Trav's Ten Takeaways: Portland State Win
Via Travis Rooke-ley
Saturday proved to be a great start to the year with the Ducks scoring 81 points and escaping Saturday without any additional injuries going into Texas Tech. There were a few nicks throughout the game, but as of now, nothing I expect to impact our health this week and moving forward. In a game like this, you hope to be clean with penalties, assignments, and injuries and I think the Ducks left Saturday in good shape in each category.
To the takeaways!
- Bo Nix: Total command of the offense, and you can tell the comfortability he already has with Stein and the system. Nix was nearly flawless at every level Saturday, and the creativity and optionality of Stein’s RPO-based offense is a great fit for Bo. If he can stay healthy, there’s no reason he can’t get to NYC for the Heisman ceremony given Stein plus the weapons he has to throw to
- Receivers: Speaking of, this is as deep an Oregon receivers room as I can remember. Troy Franklin is that dude, the best single guy we’ve had out wide since I was born. I know its PSU, but you saw everything Saturday from Franklin that makes him special. After him, I liked what I saw from Bryant, Johnson, Holden and Kasper. The fact that Jurrion Dickey, a 5-star WR, is not cracking the two-deep means this room is in great shape.
- Return Game: There weren’t a ton of opportunities Saturday, but you got some glimpses into the wiggle that Tez Johnson can provide in the punt return game. It’s been a while, probably 2015 Bralon Addison, since we’ve had someone return punts who has the chance to really impact the game in special teams. I bet we see Tez break a few this year.
- Ty Thompson: Finally some success for the kid. It was nice to see him get an opportunity to run the real offense with the rest of the starters, and I thought he looked good as a runner and thrower. It has never been a question of talent for Ty and hopefully some more opportunities will give him the confidence to actually compete for the starting job next year.
- DB Tackling: Specifically, I loved watching Khyree Jackson and Tysheem Johnson tackle and bring physicality to the DB room. We’ve struggled the last few seasons to tackle in space, stop WR screens etc. so it was great to see that the changes to the DB room are showing up. Jackson specifically really popped with a few tackles in space, and Johnson showed great range along with his ability to break down and tackle.
- LBs: My biggest concern entering the season, and left Saturday with some lingering questions. Obviously, the return of Jestin Jacobs, hopefully this week, will help. Nonetheless, Hill and Bassa are still inconsistent and while Boettcher is my guy as a fellow Axemen alum, I’m not sure we can be playing walk-on LBs against the offenses we’ll be facing. Jacobs, Hill and Bassa fit the size and speed mold that Lanning is looking for, just hoping that more reps will provide the better consistency that we need.
- Swinging Gate: LOVE! Brought a smile to my face and reminded me of Old Chipper. Another example of the staff using every possible avenue, and finding small ways on the margins to gain an advantage. Hope we’ll continue to see that.
- Texas Tech: Brutal loss for them Saturday, but my perspective hasn’t changed much about this game. They are notoriously a completely different team at home, and despite the loss, I expect the crowd will be a factor. That said, our offense should be able to score at will, and I think we have a huge advantage on the line of scrimmage. I look for Bucky to have a big day, and if we play clean, there’s no way we should score less than 40. Their offense is a unique one, spreading the ball around while not pushing the ball down the field a ton. Former Duck Tyler Shough runs the ball a ton, and has been very inconsistent in his time at Tech. In true Ducks fashion, I expect he’ll play well Saturday, but we get enough stops or turnovers to win 41-28.
- Conference Takeaways: Pretty great day for the defunct Pac-12. The offenses at WSU, Cal and Stanford looked better than they have in years and Colorado and Utah had big statement wins. I don’t think we learned anything ground-breaking as a conference beyond that most teams will field competent offenses at a minimum and there’ll be lots of opportunities to slip up on the wrong day. Utah and Oregon State looked better than I expected, especially on defense, and UW and SC continued to prove their offenses will be hard to stop. Week 2 is big for the league, with a ton of marquee matchups so we’ll know a lot more in a few days.
- National Takeaways: Got a big chuckle out of watching Dabo and Clemson meltdown Monday night. I was super impressed with Florida State, and equally enjoyed watching Brian Kelly explain away that butt-whooping. I haven’t seen a team look as bad as Florida did since the Ducks played at Boise State in 2009. I’m really interested in seeing how this season transpires given that there’s no slam dunk title team in my opinion. Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State are all breaking in new QBs and I wouldn’t say any of them were amazing in their debuts. Michigan might be the most complete team, but lacks high-end talent. A bunch of teams bring high-powered offenses, UW, Oregon and SC included, but have questions that need to be proven defensively. Should be a year for someone to crash the party, and holding out hope its us on January 1st in Pasadena.
