Stock up, stock down: Anthony Brown has highlight performance vs. UCLA Bruins
There were definitely some things that need to be cleaned up after Oregon’s 34-31 win over the UCLA Bruins on Saturday afternoon, but for the first time since the Week 2 victory over Ohio State, Oregon looked like a potential top-5 team in the nation, scoring on 5 of their 6 possessions in the middle two quarters and going on a 34-3 scoring run to jump ahead of the Bruins.
Travis Dye led the way with four touchdowns, and Anthony Brown was extremely impressive, completing 74% of his passes and finding 11 different receivers on the day.
There is still a long road to go before we can seriously consider the Ducks as a true threat to make it to the College Football Playoff, but after several weeks of them playing like a team that is destined for the Holiday Bowl rather than the Rose Bowl, this was a welcomed sight.
Here are some of the top performers of the day, broken down in our Stock Report:
Stock Up: Anthony Brown
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
If you want to choose to linger on the pair of inexcusable late interceptions that Anthony Brown threw in this game, allowing UCLA back into the contest, that’s your prerogative. We are going to see them as the fixable mistakes that they are, and highlight the great things that he did on Saturday.
When many Oregon fans envisioned what this season could be with a super-senior QB at the helm, leading an incredibly talented offense, this is likely what everyone imagined. Brown went 29-for-39 (74%) on the day with 296 yards. He also added 85 yards and a TD on the ground. He made some really nice reads and was aggressive in throwing the ball downfield, which was something we haven’t seen before. In fact, he completed 7 passes that went for 15 yards, which is a big jump up for the offense.
For a long time, we’ve been waiting to see the passing game become more of a factor on the offense, and in a game where the Ducks struggled to get anything going on the ground — 36 total rushing yards between the 3 RBs — it was refreshing to see.
If this AB is the guy we get for the rest of the year, the Ducks have a chance to be really good. The mistakes are fixable and need to be cleaned up, but now we know that Brown has the ability to be a dynamic passer and spread the ball around the field.
Stock Up: Travis Dye
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
It’s not often that someone’s stock can go up after only putting up 36 yards on the ground with an average clip of 2.5 yards per attempt, but Travis Dye had a record-breaking day vs. UCLA, getting into the endzone four times and becoming the first RB in FBS history to have a TD on four consecutive rushes.
The Ducks struggled mightily on the ground vs. the Bruins, and Dye’s 14 attempts led the way with Byron Cardwell and Seven McGee also getting a few snaps behind him. However, it was great to see Dye continue to shoulder the load as Oregon’s No. 1 back, and his addition of 36 yards receiving helped as well. What’s even more impressive is the fact that Dye was reportedly dealing with a migraine before the game and was questionable to play, according to Mario Cristobal.
Time and again, Dye has come up big in huge situations for the Ducks. His argument continues as the team’s MVP this season.
Stock Down: Kris Hutson
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We never want to be too hard on a freshman, but Kris Hutson has now fumbled the ball in back-to-back games, both of which came in crucial moments. With the Ducks driving up 27-17 late in the third quarter, Hutson got hit after hauling in a catch and coughed up the ball.
Fortunately, Oregon’s defense was able to force a turnover on downs on UCLA’s next possession, but it’s concerning that we have seen this ball insecurity from Hutson. The freshman is still having a solid season, with 11 catches for 153 total yards, but he needs to focus more on protecting the rock going forward.
Stock Up: DJ James
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
DJ James had the best game of his season on Saturday against UCLA, notching a career-high 8 tackles and grabbing two interceptions, including the game-winning pick late in the 4th quarter with the Bruins threatening to get into field goal range and tie the game.
After the tough start to the season for James — he was suspended for the first game alongside Jamal Hill — it’s great to see him settle in at the CB spot opposite Mykael Wright and give the Ducks another great option in coverage. With Verone McKinley hovering up top, Oregon’s secondary really is starting to take shape.
Stock Down: Late-game Play Calling
It’s hard to blame the second interception completely on Anthony Brown, simply because he shouldn’t have been put into the position to throw it in the first place.
The Ducks were up 34-31 with just over three minutes to play. They had already drained three minutes off of the clock by running the ball, and were at the UCLA 24 yard line. They simply needed to keep running the ball and end the game.
Instead, Joe Moorhead and Mario Cristobal dialed up a shot to the endzone, for some reason, and an underthrown ball from Brown was picked off, giving UCLA a chance to drive down and tie the game with a field goal.
Fortunately, DJ James came up big and got the game-winning INT, but the play-call was frustrating in the first place. This isn’t the first time that the Ducks have struggled to drain time off of the clock this season, with another instance against Stanford that eventually led to the loss in Palo Alto as well.
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