Oregon Football: Winners and Losers from the Ducks' Win over Washington State

Heading into their game against the rebuilding Washington State Cougars, many thought that this game would be a blowout that would see the Ducks cruise to an easy win, and while a 43-28 final may indicate that eventually happened, it was anything but that. 

After blocking Washington States' first punt in the game and returning it for a touchdown, the Ducks would not put any more points on the board until halfway through the second quarter, as their offense seemed to be missing a beat against a determined Washington State team. In fact, at halftime, Washington State only trailed the Ducks 15-10 and were gearing up for a second-half performance that would culminate in one of the biggest upsets in Ducks history.

Though the Cougars did come into the second half with a greater sense in confidence in stopping the Ducks' fast-paced offense, the Ducks came out firing behind backup quarterback Bryan Bennett. Bennett replaced starter Darron Thomas at the beginning of the second half and connected with DeAnthony Thomas for a 45-yard TD pass just over 30 seconds into the half to put the Ducks up 22-10 and give them more of a cushion for both their offense and defense to rest on.

With Bennett in the game, the Ducks seemed to operate at a more efficient pace and ended up scoring three more times while holding off a good Cougar passing attack en route to a 43-28 final that left many Duck fans scratching their heads despite the seemingly easy victory.

The victory signaled the Ducks' 21st victory at Autzen stadium which also sold out for the 79th time in a row, making it one of the hardest places to play in college football.

After the game, beside the Cougars and the Ducks, there were other winners and losers coming out of this game. Here is a list of them:

Winner: Autzen Stadium

As stated in the previous slide, the Ducks' victory over the Cougars was the 21st consecutive victory at Autzen Stadium and was also the 79th time in a row that the stadium has sold out.

The last time the Ducks dropped a game at home was to a very good Boise State team in 2008, which saw Darron Thomas make his first appearance as a true freshmen as a Duck. The Ducks have come a long way since then, and Autzen Stadium is one of the reasons why.

Autzen is one of the loudest and most difficult place to play in college football, and the 21st straight victory at the Stadium only enhances that assertion. 

Loser: Oregon Secondary

Already having questions in their secondary, losing CB Cliff Harris this week to suspension definitely did not help answer any questions already surrounding the young unit, and this was clearly apparent against a Washington State passing offense that was able to tally 337 yards through the air. 

Cougar quarterback Marshall Lobbestael was able to dissect an Oregon secondary that seemed to have problems keeping coverage and assignments and looked as though they were being outplayed by a very young Washington State receiving corps.

Though they did finish the game with two interceptions, most of the game saw Washington State receivers pulling away from the defensive backs of Oregon en route to big gains through the air.  

Winner: Washington State QB Marshall Lobbestael

Starting in place of injured starting QB Jeff Tuel, backup Marshall Lobbestael made a case for why he may deserve to remain the Cougar quarterback the rest of the 2011 campaign.

Lobbestael completed 28 of 48 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown, though he also did throw two interceptions that did halt impressive Cougar drives. The senior from Washington State looked calm and collected on the road in a boisterous Autzen stadium that rattles the best of quarterbacks, and was able to keep a level-head as he led the Cougars to quite an impressive performance against a very good Oregon Ducks team.

Lobbestael exemplified what it was to be a leader and though he did throw two interceptions, his performance against Oregon is not something to be overlooked. 

Loser: Oregon Duck Offense

In a game that marked the return of Oregon QB Darron Thomas and RB LaMichael James, the generally high-flying and fast-paced Oregon offense looked rather unimpressive as they had difficulty getting anything going against a young Washington State defense. 

Darron Thomas threw two interceptions and was pulled at the start at the second half, and LaMichael James only carried the ball 13 times for 53 yards and was left out of the end zone in a game where the generally impressive duo seemed to struggle after returning from injuries. 

Though many do speculate and have asserted that Thomas was only pulled because of injury questions and wanting to preserve his health for two huge upcoming games against Washington and Stanford, the Oregon quarterback was unable to establish any rhythm on offense as the Ducks only scored once offensively in the first half. 

