State Of The Ducks: Weekly Notebook | November 1

Ducks Weekly

It wasn’t the best of comebacks for the Oregon backfield duo this past weekend. Darren Thomas and LaMichael James both had a game they would like to forget.

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Thomas would have to be the more disappointed of the two however. He was lifted at halftime for freshman quarterback Bryan Bennett. The only reason Chip Kelly gave was that he thought Bennett gave them a better chance to win the game. And he did.

This decision was made after Thomas threw two first half interceptions. One of which was returned for a touchdown that made this game a lot closer than many thought it would be.

All that aside, Oregon still got out of this one with a 43-28 victory.

All of this may be a bit premature, but if Kelly is willing to bench his starting quarterback in a game against Washington State, no offense intended, we may be looking at a quarterback controversy in Eugene.

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Upcoming Game

Oregon will travel to Husky stadium this upcoming weekend to face a Washington team that is coming off of a solid win against Arizona to get their season back on track.

This doesn’t look like a spot to continue that momentum however, as you could say that Washington has only been tested twice so far this season. And they did not pass.

In their other two match-ups with ranked opponents, they have given up a combined 116 points, while scoring 59. Usually scoring that few points in a two game span is a solid showing, not so much when your defense is in the bottom 20 of the country in points allowed.

Oregon has all of the tools to continue that nightmarish trend.

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State Of The Ducks: Weekly Notebook

The lone bright spot for the Huskies is that they do field a top 50 run defense, which is how Oregon gains the bulk of their yards.

The downside. They have a bottom five pass defense.

If Thomas is proves to be healthy, he is more than capable of slicing a defense that is that bad.

That’s of course if Kelly decides to play him.

Player Recognitions

Kenjon Barner and De’Anthony Thomas stole the show in this weekend’s game.

Barner led the team with 107 rushing yards on just 11 carries, including a score. He received one less touch than LaMichael James on the day, and gained 58 yards more. A clear sign that James may have not been ready to return.

Freshman De’Anthony Thomas just keeps on scoring in a variety of different ways. The wide receiver now has eleven touchdowns on the season. Four on the ground, six through the air, and now he has added a kick return for a score in this one. Truly an outstanding player, and another reason why the Ducks remain a team to beat even with devastating injuries to their staring upper classman.

Infirmary Report

Out
OL – Ramsen Golpashin (Knee)
DB – James Scales (Knee)

Day-to-day
DE – Tony Washington (Elbow)
CB – Cliff Harris (Suspension)
TE – Curtis White (Leg)

Other News

Oregon running back LaMichael James is one of 16 semifinalists for the 75th annual Maxwell Award, presented to the collegiate player of the year, it was announced Monday.

James, who last year received the Doak Walker Award for best running back and finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting, leads the nation with an average of 200.2 all-purpose yards per game and ranks second in rushing at 150.9.