[2022] Oregon Week 3 Review/Week 4 Preview

[HAFFnHAFF]

Week 3 Review

Week 3 Score: Oregon 13 - Hawaii 23

POTG: DE Vandal Person - 5 Tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 Sacks

What happened: On the opening drive of the game QB Nathan Frazier Jr. was sacked 2 times in 3 plays as the Ducks opened with a 3 and out. The opening drive would be a microcosm of a game where something always seemed to be going wrong. The Ducks claimed the early lead on their 3rd drive when Frazier found Marshal Bell deep for a 43-yard TD pass, but K Weston Beckham missed the ensuing PAT. The defense made life difficult for Hawaii QB Marshall Berry and held the lead until surrendering a 15-play, 93-yard TD drive in the mid-2nd quarter. Hawaii added another FG to make the score 10-6 shortly before halftime. There was excitement on the final play of the 2nd quarter when RB Jerry Lawson caught a swing pass and juked the LB in coverage. It was off to the races before he was run down by CB Joey Benjamin 53 yards later to save a touchdown.

 

It was more of the same in the 2nd half, with Hawaii striking first to push the lead to 16-6 before Oregon answered with a TD pass to Shawn Meeks to pull back within 3 points. Oregon had their chances but simply failed to execute. They fumbled the ball 3 times, including a fumble from the usually sure-handed punt returner Mike Adams that led to a Hawaii FG and a fumble in the Red Zone by WR Davis Thorpe that brought an end to an 8 play drive. Hawaii would also convert that turnover into points.

 

QB Nathan Frazier followed up his week 1 performance where he completed 41.9% of his passes with a week 3 performance completing 41.7% of his passes. He did toss 2 TDs and go from 5.8 YPA to 8.5 YPA, but he wasn’t consistent enough for the offense to move the sticks, especially with the tandem of Jerry Lawson and Ulrick Kahnle rushing for only 61 yards on 29 attempts. Something has to change for the offense quick if this team is going to start winning football games.

 

The defense put forth a valliant effort, holding Marshall Berry to a 61% completion rate and sacking him 3 times. Berry actually recorded a lower passer rating than Frazier. Richard Bianchi picked up 97 yards rushing on the ground but it took him 33 carries to do it. Unfortunately valiant wasn’t good enough, and the Ducks drop to 0-2 on the season.

Week 4 Preview

Match-up: Oregon (0-2) Vs. UCLA (2-1)

What to watch for (Oregon): Oregon returns to Autzen Stadium for Coach HAFFnHAFF’s first home game and their conference opener. No one expected the Ducks to be 0-2 after winning the conference last season, but here we are. The biggest thing to watch for will be Nathan Frazier and Jerry Lawson’s performances. Can the 2 seniors get it together? Can at least one of them play at a high level and elevate the offense? Thus far the answer to that question has been no, but it feels like all it would take is one of them stepping up to take the pressure off of the other once and the offense could hit its stride again.

 

What to watch for (UCLA): UCLA is coming off of an impressive victory over San Diego State where QB Hiram Maronde threw for 283 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for 105 yards and 1 TD. His production didn’t come without a price, however, as he turned the ball over 3 times (2 INT and 1 FUM). RB Dan Garcia added 142 and 1 TD on the ground and had 9 receptions albeit for only 35 yards. UCLA will look to continue their strong rushing attack against an Oregon defense that will surely be expecting it. If UCLA is able to move the chains on the ground the game could get ugly quickly.