Was Saturday painful for Oregon football fans? Yes. The team was outcoached, outplayed, and outclassed by a better, more efficient team that won the national title last year. The game was not the offensive display by the Ducks that many of us hoped for. It was a wake-up call.
Oregon football has some growing up to do and I am not one to blame or point fingers. These Ducks are the fourth youngest team in the NCAA entering the season. Georgia was simply a benchmark game to see where this team stood. There is a long way to go this season.
But the Ducks weren’t the only team in the conference who struggled. Overall, it was a rough weekend for the Pac-12.
One of the better games of the day was Utah vs Florida. The Utes went into the swamp and almost came out with an early season-defining win. Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson showed up scoring three touchdowns with his legs. Utah QB Cam Rising had a chance to win the game in the final minute but threw an interception. s
The top Pac-12 team on Tuesday will be the USC Trojans, likely followed by Utah. Former coach Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes will also inch closer to the top ten after their win over Bethune Cookman on Saturday.
One Pac-12 team that may be a surprise this season, the Oregon State Beavers, completed the first part of their non-conference slate successfully in an impressive 34-17 win over Boise State. The win should get the Beavers on the board and at least in the ‘others getting votes’ slot. OSU could start the season 2-0 with a win at Fresno State next week.
The coming weeks will tell a lot about this Oregon football team, and the rest of the Pac-12.
The Ducks host Eastern Washington this week, and this is not the team from a few seasons ago that Oregon rolled over. They have a quarterback that passed for over 5000 yards last season, a running back that nearly ran for 1,000 yards, as well as a 1000-yard receiver from a year ago. It may not be Georgia, but head coach Dan Lanning will have to have his team prepared.
Oregon and Eastern Washington meet on Saturday inside Autzen Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5:30 pm Pacific Time on Pac-12 Network.
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