Postgame Post Mortem: Takeaways from Oregon's win over Portland State

Postgame Post Mortem: Takeaways from Oregon’s win over Portland State

Team / Saturday, September 8th, 2018

A week after a sloppy 58-24 win in their season opener versus Bowling Green, the Oregon Ducks put together a far cleaner overall performance – albeit against a far inferior opponent – in Saturday’s 62-14 victory over Portland State.

Offensively, it was a balanced attack for the Ducks, as Oregon piled up 562 yards of total offense (296 rushing, 266 passing) against the Vikings while avoiding turnovers altogether. On defense, the Ducks followed up an encouraging effort against the Falcons last week with a similarly impressive performance this week, limiting Portland State to 224 yards of total offense and only 10 first downs.

Below, WFOD takes a deeper look at the day’s action, providing our prevailing thoughts and takeaways from the Ducks’ 48-point win over their FCS neighbors from the north.

1. Herbert once again brilliant in victory

Though he didn’t quite match his six-touchdown effort against Bowling Green last week, Herbert was arguably even more impressive operating as the triggerman for the Oregon offense this week. In just three quarters of action, Herbert finished the day completing 20-of-26 passes for 250 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers, as the junior signal-caller spread the ball to nine different receivers Saturday. With one more non-conference tune-up remaining before conference play begins versus Stanford, Herbert looks sharp and every bit the player who, entering the season, was considered one of the nation’s top quarterbacks.

2. The Oregon offense was efficient, lethal

The slow start on offense that stuck in the craw of Oregon coaches, players, and fans last week was successfully avoided versus Portland State on Saturday. And while the Vikings represented perhaps the easiest competition Oregon will face this season, the Ducks didn’t stoop to the level of their opponent. Not only did the Ducks move up and down the field at will versus Portland State, but they took advantage of scoring opportunities when they reached the red zone, converting all eight of their red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Even more, on 12 offensive possessions for Ducks on Saturday, only three failed to end in an Oregon touchdown. Throughout the offseason, questions swirled around what the Ducks offense would look like under head coach Mario Cristobal and first-year offensive coordinator and play-caller Marcus Arroyo. Through two games, Oregon hasn’t looked too dissimilar from Duck teams of yore, as Cristobal and Arroyo have successfully blended power elements with the uptempo style of play that has been Oregon’s signature over the past several years.

Postgame Post Mortem: Takeaways from Oregon's win over Portland State
Oregon RB CJ Verdell (Photo: Oregon Football/Twitter)

3. Running back hierarchy beginning to take shape

Some semblance of a running back hierarchy may be taking shape in Eugene. A week ago, Cristobal and company made a concerted effort to evenly distribute the opportunities for carries to each of their six scholarship running backs. Following Saturday’s win, that rotation appears as if it will be paired down, as Tony Brooks-James, CJ Verdell, and Travis Dye made the most of their opportunities against Portland State. Of the 41 rushes by Oregon running backs Saturday, Brooks-James (21), Verdell (11), and Dye (4) received 36 of those carries. Brooks-James led all rushers with 107 yards, though Verdell and Dye were each arguably more impressive with the work they received, as each player averaged more than nine yards per carry. Moreover, Verdell eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time as a Duck, and joined Dye by notching his first career rushing touchdown. Look for both players to take on larger roles next week when the Ducks host San Jose State in their final non-conference game.

4. Oregon grad transfers make an impact

Aside from Dallas Warmack earning the start at right guard for the Ducks’ in the season opener, we didn’t hear much from Oregon’s trio of grad transfers in Week 1. That all changed versus Portland State, as Warmack not only earned his second start, but Tabari Hines and Kano Dillon also received their first extended action as Ducks – and neither player failed to impress. Hines, the former Wake Forest wideout, finished the day with three receptions for 32 yards, but got things started for this group in the first quarter with his nine-yard touchdown reception to give the Ducks a 14-0 lead. Dillon, the former USF tight end, followed suit in the second frame, hauling in a 20-yard touchdown catch that required him to shed four Portland State defenders before crossing the goal line to score. He would finish with three catches of his own for 41 yards.

