Kirk Merritt fumbled away the kickoff, two UO penalties helped Georgia State, and Todd Boyd schooled Ugo Amadi on a 14-yard TD reception from Arbuckle. It was announced before the game that Vernon Adams would not start and Backup Jeff Lockie would get his first start of the season.
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After a drop on an open pass attempt, the Panthers missed a 50-yard field goal.
But, questions linger about the defending Pac-12 champs as league play looms. However, their momentum would not continue in the fourth while Oregon would go on to put another 14 on the board to bring the game to a close with a final score of 61 to 28. Defensively the Ducks were able to substitute several players and kept a steady rotation going through the game.
Georgia State – Nick Arbuckle completed 24-of-35 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns with two picks. Perry Orth completed 13 of 20 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown. Browning hit Dwayne Washington on an 81-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the first half, then threw a pair of TDs in the third quarter as the Huskies built a 21-point lead. After two more field goals the Oregon Ducks would head into half time with a 33-7 lead. The Ducks Secondary still needs to get into the game. Up by 26 the Ducks coaching staff decided to dole out reps to some of the younger members of the roster.
Adams suffered the injury in a Week 1 win over his previous team, Eastern Washington.
As Sean Larson wrote in his article for Addicted To Quack, “Adams would probably get more out of practice than he would this actual game”. Griffin looks to be a valuable part of the running back platoon moving forward. Donovan Harden, who led the Panthers last season with 60 catches for 885 yards and seven touchdowns, broke his foot in fall camp and won’t be back until next month.
The Ducks (2-1) had 539 yards offense against the Panthers (1-2), including 311 on the ground. It was the Ducks longest scoring drive of the season in both yards and time.
“I know that we had a lull in the third quarter, and during that lull we gave up a lot of easy points and a lot of easy plays that we didn’t have to give up”, said Oregon defensive coordinator Don Pellum. Receiver Bralon Addison lined up in the wildcat formation, piloting the offense during Griffin’s third-quarter score. Adams’ status ahead of next week’s game against Utah is unclear at this point. “They have responded to challenges, but we will be challenged differently in conference play”.
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Coach Mark Helfrich made the announcement just before game time at Autzen Stadium. “We’re just frustrated as a whole that we didn’t get the win, we just want to come out and play better this week”, said Byron Marshall, reflecting on the loss to Michigan State.
