Oregon Football: Grading the Ducks Performance Against Washington

Last night the Oregon Ducks made it eight in a row over the Washington Huskies and closed out Husky Stadium with a 34-17 win. 

The win means that a one-loss Oregon will now head to Stanford to take on the undefeated Cardinal in the Pac-12 game of the year.

Before we look forward to the Stanford game, here is a look back at the Washington game with a graded performance for each group. 

Offense

The offense was night and day between the first and second half. In the first half, the offense took advantage of turnovers and great field position and turned it into 14 points. 

In the second half, the Ducks flexed their offensive muscle and put the Huskies in a position where they knew they had to score a touchdown every time they had the ball.

Overall, the offense looked good but while LaMichael James is regaining his old form, Darron Thomas still looks rusty and missed some open throws and touchdown passes.

Grade: B

Defense

It was another case of bend without breaking for the Oregon defense. On top of getting to Keith Price and sacking him, the Ducks forced three turnovers and put their offense in great positions. 

The defense also stepped up big in the run game and held Chris Polk to 80 yards rushing and under 3.5 yards per carry. 

Overall it was one of the better team performances on defense, but the Ducks will need even more against Stanford. 

Grade: A-

Special Teams

The good news is DeAnthony Thomas was able to break some big returns in the kicking game, while Oregon was able to punt effectively when they needed to.

The bad news is the field goal kicking was awful. Alejandro Maldonado came up short on two field goals—they never even appeared to have a chance.

One other negative from the special teams was penalties on returns. As a result, one of Thomas' big returns was affected and it completely changed the field position.

Grade: B-

Coaching

It appears that Chip Kelly kept the game plan fairly straightforward and was not looking to show anything new with Stanford on the horizon. The play calling was just enough to keep control of game and never left the outcome in doubt.

The one area where the decision-making has to be questioned is on the second field goal attempt. Chip Kelly made the choice to allow Alejandro Maldonado to attempt another field goal over 40 yards. Once again, he came up short.

While the Huskies did not take advantage of the field position given from the misses, Stanford will. Kelly must realize his kicker's limitations and not put him in a position to fail.

Grade: B 

Overall

Overall, it was a good but not great performance by the Ducks. The offense was night and day depending on what half you were watching, but the defense picked up the slack by playing solid all game long.

With Stanford coming up this week, the Ducks will need Darron Thomas to be as sharp as ever and the defense to force more turnovers. 

Grade: B+