5. The drops are still a thing a week later

It wasn’t as pronounced this week as it was last week, but drops once again reared their ugly head for Oregon’s receivers. Though we unofficially counted two on the day, Johnny Johnson and Jaylon Redd were once again the culprits for the Ducks on Saturday, as each dropped a pass on Oregon’s first drive of the game. Like last week, however, both players would redeem themselves with touchdown receptions later in the game. Nevertheless, this continues to be a concerning early season trend for this inexperienced, yet talented group.

6. Strong outing for Oregon’s linebackers

Troy Dye may have been overshadowed by the performance of his younger brother Travis on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean the Oregon linebackers were no shows versus Portland State. In particular, Kaulana Apelu, Adrian Jackson, and Justin Hollins each made notable impacts. Despite facing relentless competition for the starting job at MIKE linebacker during the offseason, Apelu – a former walk-on – was one of the defense’s top performers, as the senior finished the day as the team’s co-leader in tackles (along with sophomore Austin Faoliu) with seven, though was seemingly in on every other play in the first half. Jackson also showed why he was regarded as one of the top freshman performers during fall camp, as the Denver native finished with two tackles, including a tackle for loss, in his first start in place of the injured La’Mar Winston. Lastly, Hollins was once again a disruptive force from his outside linebacker position, notching two tackles for loss (including a sack). On the whole, the Duck defense racked up nine tackles for loss – including four sacks – en route to the resounding victory.

Postgame Post Mortem: Takeaways from Oregon's win over Portland State
Oregon QB Tyler Shough (Photo: Oregon Football/Twitter)

7. Shough sees first action

For a second straight week Herbert’s replacement at quarterback in the second half was Braxton Burmeister. The sophomore was slightly better in this week’s relief appearance, completing each of his three passes for 16 yards, though still didn’t reveal much in terms of overall improvement made from last year to this year. Unlike last week, however, true freshman Tyler Shough saw his first live game action against Portland State. Though he didn’t complete a pass, he was successful in leading the Ducks down the field to cap off their final scoring drive of the day, which culminated in a two-yard touchdown run by Verdell. San Jose State’s visit to Autzen Stadium next Saturday likely presents itself as Shough’s final foreseeable opportunity to see extended playing time, as conference play begins the weekend after next.

News and notes:

  • Saturday’s win over Portland State was first time since 2014 against Arizona (Pac-12 Championship Game) and Florida State (College Football Playoff Semifinal) that Oregon has scored 50 points or more in back-to-back games
  • With four touchdowns passes Saturday, Herbert passed Chris Miller for eighth place in career touchdown passes at Oregon with 43. It was also the fourth straight game in which Herbert has thrown multiple touchdown passes.
  • Justin Hollins extended his streak of games with a tackle for loss to six
  • Jaylon Redd has maximized his connections with Justin Herbert of late. In the eight passes he’s caught from Herbert, four have gone for touchdowns. It’s also Redd’s fourth straight game with a touchdown dating back to the Oregon State game last season.

Other stuff:

The Duck was seen in the pregame doing his best to channel his inner Louis Vuitton Don:

2 Replies to “Postgame Post Mortem: Takeaways from Oregon’s win over Portland State”

  1. This should have been a game where we see almost all our redshirt players play in the 2nd half. We need to be developing players such as Shough, Crocker, Webb, Addison, Jones and perhaps a few others. They likely won’t see playing time during conference games, so it’s quite frustrating we are not taking advantage of the new redshirt rule. The starters should not have seen the field in the 2nd half. We can’t neglect our future by trying to “look impressive” in the present. PSU is very weak competition and our younger players should have seen way more action – not to mention risking injury to starters during garbage time. Quite disappointing:/

    1. In his post-game interview, Cristobal said he kept his starters in until the 4th because he wanted to see the first unit to do some power running stuff in-game but due to how efficient the offense was, they’d only been in 48 total plays before getting the opportunity to do so.

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