We’ve officially played a half of football here at Cowboys Stadium, and Oregon heads into the locker room trailing 16-13. It was, as many predicted before hand, a highly uneven two quarters of play from both teams.
LSU’s defense looked as strong as ever, but the offense consistently failed to put together complete drives and had a costly mishap when a snap flew by quarterback Jarrett Lee and the Ducks recovered. In a similar vein, Oregon’s offense got off to a start that was eerily reminiscent of the national championship game. Darron Thomas was shaky and inaccurate in the early going, but appeared to find a bit of a rhythm during Oregon’s only touchdown drive (which involved a whopping 19 plays and took 7:41 off the clock).
In all, both teams have been rusty on offense, both teams have had sloppy turnovers, and both teams are very much in this game at the intermission. Which team will ultimately pull away remains to be seen.
Some other notes:
-Penalties are absolutely killing Oregon. The Ducks have cost themselves 72 yards on a total of eight penalties, while LSU has only three for 14 yards. Team that make such mistakes so consistently rarely come away with a victory.
-The Ducks have already thrown the ball 28 times. Yes, thrown the ball. The running lanes haven’t been there, and it seems that Chip Kelly is perfectly comfortable entrusting the game in the hands of Darron Thomas. We’ll see whether this continues as the game goes on.
-LSU switched to a hurry-up offense immediately after Oregon’s touchdown drive late in the second quarter. It was highly effective, leading to the Tigers’ first offensive touchdown, and the Oregon defense looked like it was having trouble keeping up. Could be an effective weapon in the second half if Les Miles chooses to go there.
-Well hello, De’Anthony Thomas. The true freshman has wasted no time making his presence felt, leading Oregon with five receptions for 29 yards so far. A couple of the catches came in key third down situations, and it’s clear that both Kelly and Thomas have trust in him. Certainly one of the most positive developments so far.
– Cornerback Anthony Gildon has looked good so far one on side of the field, but redshirt freshman Terrance Mitchell got burned on a fade route that produced LSU’s go-ahead score. If they didn’t before, the Ducks certainly missed CLiff Harris on that play.
-Let’s not field anymore punts and run backwards, eh Kenjon Barner?
-Watching John Boyett make a tackle, then show up on the jumbo screen flexing his muscles and screaming, is quite entertaining. He has been a beast for the defense, with five total tackles and an almost-interception.
Enjoy the second half!