Despite injuries previously considered crippling, Oregon secured its biggest regular season win, perhaps ever, in Columbus last Saturday.
Oregon’s win against Ohio State did more than embolden the Ducks’ playoffs hopes; it vindicated the Pac-12 conference as a whole — one often reduced to football anonymity.
With the nation finally watching, the Ducks soared on the big stage, thanks in large part to their depth of contributions across the board.
Oregon doesn’t have a No. 1 receiver, and it may not matter
Eleven Ducks caught passes on Saturday, and each collected at least 10 yards. Outside of the backfield where CJ Verdell and Travis Dye rightfully had a monopoly on the snaps, the Ducks heavily rotated their skill position players.
Both running backs, four receivers and five tight ends all caught at least one pass, and each proved vital in the Ducks escaping Columbus with a win. That committee approach may be the new norm for Oregon.
The team’s leading receiver for the past two years, Johnny Johnson III, didn’t catch a pass. The explosive third-year slot receiver, Mycah Pittman, didn’t either — it didn’t matter.
Oregon doesn’t have a No. 1 target. It doesn’t even seem to have a set starting lineup. But, with so many contributors in the passing game, that may be an advantage.
After a season where Johnson III, Pittman and Jaylon Redd dominated the snap counts, Kris Hutson, Devon Williams and Troy Franklin look poised to eat into those this year.
The tight end position, which saw all five healthy tight ends make plays, looks to remain fluid as well.
Anthony Brown exhibits why his teammates have faith in him
“I think we’re gonna let it loose against Ohio State, and [Anthony Brown] is going to show his true colors because he’s very poised. He’s a fifth-year senior,” Pittman said prior to Saturday’s game. “I trust him. I really do.”
Joe Moorhead and Oregon’s offense did just that, and the quarterback looked every bit the seasoned and poised signal caller his teammates have praised effusively.
Brown didn’t throw with elite efficiency (17-of-35) or rack up close to as many yards as Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud did. What he did do was provide Oregon with a calming presence in an atmosphere no one else on its roster was used to. Brown threw for 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding 65 yards on the ground where he showed his fearlessness, running over Ohio State defensive backs on numerous occasions.
“[Brown’s] going to do some great things at the University of Oregon,” Pittman said. “I truly believe in him. The slander or whatever I read for a quick second, I was like ‘these people don’t understand how talented AB is’.”
DJ James, Jamal Hill’s return proved crucial
Defensive backs Jamal Hill and DJ James’ week two return from suspension could have been luck of the draw, or perhaps Cristobal intended on their renewed availability ahead of the Ohio State matchup. Regardless, Oregon needed every defensive back it had on Saturday, and Hill and James were a welcome addition.
While Hill has been surpassed by the older, more experienced Bennett Williams at the nickel position, he had some impressive plays in his limited time, most notably some excellent coverage defending running backs in the slot.
DJ James has been reinstated as the boundary corner starting opposite of Mykael Wright and showed why the coaches gave him the nod with a timely pass break up in the end zone.
Ohio State’s receiving corps put up gaudy numbers. But, when it needed a stop, Oregon’s secondary always seemed to get one.
Outside of a perfectly placed ball down the sideline, an absurdly contested catch across the middle and the Buckeyes’ first touchdown — scored in large part due to a distracted Wright who was fixing an arm band — Oregon’s secondary turned in a respectable performance that can, and likely will, given the position’s youth, be built upon moving forward.
Heartbreaker for Cam McCormick
It seemed like it could be one of the best stories of the day. Cam McCormick started at tight end for the Ducks in the season’s marquee game — his first true field action in nearly three years. Instead, McCormick’s day turned into a poignant story, one all too familiar to Ducks fans.
Stuck near their own endzone, the Ducks needed a chain moving play to keep the drive alive on third-and-8. They got that with McCormick’s 16-yard strike over the middle. The tight end bowled over an Ohio State defender, but then remained down before limping off.
Later, clad in a walking boot, McCormick sat laughing with teammates on the training bench as the Ducks sealed the victory. But bad news came Tuesday as Cristobal announced the injury — on the other leg from the one previously injured — will keep McCormick out for the remainder of the season.
Another year painfully lost.
