After the Storm: Stony Brook Game Review
I'll make this quick. It was Stony Brook. Oregon won by a lot.
I’ll never be happy until we beat teams like Stony Brook by 100.
I’ll never be happy until our starters get to rest after the first drive.
I’ll never be happy until these 18-24 year-olds never make another mistake again.
I’ll never be happy unless we gain 500 yards of total offense—and no, 460 with our backups isn’t close enough.
I’ll never be happy until Mario-style football is Chip-style football.
I’ll never be happy.
Oregon beat Stony Brook, 48-7. The first half gave us a slight fright, but the second half was one of the best halves of football Oregon has played to date.
And they did it without QB1, too.
Anthony Brown Jr. was 14 for 18, had 159 yards through the air, and two total touchdowns in the first half. He was not the reason the game was 17-7 at halftime—no matter how loudly some may try to indicate that he was.
He missed a few throws deep, but when we all cheered for him last week at Ohio State, we collectively agreed that we were okay with a few of those misses as long as we got his leadership and offensive acumen in return.
That’s the Masoli Gambit. And it is a deal that I will happily make again.
AB’s awesome day was cut short in an all-too-metaphorical way when two straight failed pass protections lead to him being sacked to end the first half.
The offensive line began the game as if last week never happened. There were drive-killing holding penalties, missed assignments, and an overall physicality hangover that we all sort of saw coming after such an emotional last week in Columbus.
Oregon found their footing by the third quarter, and they eventually ran away with this thing.
The Oregon defense really stepped up, holding the Seawolves scoreless for the final three quarters of the game. They also caused four total turnovers—including a two interception game by the Captain himself, Verone McKinley III.
Noah Sewell grabbed ten total tackles and maintained his trademark enthusiasm on every snap. His energy and performances surely help lift everyone out of their initial rain-soaked lethargy.
On offense, we saw four freshmen score the first touchdowns of their careers. Ty Thompson, Terrance Ferguson, Dont’e Thornton, and Trey Benson all previewed their bright futures in Eugene by scoring points.
Thompson looked good. He was 6 for 9 for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He protected the ball, and he showed serious patience in how he allowed Travis to lead his drives on the ground to start with, let himself get comfortable, and then he aired it out in a way that was really fun to watch.
I have no clue if AB’s injury is serious or not. He never came back through the tunnel after the start of the second half, but Mario indicated that it was pretty much precautionary and that they expect him to play moving forward.
But I don’t think we can honestly trust Cristobal & Co. with injury information anymore, so there’s literally no way of knowing until the Ducks take the field again next Saturday night.
That said, Ty Thompson looks like he can probably beat Arizona. And not just because everyone looks like they can beat Arizona.
Camden Lewis, the hero himself, was 6 for 6 on extra points, and NAILED two field goals—one of which was a forty yard bomb. We have a kicker folks! We always did, but now we do again! That’s cause for celebration!
Pac-12 play is officially here. Oregon is 3-0. They’re the only undefeated team in the conference. They are ranked third in the country. They beat Ohio State in Columbus.
Those are all massive wins. Wins that I’m not sure everyone here was very certain of just three weeks ago.
I’m not saying that winning should mask the issues. But winning should make us happy.
The o-line has to stop being Jekyll and Hyde, yeah, but was there really anything else wrong with winning by 41 points with our second string quarterback playing for a whole half?
Say these words out loud with me: “Oregon is one of the best football teams in the country, but they will make mistakes, but that is also fine, and they will be very okay, and they will still find success, and I can let myself be happy.”
If you will it, it is no dream.
Go Ducks.