Lighting it up.

People on the East Coast saw a spectacular sight last week.
They saw Oregon light up the scoreboard and rocket past
one of their traditional powerhouses.
(See what I did there? Light up? Rocket?
You thought I was going to talk about . . . . OK, moving on.)

It looked like it was going to be a long tough game. It looked like Virginia was going to shut down Oregon. The Ducks were struggling -- for four plays.

Then Marcus Mariota demonstrated his Heismaness. Although his stats were relatively pedestrian (14-28, 2TDs, 0 int. 199 yards), he set the tone and led the way, starting with that 71-yard keeper up the middle for the first score. Said Scott Frost on calling the draw play.
"We were hoping to get a certain coverage and we did and he read it right," said offensive coordinator Scott Frost, adding it was a play in UO's original game plan after seeing a weakness of Virginia's "man free" defense during video study. "Man free is kind of feast or famine ... but when you hit them they're going to be big plays." 

Video of selected plays over whole game. Mariota's rushing TD is featured with replays near beginning.



 From that point on when Virginia stopped one play, Oregon had another. The Cavs couldn't plug every hole. And they certainly couldn't stop DeAnthony Thomas.

Whenever Virginia fans had seen anything blow by as fast
as DAT in the past, it usually had the word "Hurricane" in
front of it's name.

Photos from Oregonian.

"Oh cheer up, Lyerla. Ya big goober.
Just know that we got your back.
And if you drop any more balls,
we'll slap that back pink."

Even with Colt Lyerla dropping three out of four passes thrown to him and starting running back Byron Marshall carrying the ball 15 times for only 31 yards, the Ducks still found ways to get the ball out of Virginia's hands (three interceptions, a blocked punt and one fumble recovery) and into the hands of a their own playmakers (Five Ducks scored touchdowns.) to put 59 points on the board -- a score beyond most anyone's expectations.


As time wore on, so did Virginia. All fired up and flying in the first quarter, they were clearly gassed by the third. The fast pace and constant guessing of who had the ball took its toll.

Virginia's offensive line is doing such a good
job blocking that they don't even notice
Tony Washington has separated their QB
from the ball.

Dior Mathis returns an interception 97 yards.
More like 105 when you count where he picked
the ball deep in the endzone.

Then Oregon did something downright mean. Included in their package of

Tyner. Brutal.

benchwarmers to play in the fourth quarter was their third string freshman running back. Five star recruit Thomas Tyner carried the ball just four times, but punished the tired Cavalier defense for 51 yards and two touchdowns.

As amazing as the win was, the story of what happened in the locker room afterwards was even amazinger. Under the leadership of Helfrich, the players criticized their own performance. They expressed dissatisfaction with 11 penalties for 105 yards including way too many personal fouls. Here is an excerpt from Monday's great Oregonian story by Jason Quick

Some members of the offense didn’t like the four sequences when the Ducks went three-downs-and-out. Or the shoddy execution deep in the red zone, which included a botched shovel pass from Marcus Mariota and Byron Marshall unable to gain a yard on fourth and goal from the one.
Even the defense, which endured 86 plays in 80 degree heat, lamented a missed arm tackle here, a jock strap left there, and damage all around from Virginia’s tight ends. [Note to Ken Goe: Could you do us a favor and follow up on that 'jock strap' story?]

Coach Mark Helfrich summed up their self assessment this way . . .
"We want to be perfect. We want to be great. We want to be elite," head coach Mark Helfrich said. 

The team is hurrying the offense even faster this year than last. They are critiquing themselves. They practice as hard as ever. They talk to the younger guys about the "Oregon Way" of doing things to create a proper attitude and culture.

These are a group of super mature and focused guys who don't wait around for the coach to tell them how to prepare, how to play or how to behave. They know what they want, and it ain't another Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.
  “We look at other teams that say, ‘I can’t wait to get to the Rose Bowl’ and we are like ‘What? Is that really a goal for people?’’’ [left tackle Tyler] Johnstone said. “That’s like, not a failed season obviously, but it’s not where we want to be headed.’’

"Strange man from another planet."
If the score didn't make Virginia fans head for the exits early,
Josh Huff's Superman pose most certainly did.

Ya. I love my Ducks.

OTHER TEAMS
Is Washington State that good, or is USC that bad?  After playing Auburn tough down south, the Cougs posted a major upset over an anemic Trojan offense. With ferocious 'D' and patient 'O', WSU beat USC 10-7 at The Coliseum. Cranberry and gold-clad mobs were seen walking the streets of L.A. with a rope tie for Lame Kiffin's neck.

The Cal Bears fought hard at home to come from behind and defeat the always tough . . . . . (wait for it) . . . Portland State Vikings. At one point the Viks led 20-10, but couldn't hang on as the Bears escaped with a 37-30 win. New Cal coach Sonny Dykes said of Portland State, "We were fortunate to win. They outplayed us and outcoached us."

Cheer up Sonny. Maybe Portland State will be the toughest team you face all year.

CALL THEM THE PHILADELPHIA DUCKS
Everybody is talking about the game last night when Chip Kelly debuted his style on Monday Night Football as his Eagles defeated the Redskins 33-27.

The Eagles ran 53 plays in the first half. By Duck standards, that's about average. In the NFL, that's a marathon sprint.

Ken Goe and the Oregonian have done a great job gathering all the stories, videos and quotes here, including the significant Oregon connection in Philly.

"TENNESSEE FOOTBALL IS TENNESSEE FOOTBALL."
That's what Coach Helfrich said. Not sure what it means; but when you sing it to the tune of Rocky Top, it sounds downright scary.

More on the Vols in the days to come.

The Fieggens were at the Virginia game.
That's Bruce with the 3/4 selfie, the twins Jack and Liam,
Connor, and there's Kathy waving.
Connor is enrolled to go to Oregon this fall!!!
Study hard, Connor. Oregon's a really difficult school . . .
. . . .OK not so much, but study hard anyway.

--kb