2. Anthony Brown looked elite — until the fourth quarter
After three quarters, I was ready to eat my previous words about Anthony Brown possibly not being the right quarterback for the job. He was making every throw and had Oregon up 34-17 on the road against one of the Pac-12’s best teams.
And then the fourth quarter started.
Brown made a couple of critical mistakes, throwing two interceptions which led to a touchdown and the second one nearly led to the tying field goal or even the game-winning UCLA score. Luckily, the Ducks’ defense stood tall and didn’t allow the Bruins to go down and tie things up or take the late lead as they picked off backup quarterback Chase Garbers to end the game.
The Ducks still have to feel better about the quarterback position with Brown looking so solid for most of the game and making some throws that even had Kirk Herbstreit in awe.
Brown finished the day with 296 passing yards and 79 rushing yards and a score. If not for those two freshman-like interception mistakes, he would have had a flawless game.