Oregon 57 – 34 Arkansas State
The Oregon Ducks took to Autzen Stadium on Saturday night and showed why they are one of the top teams in college football as they dismantled the Arkansas State Red Wolves 57-34.
Unfortunately for the Red Wolves, the final scoreline does not reflect how out of hand this game was getting.
Marcus Mariota, making his first ever college football start for the Ducks at quarterback, showed everybody why he was picked as starter over his teammate Bryan Bennett.
Demonstrating the poise of a veteran, Mariota led the Ducks to an impressive start as Oregon jumped out to a 50-3 lead with over six minutes left to play in the second quarter.
The Ducks could have easily made this one of the biggest blowouts in college football history but decided against that as they pulled their starters with just over six minutes left in the second quarter.
Here are this weeks Oregon Ducks football love ‘em & hate ‘em.
Love ‘Em
The Uniforms
The Oregon uniforms were absolutely amazing on Saturday night.
Completely throwing off fans who had expected a different kind of new uniform, the Ducks showcased a classic style mixed with the future of the Oregon football program, meeting the needs of every single Ducks fan in Autzen Stadium as well as those watching all around the nation.
Oregon came out in a yellow helmet that mimicked their 2012 Rose Bowl helmets with chrome wings on the side. The Oregon uniform was of the new style that the Ducks will be sporting this year, but this one was in a color termed as “apple green”.
Oregon also broke out the yellow pants for the first time in awhile and the entire uniform really came together perfectly under the lights of Autzen.
Marcus Mariota
There is nothing you can say about Mariota’s play on Saturday night that is bad. He demonstrated the ability to lead the Ducks down the field efficiently and showcased his brilliant arm, excellent accuracy, and breakaway speed.
He accumulated over 200 yards through the air in less than a half of football while also adding three touchdowns to his very young college football statistics.
Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks more than took care of business on Saturday against Arkansas State. Photo: Oregonlive.com
Duck fans should be more than excited about this superstar.
De’Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner
Two players that were hyped coming into the season were De’Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner. And, on Saturday night, the two lived up to expectations.
Both of the players showcased their own impressive skills that have made them household names at the Oregon football program and both look as though they are already in prime form and ready for any challenge that comes their way.
Oregon’s Defense
While some may say 34 points is a lot to give up to an Arkansas State squad that struggled to move the ball for the better part of the first half, the Oregon starting defense more than lived up to their expectations for 2012 as they completely shutdown one of the dark horse Heisman candidates, Ryan Aplin.
Oregon’s starting defense limited Aplin’s ability to extend plays when he was in and also limited his ability to throw the deep ball and looked as though they improved at all of their positional units.
Hate ‘Em
Marcus Mariota came out of the game (don’t worry, he wasn’t hurt!)
It’s always a shame when a player that is doing well comes out of the game, but it was for the sake of Arkansas State and the hope that they wouldn’t completely give up on playing football in 2012.
Still, he was absolutely magnificent and I wish we could have seen him for just a little bit longer.
Oregon secondary in the second half
While they were the backups, the Oregon secondary in the second half showed college football fans why they are considered the second stringers.
Though these players should evolve into much better athletes at times, Aplin was able to dissect and dismantle the secondary in the second half en route to some fairly impressive statistics.
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