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:
Stock Up: Verone McKinley III
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Oregon safety Verone McKinley was all over the field once again on Saturday, picking up where he left off against Ohio State and grabbing two interceptions in this game against Stony Brook, the first of which came on the very first drive of the game.
That gives McKinley three picks so far this year, which is one shy of the season-high he set back in 2019, his freshman season. It’s become incredibly clear that McKinley is one of the Ducks’ biggest defensive assets, and his ball-hawk abilities are second-to-none in the conference.
.@vmckinley3, asked about his knack for picks, compares his ability to judge the trajectory of a pass with Dennis Rodman's ability to play angles on missed shots and get rebounds.
Seriously, this guy's gonna be analyzing sports for a long time when he's done playing. #GoDucks
— Rob Moseley (@DuckFootball) September 19, 2021
Before he gets to analyzing, McKinley still has what is likely to be a long career ahead of him. He may not have been a huge name nationally coming into this season, but through three games, it’s become clear that he is a difference-maker on defense, and can absolutely play at the next level.
Stock Up: Oregon Quarterbacks
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We already talked about the confidence that Oregon fans should have in the quarterback position during our 5 takeaways from the game, and we want to continue that conversation here. As a whole, the Ducks got everything that they needed from the QB spot on Saturday, giving reps to Anthony Brown, Ty Thompson, and Jay Butterfield.
Brown had his best output in an Oregon uniform, going 14-for-18 with 159 yards and one touchdown, adding 16 yards and another touchdown on the ground. He was calm and collected, just as we’ve come to expect from the sixth-year senior.
To start the third quarter. we finally got Ty Thompson time. The true freshman looked great, going 6-for-9 for 82 yards and two touchdowns, leading a total of four scoring drives. After Thompson, freshman Jay Butterfield got a couple of drives in the fourth quarter, one of which he led to a score after going 2-for-3 for 22 yards.
All-in-all, Oregon fans should feel confident at the position as a whole. We got some much-needed confirmation that it is Thompson who is next in line behind Brown, and we saw that he can hold his own under the lights. That doesn’t mean we want to see him in meaningful action any time soon, but it’s a good first step.
Stock Down: Offensive Line
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
The offensive line is one position group on the Ducks’ roster whose trajectory throughout the season has looked a lot like the stock market so far. After the week 1 win over Fresno State, we were down on them, noting that they struggled to create running lanes until the 4th quarter, and were unable to keep QB Anthony Brown clean throughout the day. However, their efforts in Week 2 against Ohio State may have been the difference in the game, receiving an A+ grade for their performance.
We saw a bit of regression from the group on Saturday against Stony Brook, with the unit allowing three sacks on the day, two of which came in back-to-back plays to end the first half, ultimately leading to Brown getting banged up and sitting out the final two quarters.
All-in-all, the running game was not as explosive as we hoped, and a push up front was lacking. Head coach Mario Cristobal put it pretty succinctly after the game when asked to comment on how the OL played.
“Below average,” Cristobal said, followed by a long pause. “Not up to the standard. Opponents change but standards don’t, that’s the bottom line.”
Fortunately, Oregon was still able to make out with a blowout win, but it’s fair to say that there are a lot of things to clean up on the front line.
Stock Up: True Freshmen
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You want proof that your team is recruiting at an elite level, look no further than the production that true freshmen can have in a game. Of course, in a blowout, many young players are going to take the field, but we had an eye on these players who were experiencing their first action on the field, and curious to see what they did with the opportunity.
They didn’t disappoint.
QB Ty Thompson was 6-for-9 passing for 82 yards and two touchdowns, leading a total of 4 scoring drives in his time of play. WR Dont’e Thornton took his first career catch 54-yards to the house in the fourth quarter, and WR Troy Franklin added two catches for 23 yards.
TE Terrance Ferguson, who has seen a good amount of playing time already, scored his first career touchdown in the third quarter, and ended the day with 4 catches for 31 yards. We even saw Seven McGee and Byron Cardwell get a handful of carries at the RB spot.
It won’t be every week that the Ducks are up by 30 and able to give reps to these young players, but they made the most of the opportunity on Saturday and proved that they belong on the field when given the chance.
Stock Up: Noah Sewell
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
With his stock already about as high as it can go, it’s difficult for us to think even more highly of LB Noah Sewell, but he proves week in and week out that he is not only one of the best linebackers in the country, but up there with the best that we’ve ever seen at Oregon.
The Ducks’ defense was severely undermanned on Saturday, choosing to rest players like Kayvon Thibodeaux, Adrian Jackson, Keith Brown, and Mase Funa. That left Sewell as the lone big name in the middle of the defense, playing alongside young linebackers who haven’t seen much of the field. You wouldn’t have noticed much of a difference unless you were looking for it.
Sewell finished the day with a team-high 10 tackles, one of which went for a loss, and three of which were solo. He should hopefully be getting some reinforcements around him soon, with Funa, Jackson, and Brown likely to return next week, but even if they don’t play, he looked just fine without them.
Stock Down: The Pac-12 Conference
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
It’s becoming more and more clear that Oregon’s win against Ohio State was of the utmost importance. Without it, there’s seemingly no way that they could be considered for the College Football Playoff, even if they ran the table through the conference.
The Pac-12 is that bad this year. Oregon is the only team left standing with an undefeated record, and conference play hasn’t even officially started yet. No. 13 UCLA lost to Fresno State on Saturday, and No. 19 Arizona State lost to No. 21 BYU. Arizona lost an embarrassing game against Northern Arizona; Colorado fumbled the game against Minnesota, losing 30-0; Utah lost to San Diego State 33-31 in triple-OT.
Without that win over the then-ranked No. 3 team in the nation, Oregon likely would not have had a strong enough resume as a one-loss Pac-12 champion, which is the conference’s worst nightmare.
Luckily, the Ducks were able to get the job done, and they continue to keep this conference afloat in the eyes of the nation, even if they are getting no help from anyone else.