LaMichael James was unable to find any big holes to gash the Cougar offense through and struggled with his cutbacks, and though this could also be because of protecting an injury, James was also unable to establish any kind of momentum in the game. 

Oregon's offense as a whole gained less yards than a team for the first time in who knows how long, and seemed not to have any type of drive or rhythm what-so-ever. The Cougars out-gained the Ducks 462 to 454 and also held the ball for over 40 minutes of the game.

If Oregon is going to make any type of run at the BCS National Championship and even the Pac-12 title, they will need to be able to find their offensive momentum that has helped them to win so many games in Chip Kelly's coaching regime. 

Winner: Oregon RB Kenjon Barner

For the third game in a row, Kenjon Barner led the Ducks' rushing attack and asserted why he deserves to be considered as one of the elite backs in the nation. 

This time with LaMichael James in the lineup, Barner was still able to outrush his best friend as he seemed to be the only Oregon running back that could get anything going on the ground on the Cougars. Barner finished the day with 11 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown that helped to seal the victory for the Ducks at the start of the fourth quarter. 

Though LaMichael James will undoubtedly still get most of the carries for the Ducks, the fans of Oregon can be rest assured that if LaMichael is unable to find his rhythm again this season that Kenjon Barner will be there ready to fill in and keep this fast-paced offense moving. 

Loser: Washington State's Bowl Chances

Though nobody really believed that Washington State would be a serious bowl contender heading into the 2011 season, after starting out 3-1, the Cougar fan base was definitely hoping to see their once-great team back in the college football postseason for the first time in awhile. 

However, the young Cougar team since then has lost four consecutive games and still have Arizona State and Washington looming on their schedule. While they are no doubt improving as a team and will once again be a factor in the Pac-12 in a few years, the Cougars have showed that they still have a ways to go before they can contend in one of the tougher conferences in college football. 

Winner: DeAnthony Thomas

If you have not heard of freshmen sensation DeAnthony Thomas of Oregon, you have probably been living under a rock this entire college football season.

The "Black Mamba" (as dubbed by Snoop Dogg) has become one of the most electrifying players in the nation in his first season at Eugene and is the perfect player for Chip Kelly's spread offense attack. Against Washington State, DeAnthony rushed four times for 26 yards, caught two passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, made a big tackle on a Washington State punt return and as an added bonus took a kickoff to the house for a 93-yard touchdown.

In his game against the Washington State Cougars, the young freshmen showed why he is one of the most versatile players in the nation and can do just about anything that Chip Kelly asks of him. 

Thomas also stated his case for why he should be considered freshmen of the year and is definitely one of the players to watch throughout his college career, because he has an extremely bright future ahead of him. 

Loser: Oregon's Confidence

With games against Washington, Stanford and USC all in consecutive weeks, the Ducks wanted a dominant performance against a Washington State team that was beginning to show signs of life once again. Added to this hope was the fact that both LaMichael James and Darron Thomas would be back and Chip Kelly really hoped to get the offensive rhythm and game in sync with a stable performance against the Cougars.

Though the Ducks did win this game in fairly easy fashion, Oregon was unable to establish that offensive rhythm that they would have liked to heading into big road games at Washington and at Stanford.

The Ducks will now have to head to what will be a rowdy and raucous Husky stadium with a lack of confidence in their offense and will need to answer a lot of questions in practice this week that they should have been able to resolve against Washington State. 

Winner: Oregon Student Section

Every time the Ducks score 43 points or more at home, the entire student section gets two free tacos from Jack in the Box.

The second the extra point went through the uprights to give Oregon their 43rd point, the student section erupted as they knew that they would soon be able to gorge themselves with the fine delicacies of Jack in the Box tacos. 

Loser: Oregon Student Section

That being said, the Oregon Student section still has to survive eating the Jack in the Box tacos.

Best of luck.