I re-watched the Arizona game from last season (I watched the 2017 game yesterday).
Here were Oregon's first seven possessions:
1. 3 plays, 9 yards; punt
2. 3 plays, 8 yards, punt
3. 3 plays, 6 yards, punt
4. 1 play, 5 yards, fumble
5. 4 plays, 16 yards, punt (first 1st down of the game on this drive)
6. 3 plays, -2 yards, INT
7. 3 plays, 0 yards, blocked Punt
So after 7 possessions, Oregon had run a grand total of 20 plays for 42 yards; they had 2 turnovers and a blocked punt...
Herbert was 6 of 14 for 32 yards and the INT.
And they trailed only 16-0; they scored a TD on drive #8, converted a 2 point conversion and somehow found themselves within a score midway through the second quarter.
At one point in the second half, Herbert was 15-35-95 yards and the INT; he should have had 2 more, but got very lucky.
The OL was beaten far too often in both run and pass plays; the DL played the dive fairly well, but got really tired over the course of the second half. Arizona held the ball for 36:09 in the game and, thought they came in averaging a 39% 3rd down conversion rate, converted 8 of 18 in the game.
All in all, it was just ugly. I expect Arizona to try and make it ugly again; to try and get into the heads of the Ducks; to get them to lose their discipline and make stupid penalties. But I expect the Ducks to be much better prepared and much more focused this year; I also know for sure that there were some 'corrective measures' taken to remind the team of its responsibility to remain disciplined on the field.
Here were Oregon's first seven possessions:
1. 3 plays, 9 yards; punt
2. 3 plays, 8 yards, punt
3. 3 plays, 6 yards, punt
4. 1 play, 5 yards, fumble
5. 4 plays, 16 yards, punt (first 1st down of the game on this drive)
6. 3 plays, -2 yards, INT
7. 3 plays, 0 yards, blocked Punt
So after 7 possessions, Oregon had run a grand total of 20 plays for 42 yards; they had 2 turnovers and a blocked punt...
Herbert was 6 of 14 for 32 yards and the INT.
And they trailed only 16-0; they scored a TD on drive #8, converted a 2 point conversion and somehow found themselves within a score midway through the second quarter.
At one point in the second half, Herbert was 15-35-95 yards and the INT; he should have had 2 more, but got very lucky.
The OL was beaten far too often in both run and pass plays; the DL played the dive fairly well, but got really tired over the course of the second half. Arizona held the ball for 36:09 in the game and, thought they came in averaging a 39% 3rd down conversion rate, converted 8 of 18 in the game.
All in all, it was just ugly. I expect Arizona to try and make it ugly again; to try and get into the heads of the Ducks; to get them to lose their discipline and make stupid penalties. But I expect the Ducks to be much better prepared and much more focused this year; I also know for sure that there were some 'corrective measures' taken to remind the team of its responsibility to remain disciplined on the field.
