Oregon Football: 3 takeaways from bounce-back win over Cal

1. The Ducks have a habit of playing down to opponents

OK, I’ve been tough on Anthony Brown but I’m not even going to touch on the quarterback battle because I don’t think that’s worth mentioning after this win. Sure, Oregon may have to address some quarterback issues, but Brown scored the game-winning touchdown with under five minutes left and didn’t make a ton of mistakes outside of his head-scratching fumble in the first half.

But no, this spot is reserved for the takeaway of Oregon playing down to opponents.

Yet again, the Ducks had a chance to make a statement and even had an entire extra week to prepare, but looked lackluster against Cal. The Golden Bears even looked like they were about to pull off the upset, but Oregon stood tall in the fourth quarter to score twice and win the game.

This is a common theme with the Ducks this season. They’ve played down to opponents all season long against opponents like Fresno State, Stanford, Arizona, and in the first half against Stony Brook.

Oregon escaped with a win here, but this is something that needs to be addressed or the Ducks can kiss those playoff hopes goodbye.