SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: THE DECISIVE MOMENTUM SHIFT, YOUNG PLAYMAKERS AND MORE
ROB MOSELEY
Passes were being dropped, tackles were being missed, and substitutions were chaotic.
No doubt, the first few minutes of Oregon's 2018 season opener provided some tense moments for Duck fans. But everything changed midway through the first quarter, after a pep talk from a member of the defensive coaching staff, and a big play from Oregon's Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback.
After falling behind by 10 points to Bowling Green on Saturday in Autzen Stadium, the UO football team scored the next 37 in a row on the way to a 58-24 victory. The offense got going thanks to a clutch, fourth-down TD pass from Justin Herbert, while the defense was galvanized by a sideline meeting with co-defensive coordinator Keith Heyward.
Bowling Green had just driven to a touchdown and a 10-0 lead — a series UO nose tackle Jordon Scott missed while having a minor injury addressed — when Heyward huddled the defense on the sideline and grabbed a white board. The Falcons had given the Ducks trouble with the way they used their tight ends as blockers in the run game, UO coach Mario Cristobal said, and ran plays out of empty backfield formations that forced UO linebackers into pass coverage.
That was made easier by the offense's breaking out of its own early game doldrums. After at least the third pass of the game already that a receiver had a shot at but couldn't bring down, Herbert faced fourth-and-14 at the Bowling Green 33-yard line with 3:18 left in the first quarter and the score still 10-0. His next attempt was a missile to Jaylon Redd in the end zone, which the sophomore receiver caught to spark the run of 37 straight points for the Ducks.
Just as the defense tightened up after that point, the offense was sharper as well, particularly the connection between Herbert and his wideouts.
"We just came out a little shaky; not sure why," sophomore receiver Johnny Johnson III said. "We just had to refocus, know what the plan was and what we wanted to get done."
Redd's touchdown reception was his first of two in the game, and continued a string of big plays for the sophomore since his late-season surge last fall.
Over his last three regular-season games, Redd has 186 yards on seven touches, averaging 26.6 yards. He also scored a touchdown in the Las Vegas Bowl. Redd's TD receptions of 33 and 48 yards Saturday capped a practice week in which he was a consistent playmaker, rebounding from two weeks of preseason camp during which he'd been sidelined.
"I had to get back healthy and get my mind right," Redd said. "Focus on everything that was going on, so I wasn't focused on an injury or anything like that, get my connection right again with my quarterback."
Redd also had a key block down the field on a 53-yard gain by Tony Brooks-James on a screen pass. He timed the block perfectly, waiting until he had the proper angle to avoid a block in the back.
The big plays helped Redd rebound from an early dropped pass Saturday, which did nothing to hurt Herbert's confidence in him on the fourth-down play that resulted in Oregons first touchdown.
"That was a big play for sure, but I knew I had a guy like Jaylon Redd out there," said Herbert, who surpassed 4,000 career passing yards in the game, and set a UO record for a season opener with his five TD passes.
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"He's a great receiver and he ran a good route. He's a guy you trust, and on fourth down you go to."
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Redd's big day resulted in limited reps for graduate transfer Tabari Hines, the other member of the two-deep at slot receiver. Despite those circumstances Saturday, Cristobal said, "we expect (Hines) to be a major player, and have a major role on this team."
Brooks-James finished with 27 rushing yards on five carries. That ended up fifth on the team, behind Herbert and also backup running backs CJ Verdell, Darrian Felix and Travis Dye. The only rushing touchdown from a running back was by yet another, Cyrus Habibi-Likio, and a sixth running back, Taj Griffin, accounted for the longest play of the day when he scampered 83 yards on another screen pass.
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Cristobal had stated his intention to use all six backs, saying they'd earned the right to meaningful playing time. He, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and running backs coach Jim Mastro found reps for all six in practice during the week, and again Saturday in the game.
"We're all capable of doing what starting running backs are capable of doing," Felix said. "It is what it is; let's roll."
Dye was the first running back off the bench, replacing Brooks-James for the third series of the game — the one that ended with the touchdown pass to Redd on fourth down.
Like Redd, Dye was limited somewhat by a minor injury midway through preseason camp. But he returned with vigor over the last week or 10 days, demonstrating a fearless style and explosive cutting ability.
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Dye made his debut two years after his older brother, UO linebacker Troy Dye, put together a Pac-12 defensive player-of-the-week performance in Oregon's 2016 opener against UC Davis. On Saturday, Troy had eight tackles and an interception, and watched his younger brother rush seven times for 37 yards — then got to share the postgame interview podium with Travis.
"It was awesome," Troy said, as Travis sat a few feet to his right. "It's always cool seeing your brother go out there and do what he does best. I was really proud of him and the way he performed."
He then added, in typical big brother fashion, "but at the end of the day, he's still a bum."
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