Oregon Football looked predictable on Offense giving the Defense all they could handle in a 33-10 loss to Washington State.
The Oregon Ducks entered the game against Washington State with some familiarity in facing a Top 25 team at home. Last season then Freshman Justin Herbert played in his first game against Washington. On Saturday, Freshman Braxton Burmeister saw his first career start against Washington State and Head Coach Willie Taggart.
The Oregon Offense also saw the return of some key Offensive Playmakers in Royce Freeman and Charles Nelson. Washington State brought Quarterback Luke Falk, who had the most career passing yards in the nation with over 12,000. He needed just one touchdown to pass Marcus Mariota for the all-time passing touchdown mark in the Pac-12 Conference.
Washington State won the coin toss and deferred giving Oregon the ball first.
Braxton Burmeister started has career with back to back penalties on the Offensive Line, but he managed to get the Ducks to the 41 yard line. One play included a nice pass while on the move on third down to Taj Griffin. The Ducks went for it on 4th Down and turned the ball over. The first play for Washington State was a touchdown pass from Luke Falk to Jamal Morrow for 41 yards making it 7-0 Cougars.
On Burmeister’s second possession Oregon Football was again stopped, but the Freshman again showed some moves with his legs. The Ducks punted on 4th and 1.
Jonah Moi led the Oregon Defense with a Luke Falk sack to end the Cougars next drive punting the ball back to the Ducks.
The penalties continued on the Ducks next drive with back to back false start penalties again, but Kani Benoit erased the ten yards with of penalties and added nine more for a 19 yard gain. Benoit carried the ball twice inside the ten yard line, but Oregon settled for a field goal to make it 7-3 WSU.
Oregon Football got the ball right back two plays on the next Washington State drive on a fumble recovery. Troy Dye forced the fumble for the Ducks. Oregon was unable to convert for a first down and saw several penalties on the ensuing drive punting the ball back to Washington State.
The Cougars were unable to convert giving the ball back to Oregon with just over a minute left in the first half. Oregon would start the drive at their own 37 yard line.
Oregon headed into the locker room down three, 13-10 to Washington State. The Cougars would start the second half with the ball.
Washington State started the second half by going down the field and adding a touchdown to make it 20-10 Cougars. The Ducks would move the ball, but again be forced to punt on a 4th and Short. Adam Stack kicked the ball 38 yards.
WSU is held again by the Oregon Defense.
The Oregon Offense looked like they had some momentum, but on third down, the ball was batted out of the hands of Braxton Burmeister forcing a fumble. Washington State recovered and again the Oregon Defense was there to contain Washington State and hold them to a field goal and a 23-10 Cougars lead.
Oregon took over from their 24 yard line. They would get six yards before Burmeister was sacked on third down forcing another punt. Washington State took over at the 25.
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The Oregon Defense was back out on the field again looking to get the ball back to the Ducks Offense that needed something to go right. Troy Dye got pressure on Luke Falk on third down after a pass interference penalty added 15 yards. The Cougars would again punt.
Braxton Burmeister threw a pass toward Johnny Johnson that was intercepted leading to a Washington State touchdown to make it 30-10 Cougars. Marcus Strong had the interception and took it back 27 yards to the Ducks 25.
The Oregon Quarterback had a nice run for 15 yards, but it was called back for a holding penalty resulting in a punt, but a special teams fumble gave the ball back to Oregon at the 40 yard line. Ty Griffin nearly took the ball back to the wrong end zone for a Safety. Burmeister, again looking for Johnson throws an interception with the ball going back to Washington State.
In the end, the Washington State Defense was better, holding Oregon Football to 10 points for the game. The last time the Ducks were held to 10 points, Chip Kelly was Head Coach in the loss at Boise State. Despite the loss, there was a silver lining. The Oregon Defense played well. The points they gave up were more on field goals than on touchdowns.
When you start a new Quarterback, there will always be a learning curve. Football teams show the most improvement between the first and second weeks of the season. Give Braxton Burmeister time. He showed his talent on Saturday night and did some good things, then again he also did some bad things. The loss could have been worse than 23 points and it cannot be put on the Defense. I say that because for the first time in two years, they did everything they could against a better Offense.
Next week, Oregon Football travels to Stanford, who entering the week had the second best Offensive Efficiency in the Country. The Ducks and Cardinal kickoff next Saturday at 8pm Pacific Time on Fox Sports 1.