In Sunday’s ‘Morning After’ discussion, there’s certainly a number of topics to mull over in regards to No. 11 Oregon’s opening season win over Fresno State.
Yes, it wasn’t the offensive production we expected to see with the talent-laden offense residing in the Ducks locker room, but there’s a lot there to work with and to be excited about.
Quarterback Anthony Brown took some heat in his opening day performance, but as the teams signal-caller that’s expected – even on a good day. And let’s be honest, Brown’s numbers were respectable considering the adversity and defensive scheme the Bulldog defense put on the field.
Brown completed 15 of 24 passes for 172 yards and ran for the game-winning score at a crucial point late in the game. He was certainly inconsistent with his passing skills, but he also made some extremely valuable plays in the way he managed the offense, including protecting the football. Brown will continue to improve in the way he leads this offense, but the question is, will Joe Moorhead allow Brown to flourish taking advantage of all of his skills.
“He ( Brown ) was under pressure several times and we’ve got to look at a couple of things” said Cristobal after the game.
“We had several opportunities there and he made them happen. He made some big plays with his feet and
with his arm. He had that big pass to Johnny. We’ve just got to look at the film and see what the pocket
looked like,… what our route tree looked like, and see what we need to improve. We have been really
good in practice and preparation. He’s a really good football player, and we expect him to get better.”
Injuries also played a key role in Saturday’s contest.
Those injuries include DE Kayvon Thibodeaux and LB Dru Mathis who both left the game in the first half. Losing both for an extended period of the season would certainly be a difficult blow to this Oregon defense, however, there’s still a lot of talent where players like Justin Flowe, Adrian Jackson and others, can be plugged in and succeed.
“Kayvon’s injury was something that we certainly don’t want to see happen to anybody, but it hurts us considerably on the edge” explained Cristobal.
“Dru Mathis has been a great player. Justin had missed some time about a week and a half ago when he got nicked up so he was just getting his rhythm again, but he found it throughout the course of the game and he really stepped up in the fourth quarter and did a great job. He plays with so much energy and so much passion. He’s a force and the more he plays, the better he is going to get. I’m really excited about the way he played today and what he brings to this football team.”
Where Oregon disappointed most of all was in their secondary play.
FSU signal caller Jake Haener was 30 of 43 for 298 yards and 1 score. He consistently found open receivers slanting across the middle in crossing routes as well as on the outside in soft coverage. Haener is certainly no slouch and has a good shot at getting a look at the next level. With Oregon’s speed, size, and talent though on the corners and in the deep secondary, it was disappointing to see them give up so many key plays and yardage.
That’s certainly one area that will stand out in the film room and be addressed this next week in practice.
“Number one, they’re a very well-coached team and I have a lot of respect for them” explained Cristobal when asked about the Bulldogs successful passing attack.
“The second thing is that college football is a game of momentum. You’re up 14-0 and have a chance to
create a lot of momentum and create a really difficult situation, but you give the ball back and then
there is a field goal and then there is more. All of a sudden, momentum has swung. Credit to them for
doing that. I thought some of their patterns, we didn’t match as well as we could or would and they did it
both to the field and to the boundary.
“They have some really good route concepts. I thought their receivers did a really nice job of finding some soft spots in the coverage and settling down, and their quarterback is accurate. He got the ball out. He took a lot of shots. I know we got four sacks, but we got to the quarterback hopefully a dozen times or so. He’s a gutsy player”
POST GAME; MARIO CRISTOBAL TALKS ABOUT SATURDAY’S WIN OVER FRESNO STATE