Oregon Offensive Players of the Game vs. Colorado

The Ducks' offense exploded for a season-high 52 points against the Buffaloes on Saturday.

While the Oregon Ducks were still a top 10 team and standing tall with a 6-1 record entering Saturday's game against the Colorado Buffaloes, they had yet to utterly dominate a team this season, especially on offense. Many fans and critics had been asking to see some explosiveness from Joe Moorhead's offense.

Ask and you shall receive. The Ducks' offense ran a track meet on Saturday, putting up a season-best 52 points while torching the Buffaloes' defense for 568 yards — 312 through the air and 256 on the ground. Oregon moved the chains 32 times — the most in a game since beating Portland State on Sept. 8, 2018 and the most in a conference game since picking up 37 first downs against Oregon State on Nov. 27, 2015.

The Ducks were coming off of one of their most complete offensive performances the weekend prior against UCLA, but against an inferior opponent in Colorado, they wanted to see even more production and a faster start from their starters, and they got it.

Here are a few players that got the job done for the Ducks.

Anthony Brown - Quarterback

Anthony Brown vs. Colorado :: Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

Anthony Brown continues to improve week after week. After a season-high 296 passing yards in the win over UCLA last week, Brown recorded a new career-high with 307 passing yards on Saturday. It was the second 300-yard performance of his career — the first since throwing for 304 yards against Wake Forest on Sept. 13, 2018 when he was at Boston College.

Brown strung together a full four quarters of rhythmic offense, and he couldn't have gotten off to a better start, completing all eight of his passes in the first quarter for 89 yards and a touchdown.

The veteran threw three touchdown passes without turning the ball over, and he ran for 38 yards on seven carries. Brown seems to be playing the best football of his career right now, and the Ducks will need him to keep slinging it at this level if they are to make a run at a College Football Playoff berth.

Byron Cardwell - Running Back

Byron Cardwell runs for a touchdown vs. Colorado :: Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

Byron Cardwell came into Saturday's game with just nine carries for 40 yards in his young career. The Ducks running backs outside of Travis Dye had hardly seen multiple drives of work this year, but they turned to Cardwell and he broke out for a monster performance.

The freshman from San Diego turned in his first 100-yard game of his career, racking up 127 yards on just seven carries, one of which for a 34-yard touchdown. Cardwell had four runs of at least 20 yards, including two for at least 30. 

Oregon has multiple explosive backs in its pocket, and Cardwell may be the secret weapon for the Ducks' offense as we enter the final quarter of the regular season.

Devon Williams - Wide Receiver

Devon Williams lines up vs. Colorado :: Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

It was a mystery as to why Devon Williams was buried on the organizational chart to begin the season. The USC transfer had a solid year in his first year with the Ducks last year, averaging a Pac-12 best 19.1 yards per reception among receivers.

But over the past three weeks, Williams has come into his own as the Ducks' best receiver and most lethal downfield threat. His numbers have improved in each of the last three games, as he has 242 yards on 14 catches (17.3 yards per catch) over the past three weeks. His best game of the year came on Saturday with five catches and 95 yards and a touchdown.

Williams is a mismatch against essentially any defensive back in the conference and gives Brown a reliable target in any spot on the field. He is shifty, athletic, and can break off tackles and pick up yards after the catch. For the Ducks to be successful, they must fully embrace that Williams is WR1 on this team.

Travis Dye - Running Back

Travis Dye runs through multiple Colorado defenders :: Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

Travis Dye hasn't torn up the field and put up big rushing yardage numbers in the past two games, but his seven total touchdowns tell the story of his impact to this offense. The Ducks have used Dye's skills in a myriad of situations this year — running downhill, screen passes, third-down plays, goal-line packages, etc., and he has come up clutch in whatever he is asked to do.

After a historic four-touchdown performance against UCLA, Dye backed it up with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. He tallied 47 yards on 13 carries, but he was the most productive in the passing game, hauling in five passes for 75 yards.

One aspect that seems to have gone unnoticed about Dye this season is that he has not turned the football over this season after losing two fumbles in each of the past three seasons.

More from Ducks Digest

5 Takeaways from No. 7 Oregon's Dominant Win Over Colorado

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