Football in Autzen Stadium is back.
After a tough season opener, Oregon will return to the place where it never rains, looking to bounce back against Eastern Washington University. For the first time in 2022, the Oregon Duck will sprint out to the tune of the marching band as flocks of fans wearing green and yellow fill the seats.
While the Eagles will obviously be a significantly easier opponent than the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, they might not be a complete cake walk. They’re coming off one of their best seasons in program history, when they went 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Sky conference. They were the first team since 1967 to not lose a regular season game on the road. The Eagles achieved their 15th Football Subdivision Championship playoff berth before ultimately losing in the second round to Montana.
The team certainly has its share of question marks if it wants to repeat that success. Ten of last year’s starters moved on, leaving room for new players to step up. The Eagles’ offense particularly took a hit, as six of their offensive starters — including their quarterback — are no longer with the squad.
Eric Barriere passed for 5,070 yards last season, which earned him the Walter Payton Award, a distinction given to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS. Now the Eagles will pass the torch to redshirt senior Gunner Talkington, who appeared in all 13 games last season as a holder on special teams and four games as the backup quarterback.
In his work at quarterback, he threw for 98 yards and one touchdown. He’s appeared in parts of four seasons for Eastern Washington and was finally named the starter this year by head coach Aaron Best. He has five career touchdowns.
It’s safe to say Talkington has large shoes to fill, and it would be unlikely to expect him to repeat Barriere’s performance. The Ducks’ defense will look to dominate against the long-tenured but inexperienced starter.
The offensive players that Eastern Washington returns include three All-Americans: sophomore wide receiver Efton Chism III, junior wide receiver Freddie Roberson and senior offensive guard Wyatt Musser. That trio will be vital for the Eagles’ offense, considering the rest of their wide receiver corps carries less experience.
Defensively, Eastern Washington still has a solid veteran core. They’re led by All-Big Sky starters Mitchell Johnson and Joshua Jerome along with defensive backs Anthany Smith and Tre Weed. Smith was the team’s defensive MVP in 2020 and collected 38 tackles in 2021 despite missing half the year to injury.
The Eagles have 16 defenders on their roster who have at least one start in their careers (per GoEags.com), seven of whom are part of the secondary.
Eastern Washington’s defense looks to be a safer bet than its offense, which has more holes to fill. While another 10-3 season seems improbable, they can’t be written off entirely. The program has been consistently successful in recent history, going 98-25 over the last 15 years.
After winning their first game of the season, the Eagles will take on an Oregon squad that should be fired up under new head coach Dan Lanning. The Ducks are coming off a brutal 49-3 defeat to the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs, with whom Lanning was the defensive coordinator. This game should give Oregon a chance to figure things out before Pac-12 play.
Despite an embarrassing loss last week, the Ducks will clearly be the favorites to win as they head into a raucous Autzen Stadium. The key for Eastern Washington is how Talkington and the new-look offense fare under the bright lights of Eugene.
