#3 Georgia vs #11 Oregon (Sept. 3, Sat 12:30 PM ABC)

[dthomas=ddixon]

Drive 1 - 8 plays 33 yards: 2 First Downs, drive ends on dropped pass to RB
Drive 2 - 6 plays 22 yards: 2 First Downs, drive ends on 1/10 INT (tv replay shows the outside curl route was the correct read)
Drive 3 - 7 plays 46 yards: 2 First Downs, drive ends on 1/10 INT (bad read)
Drive 4 - 12 Plays 58 yards: 4 First Downs, drive ends with FG after RZ struggles
Drive 5 - 4 Plays 39 Yards: 1 First Down, drives ends with blown Hail Mary attempt

I know everyone is going to focus on the 2 bad throws and you can't take them out of the game, BUT, you can look at what the Offense did on all the other plays in the first half against that Defense and find a lot to like. Every single drive picked up at least 2 first downs and the final drive of the half looked amazing minus whatever the hell that was on the final play but to to even get in that position was a great thing to see. Further, it isn't crazy to think that if we hadn't had 2 pick thrown on 1st down, we could have come away with points on each of those drives, certainly we were within Lewis' range on Drive 3.

We had 9 Offensive series and it wasn't until Drive 8 that we had our first true 3 and out. (Drive 7 we got our first down via defensive holding on the first play and then had 3 incompletions).

Kenny Dillingham may have only had 3 points to show for his efforts but his game-planning and play-calling wasn't the issue in this game and that's a good thing for us.

I went back and watched some extended highlights and had similar thoughts. We moved the ball pretty dang well and just came up empty. Without those two picks the game likely would have been more more respectable for us.

[jBeavertonduck]

A complete embarrassment from start to finish. Nix couldn't even score against their 3rd team defense for gods sake.

Lanning Grades:

F: Gameplan: ZERO sense of urgency knowing Georgia was the better team. A pedestrian offensive gameplan, zero killer instinct, a 3rd grader could have put that gameplan together.
F: Defense: What defense?
F: Substitutions: It appeared as if no one was really interested in being there, so I will give him a D
F: Offense gameplan: Might as well have given Bo a stick to draw stick figures in the grass...."A couple of you run 2-3 yards away and I will get you the ball when I stop running for my life".
F: Quarterback: Bo would get the snap from center and literally start running. Will not sit in the pocket and take the hit, wait for plays to develop, scan the field, he just runs first
F: Adjustments: What adjustments? Just keep doing what you have been doing the entire game. I'm sure it will work at some point.
F: Special teams: No one try to run the ball out, just let it bounce harmlessly in the end zone.
F: NO ONE was prepared for the game. A total and complete embarrassment from the first snap of the game
F: Makes Oregon and the entire Pac-12 continue to be the laughing stock of the CFP. That game ended any chance Oregon had at the playoffs.

No offense, but as soon as you have some experience coaching a team at this level, against the National champion, I’m not sure I put much confidence in your evaluation.

[Tray Dub]

Drive 1 - 8 plays 33 yards: 2 First Downs, drive ends on dropped pass to RB
Drive 2 - 6 plays 22 yards: 2 First Downs, drive ends on 1/10 INT (tv replay shows the outside curl route was the correct read)
Drive 3 - 7 plays 46 yards: 2 First Downs, drive ends on 1/10 INT (bad read)
Drive 4 - 12 Plays 58 yards: 4 First Downs, drive ends with FG after RZ struggles
Drive 5 - 4 Plays 39 Yards: 1 First Down, drives ends with blown Hail Mary attempt

I know everyone is going to focus on the 2 bad throws and you can't take them out of the game, BUT, you can look at what the Offense did on all the other plays in the first half against that Defense and find a lot to like. Every single drive picked up at least 2 first downs and the final drive of the half looked amazing minus whatever the hell that was on the final play but to to even get in that position was a great thing to see. Further, it isn't crazy to think that if we hadn't had 2 pick thrown on 1st down, we could have come away with points on each of those drives, certainly we were within Lewis' range on Drive 3.

We had 9 Offensive series and it wasn't until Drive 8 that we had our first true 3 and out. (Drive 7 we got our first down via defensive holding on the first play and then had 3 incompletions).

Kenny Dillingham may have only had 3 points to show for his efforts but his game-planning and play-calling wasn't the issue in this game and that's a good thing for us.

I went back and watched some extended highlights and had similar thoughts. We moved the ball pretty dang well and just came up empty. Without those two picks the game likely would have been more more respectable for us.

I liked the quick throws, those were a smart way to deal with the talent gap between our guys and theirs. I know we got shellacked, but I'm still reasonably optimistic about this team.

