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It may be true that sometimes good things fall apart, so better things can fall together. But after a frustrating, silly and sloppy performance by the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, it feels like wishful thinking.
So many questions today, but I’ll start with the big one: what did we just watch?
Oregon blew up some defensive cover, then doubled up with a targeting ejection, a missed kickoff return and a smothered kick return. The offensive spat the ball. The defense couldn’t get out of the field.
Iowa State held their balance well in a 34-17 victory in the Fiesta Bowl.
No disrespect for the nine-win Cyclones, but they mostly evolved as one of those old, disciplined Stanford-style outfits, putting in some solid plays while looking delighted at the Ducks helping out with their most sloppy football of the day. the season.
Three escaped. An interception. Two-Ducks quarterbacks come in and out of the game with no apparent logic. I was surprised that coach Mario Cristobal did not lift the mask over his eyes in the fourth quarter. There was no question that Iowa State was the most experienced and disciplined team out there, but Oregon was just playing stupid football.
“We obviously didn’t play up to our standard,” said Cristobal. “It’s an execution game, and in critical situations we didn’t coach well enough or execute well enough. But we take the losses as a team; we are not pointing fingers.
Ducks final record: 4-3.
They deserved it too.
I could list a long list of excuses for the loss, noting the ongoing pandemic and costly pre-season opt-outs. I could point out that UO was the least experienced team in America this season. But it’s too late in the season for apologists to think about and it’s 2021 that I’m already focusing on.
Cristobal and his team were expected to achieve better and more efficient production on Saturday. If there is no offseason course correction, the Ducks will move into the next football season and poke fun at the pitch at Ohio State in week two.
There are 245 days to go until the 2021 season opens against Fresno State at Autzen Stadium. A Saturday after that, the Ducks travel to Columbus to play a Buckeyes team that will start the college football playoff season. I hear a lot about Oregon’s drive to create a physical and expressive footballing identity. I see the recruiting rankings. I like the message, but on Saturday I didn’t see anything on the pitch that reflected it.
That must change this offseason.
Less chatter. More action.
Plus, the Ducks need to pick a starting quarterback. Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead shuttled between Anthony Brown Jr. and Tyler Shough on and off the pitch as if he had pulled off two closest sports coats and couldn’t decide which one to wear. I half-expected him to just throw them together at some point. Because the net result was a complete loss of the attacking pace.
I love Shough. But not while he falls back to pass, looking over his shoulder. Same goes for Brown, who looks as calm and comfortable as a guy reading a magazine on a park bench when he’s on the move. But both quarterbacks lobbied in the second half on Saturday, as if they were at fall camp fighting over cliches. It was a terrible training misfire on the part of the Oregon staff and ended up being a terrible distraction.
If you’re like me, you woke up on Saturday wondering if Oregon would make a statement about its place in college football. The Fiesta Bowl was the perfect stopover. Iowa State looked like the top ranked team in the country that Oregon could still beat. It was well organized for the Ducks.
Then, instead of picking up a trophy, they tripped over themselves.
Failures happen. Interceptions sometimes do that too. I’m more concerned with the overall slapdash feel of the performance. It was a bit like watching an old friend show up to a cafe, his hair disheveled, unshaven, his shirt loose, toppling over on himself. You sort of wonder what’s going on and then you settle in to hear about it. You know, see if you can help.
The Ducks have to help themselves.
I love Oregon’s talent, but I hate the team’s lack of leadership on the pitch. It’s up to Cristobal and his team of coaches to favor him before next season. The trajectory is there if the Ducks are to blend in with the kind of team that wants to grab it and do great things. But it will take a huge off-season effort on the part of players and coaches to join major college football contenders.
After the game, Cristobal pointed out that Iowa State reminded him of his 2019 Ducks squad. This unit, led by quarterback Justin Herbert and an experienced offensive line, won a Rose Bowl title. He is right. The Cyclones were ready and experienced. They played smart and did very little to help the Ducks. It was a recognizable advantage.
I believe in what Cristobal is building. When he got hired, I predicted he made the playoffs in his first five seasons. Next year is number 4. Over the next eight months, Oregon must grapple with its football-related sins and realize what it will take to take the plunge.
Cristobal came to Oregon from Alabama, where they tell each other the truth about football and win big all the time. I watched the Ducks’ rambling performance on Saturday and couldn’t help but think about what Paul “Bear” Bryant used to say to people when they asked him how he built his empire.
“I told them my system was based on the ‘ant plan,'” Bryant once said, “that I had the idea of looking at an ant colony during the war.
“A whole bunch of ants working towards a common goal.”
That’s why Cristobal’s post-match quote – “we take losses as a team“- stuck with me. He’s an avid reader, especially of coaching biographies and motivational books written by former Navy SEALs. Cristobal is interior-centered. He will endure defeat more than anyone, but the UO coach needs to know that there is a lot of off-season work and tough fixes to be made.
The second-half fade into the loss to Oregon State was one of the few disappointing low points for Oregon this season. Another was the inability to score more than 17 points in the loss to Cal. But Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl flop was a real mental and physical crisis.
Out of character?
I hope we can say that one day. Oregon getting beaten on the field is one thing. What I didn’t like was how scattered and empty-headed the Ducks looked.
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