The #11 Oregon Ducks flew across the country, bypassing an entire time zone, and landed in Atlanta, Georgia to take on the #3 defending national champions Georgia Bulldogs in a "neutral site" game. The Ducks entered the game with an entirely new coaching staff, thanks to Mario Cristobal and Co. deciding to leave Eugene basically before last season ended and was tasked with taking on a team their new coach assisted in building. If you take a step back and look at all the variables going on here, this was a recipe that would bake brownies and not a whole cake. Potentially even something like raisin brownies and not chocolate chip brownies. But as any good baker, if you are a team with high expectations and expect the best out of yourself and believe in yourself, you believe you can make a cake.
The Oregon Ducks did not prevail in Week 1. The scoreboard will tell that story. But as we all have come to learn, the college football season is not about Week 1. Even in the old BCS era, the saying went, "If you're going to lose, lose early." That still holds true to today, but even more since 4 teams can make the playoffs. The Ducks lost Week 1, but they didn't lose their season.
There is so much to take from this game. So much to learn from and grow from and get better. First, you saw the defending national champions up front and in person, in their own backyard. You won't see another team of that caliber through the rest of the regular season. Second, the offensive line held it's own against the vaunted defense of the Bulldogs, protecting Nix and not allowing a tackled sack all game. Oregon's offense was able to move the ball fairly well against Georgia, only to end drives with a self inflicted turnover or simply coming up a few yards short of the first down and deciding to punt. There were times the Ducks offense even made Georgia's defense look confused and unbalanced. There were even times when the Duck offense and players looked faster and better conditioned then Georgia's defense.
Ducks were tasked with going into Georgia's backyard all while trying to learn a new system on both offense and defense. They were tasked with trying to bake a cake with a recipe that only accounted for a batch of brownies. But the great thing about the college football season is there are many more weeks, it has become a marathon and not a sprint. Plenty of time for the Ducks to take their collective ingredients and figure out how to make a cake instead of just brownies. And plenty of time to get the chocolate chips and not having to use raisins.
The season is just starting. The Oregon Ducks went into Atlanta and played in a game that provided them with great learning experience as they got to know their new coaches. The Ducks learned in Week 1. They'll grow from Week 1. Put a Georgia poster up in the locker room and be determined to see them again this year. Let's get this!
