Oregon football: Ty Thompson should have been given shot in Alamo Bowl

Oregon football missed an opportunity to give Ty Thompson a chance to earn valuable experience in the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma.

The Alamo Bowl seemed like a prime opportunity for the Oregon football coaching staff to give Ty Thompson some valuable reps to close out the year.

After the first two quarters, Oregon found itself down 30-3 and the game was essentially out of reach despite some last-ditch efforts in the third quarter. The Ducks never got back within single digits after falling behind 16-3 in the second quarter as the Sooners reeled off 24 consecutive points in the frame.

The Ducks had a chance to change quarterbacks at halftime and see if Thompson gave them a better shot than a struggling Anthony Brown but the staff stuck with the veteran.

It ultimately didn’t seem like a terrible move because he finished the game strong with three touchdown passes in the second half and over 300 yards, but it didn’t help Oregon accomplish anything other than not losing by 40.

Oregon did show some fight in the second half and only lost by a couple of scores thanks to a solid finish by Brown and the offense, but playing him over a young quarterback who will be fighting for the starting job this offseason was a disservice to both the program and to Thompson.

I was all for Brown getting the start and I felt like he deserved it. He deserved to go out on top after leading the Ducks to 10 wins and actually having a solid season despite a ton of criticism. But the way he started the game and fell behind 30-3 (defense was an issue here, too, I know) should have been enough for the staff to decide a change was needed. Not many quarterbacks get that kind of leash.

Now I get that most of this staff won’t be back in 2022 so it ultimately doesn’t hurt them, but it’s sort of a gut-punch to Thompson who probably hoped he’d see the field a little bit in the final game in order to make his case for QB1 next year.

With Bo Nix transferring in, the Ducks’ top all-time rated quarterback recruit will have to wait until winter conditioning and spring ball to make his case instead of getting an early leg up.

Thompson deserved a shot to prove what he has to offer in the Alamo Bowl and the staff decided that losing by 15 was more important than getting a young quarterback some confidence heading into the biggest offseason of his life.