HALFTIME THOUGHTS: Oregon Leads Oregon State 24-3
Well I think this team took last week's loss to heart.
Oregon's offense looks the best it has all season, and they're doing a lot of damage through the air.
Anthony Brown has been in a groove with Devon Williams all day so far and Williams leads all receivers with five catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. I'd keep getting him the ball because he's having his way with the Oregon State secondary.
Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson have also chipped in as well.
He hasn't connected one very deep ball, but I really like the aggressiveness I've seen from Brown. He also leads the Ducks on the ground with 10 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Ideally you'd like a little more production from Travis Dye in the run game, but that's splitting hairs at this point. Aside from the false start on third down, which stalled what likely would have been another touchdown drive, there isn't too much to gripe at offensively.
On defense, the Ducks have done a solid job slowing down B.J. Baylor, who has 29 yards on seven carries. They've also gotten a fair amount of hits on quarterback Chance Nolan to prevent him from getting to comfortable throwing the ball.
Third down defense appears to have improved, albeit a small sample size, with the Ducks holding the Beavers to two-for-five on third down thus far. Kayvon Thibodeaux hasn't gotten home for a sack yet in this one, but he's been close numerous times.
Verone McKinley has also been playing very well after getting hurt last week. He's playing with a lot of physicality and energy and I like what I'm seeing from him. Jackson LaDuke has also gotten in on a couple of plays and looks fairly comfortable.
Overall a very solid first half that looked much more disciplined and fine-tuned than the disaster we saw last week in Salt Lake City.
Can't let your foot off the gas here though. Go full steam ahead and hopefully get Ty Thompson some reps in the process. I believe he's only played in two games so far. Worth noting that Robby Ashford isn't dressed, so he's not available in this one.
