Oregon 61, Georgia State 28: Ducks cruise to uninspiring victory over Panthers

The Oregon defense forced 4 turnovers and scored two touchdowns. They also forced 4 straight three and outs, which led directly to Oregon taking a big lead late in the 2nd quarter. Unfortunately, they also gave up over 400 yards on the day, gave up 22 first downs, missed countless tackles, and gave up 21 points in a lethargic 2nd half.

On the other side of the field, the Oregon offense matched the uneven performance. Jeff Lockie and the offense put up 26 points in the first half, settling for four field goals, as Aidan Schneider hit three 40-yard field goals. Royce Freeman carried the load as Oregon staked out a 33-7 halftime lead, carrying 10 times for 101 yards. When Royce got rolling, the offense staked out a lead that would effectively put the game out of reach.

But despite some bright spots, the game just didn't feel like it went very well. Jeff Lockie had a solid line, but had issues directing 3rd down conversions. In the first half, the offense was only 2/11 on third down. The 3rd quarter was pretty much a disaster, starting off with a fumble on the opening kickoff, followed by penalties, missed tackles, open GSU receivers, and seemingly lethargic coaches and players.

Does this tell us much about the Ducks moving forward? Unfortunately, probably not too much. Tackling is still an issue. Jeff Lockie is solid, but it seems clear why he was beaten out by Vernon Adams.

As Oregon kicks off the Pac-12 schedule next week hosting Utah, we'll hopefully learn a lot more about this team, and see if they're the team that showed up in Lansing, or the one that trudged through a couple lethargic performances while hosting Eastern Washington and Georgia State.