Oregon football blown out in Atlanta by Georgia 49-3

Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 3, 2022

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Trib’s take: There will be a lot of talk about poor decisions by Bo Nix and poor tackling by Oregon in general on Saturday, Sept. 3, but the brutal truth is Georgia is loaded with big, fast, future NFL talent. Oregon has some nice athletes, but couldn’t match up physically to the defending national champions. It should also be noted that the Ducks coaching staff is all new, as are many of the players. By contrast, Georgia has one transfer on its roster and has loads of five-star talent.

All that said, Oregon’s defensive line was pushed around and the rest of its defense looked slow and sloppy. Again, this is probably as much about Georgia’s elite level as anything, but Oregon seemed a step behind from the play calling to the execution.

We’re pretty sure Oregon will eventually score a touchdown (sarcasm), but the inability of its receivers to separate from coverage is concerning. We also wonder why Byron Cardwell, projected as a top running back, didn’t start and carried only four times. We are mildly surprised Ty Thompson didn’t see the field. But, it’s hard to imagine how he would have fared any better given the lack of open receivers.

Big picture: Oregon should not be physically overmatched to that extent in another game this season — and the Georgia game plan to attack the (very) soft spots of the Ducks defense was devastating. There also is the old adage that football teams make their biggest improvement between the first and second games. The real question will be the Ducks’ psyche. This will be a real test for Lanning and his staff since many of the Ducks were themselves once hyped recruits but got their tails whipped by the real deal in Georgia.

Oh, yes!: Oregon moved the ball between the 20s, was 7 of 15 on third downs and 2 of 3 on fourth down and outgained Georgia on the ground 140-132. Nix was the top rusher, most of it in scramble mode with 37 yards.

Oh, no!: The Ducks defense didn’t force a punt until Georgia had pulled its starters. The Bulldogs averaged 9.2 yards per play, scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions, gained 439 yards passing without throwing deep and converted nine of 10 third downs.

Next game: Eastern Washington at Oregon, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 (Pac-12 Network).

For more: Read our weekly On College Football column at pamplinmedia.com most Mondays, in print each Wednesday.