October 30, 2022 12: 01 pm PT
The vibes were curious for the Oregon Ducks after their win against the California Golden Bears on Saturday. The scoreboard read 42-24 in favor of Oregon, but the level of enthusiasm seen from players and head coach Dan Lanning after the victory might make you question which team came out on top.
The Ducks know that they could have played a lot better, and they’re frustrated by the fact that simple, self-imposed mistakes stopped them from putting on a truly dominant performance. As if racking up 588 yards and scoring 42 points behind 6 total touchdowns from your quarterback isn’t dominant. Still, with three trips to the red zone that resulted in zero points, and a handful of mistakes on offense, it’s clear that the team still has things that they can get better at going forward.
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The same can be said for a lot of the players on the roster. There were some standouts on Saturday — again, Nix became the first Oregon QB since 2009 to have 3 rushing TD and 3 passing TD in the same game, and the 4th ever — but some frustrating mistakes as well.
As we do every week, let’s identify players who saw their stocks go up, and a few who might have seen a slight dip against California:
Stock Neutral: QB Bo Nix
I want to get this out of the way real quick: I don’t have Bo Nix in my ‘stock up’ category. He’s a Heisman Trophy candidate and one of the best players in college football this year. While 6 TD in a game is certainly impressive, it doesn’t make me think more of him. His consistently great play this season has me expecting performances like this now against mediocre teams. Of course, I am impressed by what Nix did against California on Saturday, but his stock is not higher in my mind now than it was a week ago against UCLA. Can we agree on that?
Stock Up: RB Noah Whittington
A week ago, one of my biggest takeaways from Oregon’s win over UCLA was the fact that it seemed as if RB Bucky Irving had taken a solid lead in the backfield committee, becoming the Ducks’ first 100-yard rusher from that position group this season. So of course, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to see that Noah Whittington was the guy for Oregon on Saturday against California.
Whittington finished with 10 rushes for 66 yards, adding 5 catches for 67 yards and a TD receiving. The RB workload was split evenly, with Iriving also getting 10 carries, but Whittington was the more impactful back on the day because of his receiving work mixed with his rushing ability. It’s pretty clear at this point in the season that there isn’t a single back that you can prepare for when scheming up against the Ducks. They’ve got a couple of guys that can beat you.
Stock Down: CB Dontae Manning
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Dontae Manning only saw 14 snaps in this game, but he struggled when he was on the field. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning had a 43.9 defensive grade, which was the second-worst on the team. His coverage grade was 44.9, getting targeted three times and giving up 3 receptions for 84 yards, including a long of 57.
The past couple of weeks have been positive for Manning, who looked to be putting things together at long last in Eugene, but Saturday was another step in the wrong direction for the former 5-star recruit.
Stock Up: Oregon D-Line
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The Ducks’ defensive line has been the bright spot for Oregon so far this year, leading one of the best rushing defenses in the nation. They were once again impressive on Saturday, and thankfully in a new area.
The Ducks finally got after the quarterback, racking up a total of 27 QB pressures, 20 hurries, and 5 QB hits. Brandon Dorlus had 9 pressures, while DJ Johnson had a pair of sacks. It helped that Cal’s QB Jack Plummer isn’t the most mobile in the league, allowing them to pin their ears back and try to get into the backfield.
While the secondary and linebacker coverage certainly needs to improve as the season goes on, it was nice to see the defensive line have a major impact on the game.
Stock Down: WR Seven McGee
(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
It’s starting to look like Seven McGee’s career at Oregon is going down the same road as Byron Cardwell, unfortunately. McGee didn’t even make the trip to Berkeley this weekend after having a rather tough outing last weekend against UCLA, struggling on the kick-off return unit.
We were told over the offseason that McGee was going to have a big role in this offense, and led to believe that he could be one of the major playmakers on the team. That’s been far from reality so far, and it’s frustrating for fans to see. At this point, McGee has already burnt his redshirt this season, so it will be interesting to see how he is utilized the rest of the way.
Stock Up: TE Patrick Herbert
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There is a Herbert at Oregon scoring touchdowns! Time really is a flat circle, huh?
Ducks’ tight end Patrick Herbert scored his first career touchdown on Saturday against the Golden Bears, taking a pass from Nix 40 yards for a late score. Herbert finished the day with 2 catches for 46 yards, but saw his stock rise as he became a legitimate player on the offense, and found a spot in Oregon’s TE rotation.
After battling through injuries early in his career, it’s awesome to see Patrick on the field and making a difference for the Ducks.
Stock Down: 4th-Down
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4th down was not a good one for the Ducks on Saturday. The offense went 0-for-2 on conversions after leading the nation in conversion rate going into the weekend, going 12-for-13 in the first seven games. On a similar note, the Ducks’ defense allowed Cal to convert both of their 4th-down attempts on Saturday and move the chains.
In the end, this isn’t the biggest deal, but something that Oregon can clean up. Dan Lanning actually looked at the Ducks” lack of success on offense as a slight positive, in the end.
“It was probably a good thing that happened to us. We probably got humbled a little bit and it’s an opportunity for us to go work at it