It was the filming of a horror movie, right?
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The Ducks will look to address issues in every phase of the game, from protection and quarterback play on offense, to assignment errors and coverage on defense, to special teams breakdowns that turned Saturday’s game from disheartening to surreal. And all that started with a 62-20 thrashing of the Ducks over in Autzen Stadium which comes a bit of a surprise for some folks who were looking for an Oregon victory. Again when it was 6-6 and even 13 and even 20-13 at that point, we had made some mistakes on the long quarterback runs, just missed assignments. The secondary also played extremely well, intercepting two passes, including a key pick by Dominique Hatfield that ended an Oregon scoring drive.
Whittingham said the win will provide the Utes with “great momentum” going into a bye week. “That’s our brand of football, anyway”. Jones chose to burn one of his timeouts, fearing the Gators had a trick play in the works. “When that kind of preparation meets toughness and physicality, that’s the result”. Although Utah was near ideal, it wasn’t entirely necessary to beat the Ducks. “Patterson seems resigned that this year”s team is going to have to win more 55-52 outcomes. We’re a tough team. I knew what he meant to the offense, and I sure as hell knew he was a better QB than Jameis Winston (Bucs front office, hire me!). That’s (the Ducks’) Kryptonite. Then Oregon made a game of it for a portion of the second quarter. Eh, not Saturday night.
So how did last year’s Championship finalists so quickly get to a point where they could lose a home game by six touchdowns? “There is a lot of things we can learn”.
Wilson played the game of his life, rushing for 100 yards, throwing for 227 and accounting for five touchdowns. Not all the wins have been impressive – the season opener was by one over Southern Illinois Carbondale – but the Hoosiers are 4-0, so knock it off. Boobie Hobbs scored on a 69-yard punt return, and Oregon’s cover guys are still trying to locate the ball. The first – Who will play Quarterback – at this point it is not just about Utah or Oregon, but both. They’re a young defense that needs more time and more rest. The last time the Ducks (2-2) lost two games in September was 2004. They finished with 400 yards, much of it accomplished during garbage time. Utah is off this weekend before playing at California. “We have good players”.
Oregon’s quarterback situation is “to be determined” entering the trip to Colorado, after Lockie replaced Vernon Adams Jr. in the second quarter Saturday.
Utah may be ranked 18th in the conference but rankings are nothing once teams take the field.
Georgia coach Mark Richt said he visited Gales on Sunday and said he may call on Georgia fans to provide financial assistance, if necessary. “Pretty much he was talking about how their plan was to stop me”.
One thing Helfrich didn’t fault, for the most part, was Oregon’s effort. Oregon had its 106th consecutive sellout….
“We looked at them“, Erickson said. They can’t play defense.
Utah’s wide receiving depth could also improve if Tim Patrick and Raelon Singleton get healthy, which may happen during the bye week. Covey is a true freshman. Richard ran the ball 14 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. The damage was done when Arizona allowed 329 yards in the first half – yielding touchdowns on six of seven possessions. “I put it as the unknowns vs the unknowns. That’s one of the challenges we had coming into the game”.
How was the locker room after the defeat?
Cal does trail their archrival Stanford in the Pac-12 North standings, who stand alone at 2-0 after dispatching Oregon State on Friday night. Where do they go from here?
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If you see Oregon as a program about to embark on a bad season, then it’s hard to get worked up about what the Utes and Spartans have done.
