Our Oregon Ducks football program lined up for its 10th game of the season this past Saturday, taking on the Maryland Terrapins in Autzen Stadium to continue their perfect regular season run. The final score ended up being 39-18 with the Ducks on top, but this was certainly far from the product we might have expected after how the team’s been playing over the past month.
While Oregon did win, the Ducks raised a ton of questions that we didn’t have a good answer for, regarding preparation and looking sharp at home. Dropped passes, fumbled punts, a season-high TWELVE penalties (totaling 95 yards), and some key mistakes across the board on defense.
Now, with all that uncertainty, with all that sloppy play: You know what that amounted to for the Maryland ‘Terps? A three-touchdown loss. The Ducks STILL didn’t even allow 20 points to be scored in what’s likely their worst game of the season.
Have you ever seen an Oregon team have more fun? – Photo via Eric Becker
If that isn’t enough proof to you that this is “the year,” you might want to find a new team to watch (or get a better TV screen). Oregon has been dominant all season long, and the best part about it? They’re having FUN. Gernorris Wilson scored a touchdown, Josh Conerly Jr. scored a two-point conversion, and Jordan Burch ran an explosive fake punt that reignited this entire team’s mojo. The point is: Everybody’s getting involved. Everybody’s playing great football. Nobody doubts this team is the best in the country.
What more could you ask of 2024 Dan Lanning? He wins every matchup, never stumbles when the Ducks are favored, never plays down to their competition, and always brings his A-game to motivate this team. I have zero criticism to offer for this game, or the season for that matter. Again: Oregon played its worst football of the year, and still never felt like there was a chance that Maryland would pull the upset.
On a day when teams all over the country lost games they should have won (Looking at you, Cristobal), Oregon managed to score nearly 40 points with only 183 passing yards hanging on Dillon Gabriel’s arm. Additonally, Noah Whittington stepped up in a big way this weekend. He was the perfect complement to Jordan James’ thunder as the lightning bolt that carved all through a tough Terrapin defense. Tysheem Johnson certainly had a game he might not want to remember, but he and Jestin Jacobs both came up with huge interceptions. Not to mention – Brandon Johnson scored Oregon’s first defensive touchdown of the season? Good grief, Charlie Brown.
Whittington could not be stopped this weekend – Photo via Eric Becker
The Bottom Line: Just Win
Everyone has bad days at the office, and fortunately, the Ducks had a bad day far before it matters in the postseason. They simply are too much of a juggernaut for anyone to beat them but THEMSELVES. This is the team that can go all the way, and will go all the way. They’re rooted in substance, rooted in the process, and they just. Keep. On. Winning.
Now I ask you: Are you not entertained? Are you at all worried about the product we saw this past Saturday, or was this game just a bump in the road of an all-time great season? Who was Saturday’s MVP in your eyes? Let us know in the FishDuck Forum with decorum.
GO DUCKS!
Alex Heining
Los Angeles, California
Top Photo by: Eric Becker
Alex Heining is an Oregon alumni from the graduate class of 2021. After studying sports business and media studies, he has moved into the field of digital marketing as a copywriter and content manager in the Los Angeles area. Still, he loves his Ducks and goes to local high school games all over the Los Angeles and Orange County area to check out new recruits of the future (and a SoFi game or two with the pros). On any given Saturday, expect to find him doing martial arts, playing the guitar, or screaming at the tv over a missed holding penalty.