[lmduck]

A complete embarrassment from start to finish. Nix couldn't even score against their 3rd team defense for gods sake.

Lanning Grades:

F: Gameplan: ZERO sense of urgency knowing Georgia was the better team. A pedestrian offensive gameplan, zero killer instinct, a 3rd grader could have put that gameplan together.
F: Defense: What defense?
F: Substitutions: It appeared as if no one was really interested in being there, so I will give him a D
F: Offense gameplan: Might as well have given Bo a stick to draw stick figures in the grass...."A couple of you run 2-3 yards away and I will get you the ball when I stop running for my life".
F: Quarterback: Bo would get the snap from center and literally start running. Will not sit in the pocket and take the hit, wait for plays to develop, scan the field, he just runs first
F: Adjustments: What adjustments? Just keep doing what you have been doing the entire game. I'm sure it will work at some point.
F: Special teams: No one try to run the ball out, just let it bounce harmlessly in the end zone.
F: NO ONE was prepared for the game. A total and complete embarrassment from the first snap of the game
F: Makes Oregon and the entire Pac-12 continue to be the laughing stock of the CFP. That game ended any chance Oregon had at the playoffs.

No offense, but as soon as you have some experience coaching a team at this level, against the National champion, I’m not sure I put much confidence in your evaluation.

Spot on


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[duck023]

I remember that Darron Thomas Boise game I actually predicted an undefeated regular season after Masoli was kicked off because of that game and I ended up being right. That was a good time for Oregon. Usually if you are talking about a 2 year rebuilding effort it usually just gets worse. If the rebuild isn't in one year it becomes a chain reaction. I'm worried that is what is going to happen. Losing the whole offensive line is just terrible you are right about that. So, if Oregon has two losing seasons in a row at that point they will be used to losing sort of like how Cal is right now.

Man there is a vast canyon between competing for the playoffs in 2024 and saying that we're going through 2 losing seasons. There's no need to be so hyperbolic over what looks like a team that's somewhere in the range of 7-5/9-3. We'll know after BYU where this season looks to go.

I will say I thought the BYU game was on the road I do feel a little better about playing them at Autzen. The crowd really helped against Fresno St last year. However, what worries me is if the guys couldn't get motivated for Georgia how are they going to be motivated to play BYU a team Oregon's struggled to get motivated for in the past, 2006 Vegas Bowl comes to mind. I'm going to try to be positive maybe this is the end of Oregon playing up and down to teams' levels maybe they play exactly as they should which is getting destroyed by a Blue Blood and then beating a Mountain West team. Oregon History has usually reversed those things like when Oregon beat a top 10 USC team the year, they got bullied by Boise State but maybe this is the start of Oregon playing more consistently.

[lmduck]

I remember that Darron Thomas Boise game I actually predicted an undefeated regular season after Masoli was kicked off because of that game and I ended up being right. That was a good time for Oregon. Usually if you are talking about a 2 year rebuilding effort it usually just gets worse. If the rebuild isn't in one year it becomes a chain reaction. I'm worried that is what is going to happen. Losing the whole offensive line is just terrible you are right about that. So, if Oregon has two losing seasons in a row at that point they will be used to losing sort of like how Cal is right now.

Man there is a vast canyon between competing for the playoffs in 2024 and saying that we're going through 2 losing seasons. There's no need to be so hyperbolic over what looks like a team that's somewhere in the range of 7-5/9-3. We'll know after BYU where this season looks to go.

I will say I thought the BYU game was on the road I do feel a little better about playing them at Autzen. The crowd really helped against Fresno St last year. However, what worries me is if the guys couldn't get motivated for Georgia how are they going to be motivated to play BYU a team Oregon's struggled to get motivated for in the past, 2006 Vegas Bowl comes to mind. I'm going to try to be positive maybe this is the end of Oregon playing up and down to teams' levels maybe they play exactly as they should which is getting destroyed by a Blue Blood and then beating a Mountain West team. Oregon History has usually reversed those things like when Oregon beat a top 10 USC team the year, they beat Boise State but maybe this is the start of Oregon playing more consistently.

How do you know they weren't motivated against Ga? Asking honestly.

I saw a team that played their a$$es off till the end unlike the P12 champ game when they pretty much quit. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.


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[droop10]

I remember that Darron Thomas Boise game I actually predicted an undefeated regular season after Masoli was kicked off because of that game and I ended up being right. That was a good time for Oregon. Usually if you are talking about a 2 year rebuilding effort it usually just gets worse. If the rebuild isn't in one year it becomes a chain reaction. I'm worried that is what is going to happen. Losing the whole offensive line is just terrible you are right about that. So, if Oregon has two losing seasons in a row at that point they will be used to losing sort of like how Cal is right now.

