Monday Game Review: Ducks Get Cyclone'd into the Offseason
It's hard to spin a loss like the one the Oregon Ducks weathered in the Fiesta Bowl, but it's not hard to look forward to the brighter days that lie ahead of them. Welcome to the Offseason. Finally.
Whelp. The 2020-21 Duck football season is finally over. I’m not sure if it was too long—or too short—but I do know that it was too something.
After a 34-17 demoralization at the hands of a more motivated, more disciplined, and more better Iowa State Cyclone team, the Oregon Ducks now ride into the offseason with their 4-3 record, their NY6 participation trophy, and their Pac-12 Title*.
And maybe some tail feathers tucked between their legs, too.
The Oregon State and Cal losses should’ve foretold that a power running and/or possession limiting team might cause problems for Oregon. But that USC game showed so much improvement, and I was once again duped into thinking that the proverbial corner had been turned.
Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in, Etc.
But that’s the beauty of a bowl game, right? You get an extra long break as a fan to pretty much ignore every game other than the most recent one, and you let visions of offseason hype flutter around through your head.
“If we can just win this one, the Ducks will be right back on track.”
But now we get to spend the rest of the Winter with nothing but QB-platooning fever dreams, the assistant coaching carousel, and whole handful of “Who-Is-Staying-Who-Is-Coming-Back” question marks.
Of course, Oregon would be dealing with these problems even if they had beaten Iowa State, but a win sure numbs the pain.
Tyler Shough looked good in his first drive. Anthony Brown Jr. looked good in the first two/three drives we got to see him in. But I feel like I’ve been harping on this since AT LEAST the Cal preview:
IF YOU CAN’T GET TYLER SHOUGH IN RHYTHM, THEN YOU DON’T HAVE TYLER SHOUGH.
Shough hands the ball off twice, then you bring Brown in on third down—just to hand the ball off again.
That’s not a gadget play. That’s not the creativity we saw in the USC game. Hell, that’s hardly even platooning. It’s QB shuffling for the sake of QB shuffling.
Put one in there and trust them. If they mess up, give the next guy a shot. But don’t let your QB1 go 3/3 in his first drive, and then never have him attempt another pass until the third quarter.
I’m not “ultra-connected” to the UO gossip circles, so I’m not sure who was strong-arming who between Mario/Moorhead—or if they both thought the musical signal-callers deal was the right move—but I do know that the age-old saying rang more than true on Saturday:
“If you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one.”
In another installment of “James’ reality distortion field,” I also allowed myself to completely forget that this team was still very much stricken by the turnover bug.
Fumbles still abound—and from some of the most veteran players on the team—and I don’t know what you do about it.
But I do know that something on Special Teams has to change.
If you’ve read me, you know that I hate two things 1) being wrong, and 2) thinking the ultimate solution to everything is to just fire a coach.
Well, I can put my hand up and say that in terms of kicking, I was wrong when I claimed that there was no better alternative to Cam Lewis. I’ll love Cam ’til the day I die for winning that Wazzu game, but it’s beyond clear that making the change to Henry Katleman at kicker was the right move.
I commend Mario for making that change, and now it’s time for him to find the right change along the returning side of the ball, too.
I don’t even know if getting rid of Special Teams coordinator Bobby Williams is the move to make, but you at least have to pull him aside and say:
“Hey Bobby, how about we put some older guys back to catch punts, and while we’re at it, let’s not put the converted d-lineman on our hands team?”
I would think that’d be a good place to start.
Overall, you could see on Saturday that this rigamarole of a season, coupled with ISU’s 42+ minutes of possession, really took the air out of these Ducks.
They took on a lot of challenges from the conference, the state, and the whole world, and they took it in stride. They ended up with a trophy out of the deal, and a lot of free lessons in dealing with defeat.
Recruiting is still at all time high, the coaching staff is still in the right place (even if Avalos heads to Boise), and the future is still very, very bright in Eugene.
Plus, we get another actual year of KT.
So, tip your caps to all the Ducks endured; thank whoever you need to thank that these three losses came in a fake season; and remember that we still stomped USC.
Happy Offseason, y’all.
Go Ducks.