE       NEB
First downs                   7        29
Rushes-yards              27-73    77-444
Passing yards                33       145
  Comp-Att-Int           7-28-4    9-14-0
Total offense            55-106    91-589
Return yards                 55        77
Sacks by                    1-2      2-12
Punts                      9-43      4-40
Fumbles-lost                4-2       3-0
Penalties-yards            9-75      8-68
Time of possession        18:51     41:09

 

Log Hauling, W O W !  Exactly what I was thinking.  I missed the game, I know UNBELIEVABLE, medication took me down.  So I had to wait for one of the YTers to post and catch "tape". 

 

What I saw was not so clean offense do pretty good.  Not mistake free or clean routes OL, RB, TE/WR all did well.  Sure it could have been better but first game with live hitting.  Bo should have been better.  It was hard to tell if it was AB or Bo playing.  Sad, to think that JB or TT have not grown enough to get a serious look in the game.  

 

Defense, looked like DeRuyters bend a lot do not break.  Secondary, what is that??  No edge control and confusion in the middle.  Hang over from last years Utah games.  My hope is that the Ducks need time to work out the kinks.

 

Hate thinking we have to keep rebuilding the Duck "wheel" all the time.  That to me is the most frustrating about new coaches, new scheme.  The coaching staff need to jell better, just weird how the defense is playing.  

 

"The Pick"  "Win the Day", "The Blur Offense", "The Natty" all happened at Oregon.  The Chipper, did not take it with him to Philly, San Fran or UCLA.  It happened with the Ducks staff, Uncle Phil and a bunch of tough recruits that played beyond their star ratings, here in Eugene, OR.  Home of the Ducks. 

[Haywarduck]

On 9/5/2022 at 11:28 AM, Darren Perkins said:

Nice memories. In high school my friends and I would play tackle football (no pads) on the front lawn at Spring Creek Elementary School in the north eugene area. 

Oh yeah, when it rained it was game on. 

[GatOrlando]

On 9/5/2022 at 9:27 AM, Darren Perkins said:

Yeah, I agree, would be really nice if the SEC would travel out west more. I guess they're afraid of pulling an LSU at UCLA last year. Florida is at Utah next year. Ugh, I had a bad feeling Utah would choke that game on Saturday. 

Utah didn't choke that game away. I'm a little tired of the narrative of the number beside the name without playing a single snap somehow being a barometer for this year. Last year Florida was garbage, we had a number beside the name though. Excuse my diatribe here, but I've heard about this "choke" for three days now. Ohio State didn't choke against you last year. Utah didn't choke this year. Look at every metric, Rising was most effective in plays like the game ender. He thought he had an opening, then he was about to get tackled and he made a bad decision. Had the defender not made the play, Utah would have had time for two more tries without having to call a timeout to stop the clock.

 

It was a great opening game. I have a lot of respect for Utah coming into the Swamp. Their fans turned out, I really hope to return the honor in Utah. The humidity may have been against them, but the elevation may be against us.