Ducks Digest

Oregon Ducks Offensive Players of the Game vs. Eastern Washington

After an impressive home debut for the Oregon offense, fans got to see who stuck out from the rest on Saturday night.

Josh Parker

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The Oregon Ducks got their first win of the 2022 season on Saturday, defeating Eastern Washington 70-14. From where this offense was a week ago to now, it seems they found themselves and their reason to succeed on that side of the ball.

This week the Duck's offense totaled 604 yards and nine touchdowns. 341 yards came through the air with 14 Ducks registered a catch, four of them hauling in touchdown passes from Bo Nix. On the ground, the Ducks rushed for 263 yards and four touchdowns with eight different players recording a carry.

It was also the first time since 2019 that the Ducks scored more than 60 points in a game.

 Here are the top offensive players from Oregon's week two scoring onslaught. 

#10 Bo Nix – Quarterback

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix loads up for a pass against the Eastern Washington Eagles at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix loads up for a pass against the Eastern Washington Eagles at Autzen Stadium / © Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, Nix had many people questioning him and his decision making when he was taking QB1 snaps against Georgia. This week Nix looked cool, calm and collected in the pocket while bouncing it outside on a few carries.

He was 28/33 passing with 277 yards, five touchdowns and a QBR of 92.0. He took what was said about him last week personally and showed his full skill set in this new Kenny Dillingham offense.

The most prominent note of this game besides being the first quarter back to throw five touchdowns since Justin Herbert in 2019 was that Nix was confident on his throws to his wideouts. The up-tempo offense made it difficult for the Eagles to adjust and keep up with different schemes and that's where Nix took advantage in the first half, completing just over 81% of his passes. 

With his poise and confidence slowly building up as a Duck, he may have the ability to make defenses jobs harder down the road in conference play.

#3 Terrance Ferguson – Tight End

Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson battles through multiple tackles en route to one of two touchdowns against Eastern Washington.
Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson battles through multiple tackles en route to one of two touchdowns against Eastern Washington :: Jay Pridmore/Ducks Digest

It's been a long time coming to see a Ducks tight end tote the pigskin throughout the game while also picking up some touchdowns along the way. Ferguson only had three catches but he made the most of them and showed how elite he could be down the road with his size and speed.

His finished the game with three catches for 35 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both touchdowns showed how physical and athletic the young tight end is whether he chose to stiff-arm his way into the end zone or track a batted ball in the air and take it in for six.

Along with Ferguson, fellow tight end Cam McCormick had a special moment and found the end zone for the first time since 2017 due to multiple injuries throughout his career. He did this while wearing his friend and teammate Spencer Webb’s #18 jersey.

#11 Troy Franklin – Wide Receiver

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Troy Franklin fights through a tackle against Eastern Washington.
Oregon Ducks wide receiver Troy Franklin fights through a tackle against Eastern Washington :: © Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Franklin had a career-high day against the Eagles racking up 84 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown. He became the first wide receiver since Johnny Johnson III in 2019 to hit double-digit receptions in a single game.

Nix found Franklin wide open on occasion, but what made Franklin elite in this game was his ability to fight for extra yards. Based on this game alone the sophomore looks to be Nix's favorite target. Make no mistake about it, this Ducks' receiving corps has a lot of capable options outside of the young pass catcher. 

With different rotations for all the position groups, seven other wideouts got an opportunity to make an impact on Saturday.. Don’t’e Thornton was second on the team in receiving yards with four receptions for 60 yards, averaging 15 yards a catch.

Seeing Oregon’s offense spread around like it was with the different schemes Dillingham came up with almost made it easy for any wideout to have himself a game.

The running backs

Oregon Ducks running back Mar'Keise Irving (0) picks up a first down against Eastern Washington.
Oregon Ducks running back Mar'Keise Irving (0) picks up a first down against Eastern Washington / © Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Overall, as a whole group the running backs came to be one of the best units to play in Autzen on Saturday. The team averaged 5.5 yards a carry with 48 total carries, 263 yards and four touchdowns.

Another impressive stat: five running backs had a chance to see the field last night and get a carry. Byron Cardwell had the best overall game with seven carries for 48 yards and a touchdown on the ground while also recording two receptions for 26 yards and another touchdown. Mar’keise Irving had the most total rushing yards with 74 on eight carries and a touchdown.

Sean Dollars had nine rushes for 58 yards along with 39 receiving yards. Noah Whittington carried the ball eight times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Finally, but certainly not least, walk-on running back Kilohana Haasenritter racked up 37 yards on seven carries and scored his first career touchdown.

The whole offense looked very impressive in the home opener and will need to bring that same energy and focus for this week. The No. 12 BYU Cougars, who just defeated now No. 17 Baylor in double overtime, will be traveling to Eugene to face the Ducks at on Saturday.

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Josh Parker
JOSH PARKER

Josh Parker is a student at the University of North Florida who will be graduating in the winter of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management. He has spent the last six years building vast sports experience as a Division 1 football player at Stetson University, varsity football coach at Nease and Bishop Kenny High Schools. He primarily covers football and recruiting at Ducks Digest.

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