Man there is a vast canyon between competing for the playoffs in 2024 and saying that we're going through 2 losing seasons. There's no need to be so hyperbolic over what looks like a team that's somewhere in the range of 7-5/9-3. We'll know after BYU where this season looks to go.

I will say I thought the BYU game was on the road I do feel a little better about playing them at Autzen. The crowd really helped against Fresno St last year. However, what worries me is if the guys couldn't get motivated for Georgia how are they going to be motivated to play BYU a team Oregon's struggled to get motivated for in the past, 2006 Vegas Bowl comes to mind. I'm going to try to be positive maybe this is the end of Oregon playing up and down to teams' levels maybe they play exactly as they should which is getting destroyed by a Blue Blood and then beating a Mountain West team. Oregon History has usually reversed those things like when Oregon beat a top 10 USC team the year, they beat Boise State but maybe this is the start of Oregon playing more consistently.

How do you know they weren't motivated against Ga? Asking honestly.

I saw a team that played their a$$es off till the end unlike the P12 champ game when they pretty much quit. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.


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Typical message board fodder entails a team not having heart or lacking motivation every time they get beat. They can just see it in the kids’ eyes! There’s no possible other explanation for a team having struggles. We’re also basing concerns of motivation for the 2022 BYU game on supposed lack of motivation from a team 16 years ago regardless of the lack of any ties between that team and this one.

[duck023]

I remember that Darron Thomas Boise game I actually predicted an undefeated regular season after Masoli was kicked off because of that game and I ended up being right. That was a good time for Oregon. Usually if you are talking about a 2 year rebuilding effort it usually just gets worse. If the rebuild isn't in one year it becomes a chain reaction. I'm worried that is what is going to happen. Losing the whole offensive line is just terrible you are right about that. So, if Oregon has two losing seasons in a row at that point they will be used to losing sort of like how Cal is right now.

Man there is a vast canyon between competing for the playoffs in 2024 and saying that we're going through 2 losing seasons. There's no need to be so hyperbolic over what looks like a team that's somewhere in the range of 7-5/9-3. We'll know after BYU where this season looks to go.

I will say I thought the BYU game was on the road I do feel a little better about playing them at Autzen. The crowd really helped against Fresno St last year. However, what worries me is if the guys couldn't get motivated for Georgia how are they going to be motivated to play BYU a team Oregon's struggled to get motivated for in the past, 2006 Vegas Bowl comes to mind. I'm going to try to be positive maybe this is the end of Oregon playing up and down to teams' levels maybe they play exactly as they should which is getting destroyed by a Blue Blood and then beating a Mountain West team. Oregon History has usually reversed those things like when Oregon beat a top 10 USC team the year, they beat Boise State but maybe this is the start of Oregon playing more consistently.

How do you know they weren't motivated against Ga? Asking honestly.

I saw a team that played their a$$es off till the end unlike the P12 champ game when they pretty much quit. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Typical message board fodder entails a team not having heart or lacking motivation every time they get beat. They can just see it in the kids’ eyes! There’s no possible other explanation for a team having struggles. We’re also basing concerns of motivation for the 2022 BYU game on supposed lack of motivation from a team 16 years ago regardless of the lack of any ties between that team and this one.

I learned the hard way because I didn't think the Boise State Vegas bowl had to do with the BYU Vegas Bowl but then the game was practically the same. Not to mention the other games Oregon lost to Boise State. Boise State always beats Oregon and BYU has always given Oregon similar trouble. If it would have been like the 2008 USC game where Oregon puts up a good fight for 1 and a half quarters and then USC converts on a fake field goal and it is a blow out for the rest of the game. Or the 2005 game against USC where Oregon fought hard but were outmatched. Oregon didn't even show up. It was basically a Geogia showcase, and the sad thing is I'll bet Samford puts up a better fight with Geogia than Oregon did.

[dthomas=ddixon]

Another positive spin for this game is there were no major gaffs. Watching some of the highlights from around the Pac-12, there was some really ugly play that doesn’t show up on the final score blowout of a small school.

All things considered our offense looked vastly improved from last year. Our line protected Nix (not only we’re there no sacks, Georgia didn’t even record a QB hurry!) and gave our RBs room to run. Our skill position depth is great and Dillingham looks like he knows how to use them all. Remember how the previous staff refused to play backups? Against Georgia 5 RBs got carries. Our defense looked lost and obviously missed a ton of tackles but those are things that are totally fixable and will likely just get better as the season goes on.

