With a 17-7 lead just before halftime, Oregon marched down the field with a perfect chance to put the game beyond reach. But back-to-back sacks ended the drive and sent the Ducks into the half on a sour note.
It was just that kind of day for Oregon.
Even though the score may depict a blowout, Oregon had plenty of chances to put the game away early and didn’t.
The Ducks repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. It wasn’t their best performance, but a plus-four turnover margin propelled the Ducks to a 48-7 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves at Autzen Stadium.
Saturday’s affair started the same way last week’s ended: with a Verone McKinley III interception on just the third play from scrimmage. He now has three interceptions through three games this season after entering 2021 with five through his collegiate career.
“This guy [McKinley III] is a student of the game,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “He understands formations, route running and he’s a game-changer for us. He wants to take on more.”
Later in the quarter, the Ducks marched 86 yards down the field while getting multiple players involved, just like last week. CJ Verdell would cash in for the Ducks on a 9-yard touchdown pitch — eerily similar to a play call that yielded a pair of Oregon touchdowns last week, except this time to the opposite side.
Verdell’s fourth score of the young season grew the Oregon lead to 10-0.
Stony Brook didn’t break into Oregon territory until just under two minutes left in the quarter, converting on a big fourth and four in the process. Later, on third-and-3, Seawolves running back Ty Son Lawton scampered into the endzone untouched to cut the deficit to three.
At certain points in the first half, the Oregon offense got anything it wanted. A 30-yard Anthony Brown Jr. to Mycah Pittman strike, perfectly thrown over the linebackers head, followed by a 7-yard Brown rushing touchdown grew the Oregon lead to 17-7 and added an exclamation point on an all-important Ducks scoring drive.
The Ducks had a few chances to put the game beyond reach, but they simply couldn’t.
Oregon nearly converted on a third-and-11 midway through the second quarter but a holding penalty on the play negated the yards and soon ended the drive, stunting any momentum and nixing the Ducks’ ability to separate from the Seawolves.
Oregon’s lack of discipline cost them 65 yards of penalties on the day.
Pinned on their own 10, Stony Brook converted on a third-and-15 with a Tyquell Fields 50-yard pass to a wide-open Seawolf streaking along the sideline –– another blown opportunity for the Ducks.
Stony Brook marched into the Oregon red zone on the drive, but another diving interception from McKinley III allowed the Ducks to breathe a sigh of relief.
Still, the Ducks led just 17-7 going into halftime against a team that many assumed they would trample. As the Ducks walked sluggishly into the locker room, Brown appeared to be limping. True freshman five-star Ty Thompson started the second half in his place.
“We expect [Brown] to be okay,” Mario Cristobal said. “We expect him to play next week.”
Thompson finally answered the burning question of the Oregon backup quarterback spot.
The Ducks got within the 3-yard line of the Seawolves on a pair of explosive runs from Travis Dye. A potential drive-killing unnecessary roughness call backed them up, but they eventually capitalized with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Ferguson.
Even though Oregon continuously seemed to make it hard on themselves, the lead grew to 24-7.
The roaring Autzen crowd began to come into play in the third. On a Stony Brook fourth-and-2, the overwhelming noise of the Ducks fans generated a delay of game –– the Seawolves second on the day.
Late in the third, a Bennett Williams interception and return along the sidelines set up Oregon at the Seawolves 11-yard line –– his first as a Duck. Dye would score just two plays later on a two-yard run to grow the lead to 31-7.
“We played down to their level in the first half,” Dye said. “We brought it back to our level in the second half, but we still aren’t satisfied.”
With the score reading 34-7 in the fourth, Cristobal turned to his bench. Trey Benson, Seven McGee, Byron Caldwell, Jay Butterfield and Dont’e Thornton saw their first in-game action.
Thornton and Caldwell scored in the final moments of the fourth quarter, combining to open the floodgates, 48-7.
“We got 80 guys in the game tonight, which I’m happy about,” Cristobal said.
The win wasn’t perfect, but it still counts the same. The real victory of the day was the plethora of Ducks that got to see game action for the first time all season. Many of these men may not see the field for the rest of the season with Pac-12 play starting next Saturday.
After three non-conference wins, Oregon’s playoff implications will begin to rise by the week starting against the Arizona Wildcats.
