Five Takeaways From Oregon's Blowout Loss to Georgia

The Ducks have plenty to work on before their next game against Eastern Washington after a blowout loss to Georgia.

Oregon heads back to Eugene following a 49-3 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs with a lot to think about. There were some positives to take away from this game, but they'll likely be overshadowed by what went wrong in a game that had so much hype to start the 2022 season. 

Here are five takeaways from Saturday's game.

1. Oregon running back rotation remains undetermined

The Ducks ran for 144 yards on 31 carries against Georgia, averaging 4.5 yards a pop. With CJ Verdell and Travis Dye no longer with the team, this was the first time in quite a while that carries were up for grabs in the Oregon backfield.

We saw a little bit of everyone against the Bulldogs, with Sean Dollars, Mar'Keise Irving, Byron Cardwell, Noah Whittington and Jordan James all recording at least three carries.

James finished the game with a team-high seven totes, but no back ran for more than 33 yards (Dollars), which made it hard to evaluate who has a clear lead in that room. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a go-to duo form as the season progresses.

2. Turnovers cost Nix in debut

The biggest concern Oregon most fans had when Nix transferred to Eugene was his decision-making.

On Saturday he threw two interceptions, and both of those were immediately converted into Georgia touchdowns. The first interception is tougher to pin on Nix, but the second interception was an obvious poor decision. 

There's bound to be some growing pains at a new school and in a new offense, but the veteran will need to make sure he takes better care of the ball moving forward if the Ducks want to be successful in 2022.

3. Tight ends will be more involved this year

One gripe I had with last year's offense was how little we saw the tight ends. Sure we saw them put their hand in the dirt and block, but it felt like we rarely saw them utilized as the athletic mismatches they are for a majority of defenses. 

Now with four scholarship tight ends on the roster, all of Terrance Feguson, Moliki Matavao, Patrick Herbert and Cam McCormick saw the field. Ferguson even led the team in both targets (6) and receptions (4). It was especially encouraging to see Herbert and McCormick running around on the field after returning from injury. 

Terrell Tillmon will probably take more time to see the field as he's transitioning from defense.

Dillingham's offense showed more variety and creativity than most of what we saw last year, and the tight ends should play a more significant role in Oregon's success this year.

4. Pass rush still an area of need

Neither team registered a sack in this game, which should be testament to the offensive lines and elusiveness of both quarterbacks. 

But I expected the Oregon defensive front to get much more of a push than they did, especially with the talent they brought in from the transfer portal to bolster their depth at the interior of the defensive line. I also think expectations are high for DJ Johnson, and understandably so, but he was pretty quiet on Saturday. 

Georgia is a hard measuring stick for any team, but getting to the quarterback is an absolute necessity if this defense wants to make a difference this season.

5. Fundamentals need work

There were so many missed tackles and blown assignments on Saturday that it was hard to keep count. 

When it came down to execution, the Ducks just flat out weren't up to snuff, particularly on defense. For a unit that returns so many members of its front seven and numerous defensive backs, Oregon was often times left grabbing at air after arm tackles were ran through by Georgia skill players.

Of course I wasn't expecting a perfect game, especially against an opponent of Georgia's caliber, but I was surprised to see this since Lanning is a defensive-minded head coach. It's things like this that contribute to playing down to your opponent, something the Ducks did all too often last season. 

This needs to be cleaned up and in a hurry.

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