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Dakota Prukop is off to the best start by an Oregon quarterback in at least three decades

Virginia v Oregon Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Dakota Prukop has been nothing short of phenomenal during his first two games with the Oregon Ducks. According to Oregon’s Andy Macnamara, Prukop hasn’t just been good, he’s been historically good.

Through his first two games, Prukop has completed 42 of 61 passes for 602 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s also ran the ball 18 times for 55 yards with one touchdown. No Oregon quarterback has thrown for more yards in his first two games in at least 33 years. Key words: at least. Prukop is off to such a good start, it’s been too long to track when the last time a quarterback threw for more yards in his first two games.

For comparison, last year, Vernon Adams threw for 555 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions against Eastern Washington and Michigan State. Of course, Michigan State was a much tougher opponent than what Prukop has dealt with his first couple of games, but that doesn’t take away from how impressive Prukop’s start has been with the Ducks.

What were Marcus Mariota’s stats through his first two games? Glad you asked. In 2012, Mariota threw for 366 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. I know what you’re going to say: Mariota didn’t play nearly as much as Prukop has his first two games, which is valid. I couldn’t find a snap count for Mariota’s first couple of games, but I know the Oregon coaches have kept Prukop in games much longer than they did during Mariota’s first couple of games, which can inflate his numbers a bit.

But all that aside, it is still incredible how good Prukop has looked so far. Now, he’ll face his first real test when the Ducks go into Lincoln on Saturday afternoon to face Nebraska in front of 90,000 rowdy fans.