Oregon Ducks Football: Report Card Against Washington State

Here’s how the Ducks fared in their fifth consecutive victory of the season. The state of Oregon is the only place where you’ll find the two Pac-12 teams that are currently undefeated. Oregon State has played two less games than Oregon, but they still have their FCS opponent, Nicholls State, left on the schedule.

Sept. 29, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks running back De

Offense: B+

Marcus Mariota didn’t play lights out with just 169 yards passing and two interceptions. He was efficient going 21-32 and getting close to his 68 percent completion average. While throwing and running for a total of two touchdowns, the game ball obviously goes to Kenjon Barner. He had four touchdowns on the night (3 rushing touchdowns and received a pass in the endzone) and tallied up 233 all-purpose yards (195 of them were gathered on the ground).

Defense: C-

Give credit to the defense for not allowing Washington State to gain anything on the ground, but giving up 410 yards in the air is unacceptable. The Cougars are a clear-cut one-dimensional team. Backup quarterback Connor Halliday threw 60 times, completing 33 catches, and had 348 yards with a touchdown pass. This is why the injury of John Boyett is significant. Without that leadership, this team is going to give up a lot of passing yards. Save Tennessee Tech, all four teams have passed on the Ducks for 234 or more yards, and two teams eclipsed the 300 yard mark.

Special Teams: B-

After Chip Kelly missed on a two-point conversion and failed a fourth-down attempt early, he reverted back to a more standard form of play calling, punting the ball and kicking field goals. It was a smart move, and kicker Rob Beard were perfect on the night. Beard hit the lone field goal attempt and all six extra points. Punter Jackson Rice struggled a little bit, averaging just 33 yards on his four punts on the night. He was also responsible for the fourth-down failure in the first quarter.

Overall: B-

It’s exactly what most people expected – the Ducks didn’t execute like they normally do on the offensive end in the first half, but when they went a little more conservative they dominated the game. No one in the nation has a better running attack than the Ducks, and even with a slightly uninspired outing, they will be ready against a rejuvenated Washington team on Saturday.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Autzen Zoo. See his banter with other FanSided writers and love for his favorite west coast professional teams by following him on Twitter.

Read his other work on the Iowa State blog, Clones Confidential, and Lacrosse the Web.