"You can never have enough rushing yards" or words to that effect from Ducks head coach Mike Belotti in the aftermath of yesterday's thrashing of the Fresno State Bulldogs have remained in my thoughts ever since I came across them earlier today (can't recall exactly where he was quoted in saying that, probably was the Register-Guard though).
Once again, the Ducks ran for over 300 yards, including an electrifying (and Autzen Stadium record) 88-yard dash by Jonathan Stewart, to lead the way to a satisfying all-around team victory over a team that's given Oregon fits over the last decade or so.
Quarterback Dennis Dixon had another great game, and while his passing stats may not have been as gaudy as in the game last week at Michigan, there really was no to test the Fresno defensive secondary much, for the Ducks defense responded with some key plays to pave the way to a dizzying 42-14 halftime lead. Walter Thurmond III had a fumble return for a touchdown, and nearly had another one on an interception. Patrick Chung, who caused the fumble that Thurmond scored upon, was as usual all over the place making plays. Safety Matthew Harper was also a standout, the fourth down play when he upended the Bulldog running back as they were attempting to mount a comeback had the people in my section standing on their feet (okay, most everybody else in the stadium reacted the same way as well, but it was still a key play).
Not much to complain about, other than some stupid penalties (can't quite recall so many rarely-heard about rules being enforced, especially in the first half), and when the biggest gripes were about Fresno State converting on a 3 and 13 play with a 14 yard run straight up the middle, well then life is not too bad at all, though Bulldog tight end Bear Pascoe proved to be quite a handful in the middle of the field.
What with Oregon continuing to score so many touchdowns quickly, either via a long-yardage play, or to a short field created by an opportunistic defense, the Ducks are now 106th (out of 119 teams) in terms of time of possession, which might possibly be an area of concern farther down the road as defenses begin to try to figure out offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's ideas. Still, the Ducks have done a pretty good job in moving the football when they have to, and the credit for that has to go to the offensive line. It seems to me that the one failed series early on when the Ducks lost 17 yards on three consecutive plays was when that protection failed, though watching the replay it looked next to impossible for even the elusive Dixon to elude the Bulldog rush.
One last note: I really hope that wide receiver Garren Strong will soon be on the scoring end of a pass from Dixon, the senior has yet to find his way to the endzone, yet is often one of the first receivers to catch a ball during the game, usually when the defensive intensity is sometimes the highest in terms of emotion. He's also a good down-field blocker, so he deserves to be rewarded for his work over his career.
Also, Ron Darling gave the Ducks some props today on the SNY broadcast of the Phillies at Mets today because of his relationship with a Duck fan; that was nice, though the most amusing part of the broadcast was Gary Cohen singing the Fordham fight song on-air because he lost a bet on the outcome of the Columbia at Fordham college football game.
ESPN RECAP
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