Mario Cristobal fires back at Oregon fans for criticism of Anthony Brown

Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal is staunchly defending his quarterback regardless of what the external noise might be. 

Anthony Brown was 29-for-39 with 296 yards on Saturday afternoon in a 34-31 win over UCLA, which is a pretty decent front half of a stat line. Where the Oregon faithful may begin to take issue with Brown’s performance is the zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions, although Brown did rush for a score. 

Cristobal is not interested in the criticism about Brown’s performance.

“To me it’s watch the tape,” Cristobal said after the game. “Watch all the big plays that he made. Watch all the big plays he put us in. Watch how much our offense was effective as he was out there just putting it all on the line all the time and having the support and the complete belief of the entire locker room. This industry comes with its ups and downs, highs and lows, its chatter and its noise. And quite honestly the only chatter that we’re interested in is what we do every single day together as a unit.”

Brown’s biggest play of the day was a 43-yard rushing touchdown. He was the Ducks’ leading rusher with six carries for 85 yards.

 “I’m really proud of our quarterback,” Cristobal added.

In addition to Brown’s effective performance, running back Travis Dye had four rushing touchdowns on the day. He had just 35 total yards.

Ducks survive second-straight scare

Oregon’s staunch defense saved the day just one week removed from a narrow win over Cal. In the waning moments of the game, DJ James intercepted UCLA backup quarterback Ethan Garbers to seal the win. It was James’ second interception of the game. Entering Saturday’s game, he had zero career interceptions.

UCLA starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson was out with an injury suffered late in the fourth quarter. He was 22-for-41 with 216 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for a touchdown as well, his third consecutive game with a score on the ground.

While the Ducks have now had five of their seven games decided by one possession, they are finding ways to win, largely. Of course, Stanford pulled out an upset win a few weeks ago, but the Ducks are 6-1. Their playoff hopes remain alive. 

Oregon plays Colorado next weekend and should be a heavy favorite. They’ve beaten the Buffaloes seven of the last eight contests.