Players trending up or down after Oregon's narrow win over Idaho
Oregon had a really rough game yesterday, there is no way to sugarcoat that. Dan Lanning and the rest of the staff are already aware that they have things to fix up, and I’m sure they will, but last night’s showing left some fans feeling down about the season. I wanted to highlight certain position groups or players a day removed from the game, as trending up or trending down.
Jordan James – Trending Up
Jordan James had a heck of a game last night and almost broke a few runs for six. James started off the season with 15 carries for 95 yards and the fact he was even able to do that given the offensive line play is incredible. The Junior running back also added a rushing TD and 4 receptions for 40 yards in the receiving game. I would look for Jordan James to have a big week next week as well assuming some of the offensive line issues get fixed.
Secondary – Trending Up
The secondary as a whole yesterday performed at a very high level, only allowing two big pass plays all game, one on a trick play. Duke transfer Brandon Johnson had a very good game with only one bad play in coverage where he didn’t turn to look for the ball. Nikko Reed made a few nice plays last night including his interception which sealed the game. Jabbar Muhammad came as advertised, and was very good in pass coverage. Kansas State transfer Kobe Savage looked really good and was able to combine for a TFL. Another safety that I was a bit more surprised to see was Tyler Turner, and he definitely played a solid game as well for the Ducks. I do think Dontae Manning got picked on a little bit at times, but for the most part was solid.
Kenyon Sadiq – Trending Up
This is one that a few of us at ScoopDuck were anticipating with the way that different staff members spoke about Sadiq this offseason. The second year TE was utilized quite frequently and recorded 4 catches for 53 yards and was used in the run game twice for 5 yards. The uptick in usage for Sadiq shows how much this staff trusts him and value they place on him going forward, especially when that means he takes some reps from Terrance Ferguson.
Tez Johnson – Trending Up
This isn’t surprising at all to be frank, Tez Johnson was expected to be the best receiver on this team, and showed that again last night. He was incredibly reliable and came up big when Oregon needed him most. Oregon will need Tez Johnson to be shadowed a bit more for opportunities to open up for fellow wideouts Evan Stewart and Traeshon Holden, who each had relatively quiet games.
Offensive Line – Trending Down
Fans knew coming into the game that Oregon would be down a starting guard and another rotational guard when this game started. However, Oregon certainly didn’t expect to be bullied on the offensive line in the way that they were. The Ducks were starting walk-on Charlie Pickard at center, and Iapani Laloulu at right guard due to the injury to Indiana transfer Matthew Bedford. Surprisingly however, these two weren’t the entire reason for the offensive line’s struggles. Several penalties on both Ajani Cornelius and Josh Conerly helped derail a few promising offensive drives Oregon had. Even worse was the amount of pressures given up, in particular from the right side. Josh Conerly and Marcus Harper helped up just fine most of the game, the pressure mostly came from Gabriel’s blind side (Ajani Cornelius). Cornelius may have had his worst game as a Duck but I’m not counting him out for a big rebound next week. If the offensive line can fix a few things and get Bedford healthy, they should look much better at home against Boise State next week.
