| 27 November 2011
49-21, and it wasn't that close. The Ducks could have named a score against the Beavers, but they throttled down the offense and emptied the bench late in the third quarter. Jennings Stewart recovered the last fumble and Ayele Ford scored the last touchdown. No chance of a Bobby Petrino/Les Miles lip reading outrage in this game. The Beavers passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, against a three-man rush and a secondary fresh off the scout team.
Here are the grades, for the keys DSH identified Saturday morning.
photo right: Chip Kelly has pointed the way to 32 victories as Oregon head coach, and the Ducks need one more win for a third straight conference title.
Run the football and stop the run
The football adage is control the line of scrimmage, and the Ducks succeeded in dominating both sides of the ball Saturday afternoon. They rushed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, the Beavers for a net 16. Sean Mannion had to throw on nearly every down, while Oregon could run for chunks of yards, opening things up for their sideline passing game.
Grade: A+
Limit big plays and turnovers
The Ducks had two fumbles and no interceptions, and the fumbles came long after they'd established a comfortable lead. Neither figured in the scoring, while the first, a fumble on the Beaver three yard line, cost bettors a pile of money.
OSU's offense managed just one big play all game, a 58-yard ramble by running back Jovan Stevenson, a weird play where Stevenson caught a second down crossing pattern and weaved down the left sideline with no Duck defender coming within a quarter mile of him.
For the entire rest of the game, or at least the first three quarters, before the score reached 42-7, Nick Aliotti's defense throttled the Beavs, forcing a fumble, two interceptions, six sacks, 8 punts and a turnover on downs.
Terrance Mitchell shadowed OSU leading receiver Markus Wheaton, limiting him to two catches for 39 yards. The Beavers had just 16 net yards on 21 rushing attempts, with a long run of 12 yards.
Three scoring drives weren't enough to stay in the game, especially with two of them coming on the last two possessions, long after the game had been decided.
Grade: B+
Free De'Anthony Thomas
Thomas was brilliant and electric, and the Ducks got him the ball 14 times from scrimmage, his season high. He ran 4 times for 71 yards, including a 35-yard burst with an option pitch, and caught 10 passes for 86 yards, scoring Oregon's third touchdown on a crossing route in the second quarter.
In all DAT had 197 all-purpose yards, moving up to sixth on Oregon's all-time list with 1828 on the season. His 16 touchdowns are a freshman record, and 10 catches a single-game record for a first-year Webfoot.
It was the most effective use of Oregon's fabulous freshman star yet this season. The defense had to account for him on every play. Thomas has good hands, and is incredible hard to contain on crossing routes, the bubble screen, or double moves. The only thing the Ducks haven't mastered with him is getting him the ball on deep routes. They can't seem to throw it far enough to the guy, underestimating his speed nearly every time they throw long to him.
Grade: A
Bury last week in an avalanche of cheers
Oregon's defense started the game with two interceptions and two three and outs, one of the punts going for ten yards. They provided the urgency until the offense found a rhythm, and then it became a great all-around performance. The Ducks used every weapon, sending senior David Paulson off with a career-best day, 8 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, and senior defensive end got roars of approval with two sacks and a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage. The Ducks struggled a little early, turning the ball over on downs on three possessions in Oregon State territory, but they rallied to lead 28-7 at half, efficient and resolute in bringing their season to 10-2, winners of the PAC-12 North with the opportunity now to host the first conference championship, meeting UCLA for a shot at the Rose Bowl. Oregon's seniors can earn their third BCS bowl in four years, to go along with their school record 43 wins.
Grade: A
A four-touchdown win over the Beavers is always satisfying. It was the Ducks fourth in a row in the series, and it sets up an opportunity to earn every reasonable goal for a season in which the Ducks had just 14 seniors on the roster and lost one of their best players to disciplinary issues.
Meeting Michigan State and Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl is a tremendous opportunity, and now there is only one obstacle in the way, a reeling UCLA team on the verge of firing their coach. It's another game where the Ducks have to take the emotion out of it and focus on their preparation. Teams often get a boost under an interim or lame duck, and play well above their heads, feeling like the pressure is off. A two-game season remains. Oregon's players and coaches can still make it one of the most satisfying and accomplished in program history, springboarding a national championship run in 2012.