Point being, we played better than the final score indicates.

[ducks5ever]

What happened, happened. Not going to read into it too much since it's the first game and it's Georgia.

But, this is an absolute recruiting momentum killer. Idk how you can walk into someone's living room and tell them that you're going to compete for national championships when you just got curb stomped by the defending champs.

No high school kid wants to be embarrassed like this in front of their friends and family.

[Duck07]

What happened, happened. Not going to read into it too much since it's the first game and it's Georgia.

But, this is an absolute recruiting momentum killer. Idk how you can walk into someone's living room and tell them that you're going to compete for national championships when you just got curb stomped by the defending champs.

No high school kid wants to be embarrassed like this in front of their friends and family.

Such a momentum killer out latest commit was posting after the loss how happy he is to be a Duck.

[StevensTechU]

To whomever tried to convince me Nix would be good, I'll take a beer on your behalf.

To all those calling for Thompson, he clearly is bad. If he wasn't bad, he would have played more last year when Brown struggled or this week. Calling for a bad player to get time just makes no sense.

I didn't expect the secondary to be lights out or anything but they have more talent than they showed here. Whole defense does.

[OregonFan4Life]

To whomever tried to convince me Nix would be good, I'll take a beer on your behalf.

To all those calling for Thompson, he clearly is bad. If he wasn't bad, he would have played more last year when Brown struggled or this week. Calling for a bad player to get time just makes no sense.

I didn't expect the secondary to be lights out or anything but they have more talent than they showed here. Whole defense does.

Can you please elaborate on why the defense was so awful against Georgia and if we should expect the defense to improve or if we should expect some more frustration from the defense?

You were spot on about QB play. It’s funny to me to hear people say “at least we moved the ball!” Yards don’t win games. Besides like I heard an analyst on CBS say, Ducks should not have expected progression from Nix as he hasn’t progressed at all in 3 years. There’s a reason he was benched at Auburn, he is what he is. I guess that’s why some want to see a younger guy play, at least they can show signs of progression, I don’t expect to see anything better from Nix this season, and if Nix is gonna suck and hurt the team might as well have someone that can at least learn from it.

[ducks5ever]

To whomever tried to convince me Nix would be good, I'll take a beer on your behalf.

To all those calling for Thompson, he clearly is bad. If he wasn't bad, he would have played more last year when Brown struggled or this week. Calling for a bad player to get time just makes no sense.

I didn't expect the secondary to be lights out or anything but they have more talent than they showed here. Whole defense does.

Can you please elaborate on why the defense was so awful against Georgia and if we should expect the defense to improve or if we should expect some more frustration from the defense?

You were spot on about QB play. It’s funny to me to hear people say “at least we moved the ball!” Yards don’t win games. Besides like I heard an analyst on CBS say, Ducks should not have expected progression from Nix as he hasn’t progressed at all in 3 years. There’s a reason he was benched at Auburn, he is what he is. I guess that’s why some want to see a younger guy play, at least they can show signs of progression, I don’t expect to see anything better from Nix this season, and if Nix is gonna suck and hurt the team might as well have someone that can at least learn from it.

I'm no expert but they legitimately had better players/some physical specimens. It's like making Alabama play the Jets, and then ask why Alabama can't stop the Jets' offense.

[StevensTechU]

Ok, re-watchee, and the clear mismatch was Georgia's offense against our defense, and it was basically all execution and had little to do with athletic ability. Our linebackers were a massive liability when I expected them to be the strength of the defense, if not whole team. All the plays to the edges and underneath passes were just madness. Sewell, Funa, Flowe and LaDuke are all massive talents who just looked like they were not football players in this one. Can throw DJ, a guy who is as physically gifted as any player on either team, into that list of disappointments.

Our corners aren't good but weren't terrible. Same for the D line. Bennett Williams should play on Sundays but I don't know that we have another capable safety on the team right now. They were the other reason Georgia beat Oregon on the edges all game.

Offensively, weird. Our OL created running lanes and kept Bo Nix upright against the best front they'll see all year. Nix has a good arm and leg talent, just needs to not be an idiot. Our running backs are deep and I'm not surprised to see Cardwell 3rd on the depth chart. Lots of talent in the receiver room, too.

Overall, Georgia looked like a well oiled machine and Oregon looked disorganized. Georgia made tackles the first time and Oregon missed them all over. Georgia played assignment football and Oregon (on defense) was out of sorts. Hopefully this isn't indicative of the defensive coaching but we'll see how the season goes. Plenty to be optimistic about, including how crappy the rest of the conference apparently is.