Big-time alumni dotted the sidelines in Autzen Stadium, big plays were produced on both sides of the ball, and some newcomers had the chance to make a big impression on the estimated crowd of 45,000 sun-splashed fans on hand to take it all in.
The Spring Game was technically practice No. 14 out of 15 for the Ducks this spring, with the final workout scheduled for Monday morning. But it was the showcase event on the spring schedule, the unofficial conclusion to a camp that allowed veterans to illustrate their development, newcomers to showcase their talents and the staff to get a sense of the team they will field when the 2023 season opens in September.
Some takeaways from the Spring Game:
1. Second-year head coach Dan Lanning was looking for a competitive game between evenly split teams, and he got one.
After a first quarter dominated by the defenses, Bo Nix and the Green team took a 10-0 lead into halftime on the first of three Camden Lewis field goals in the game, and a pretty 32-yard TD pass from Nix to Troy Franklin. At that point the Yellow squad was scoreless, but quarterback Ty Thompson bounced back from a slow start to throw two second-half touchdowns, the last coming on the final play of the game as Nix and the Green team escaped with a 23-20 win.
“That’s football a little bit, right?” Lanning said of Thompson’s strong finish. “You know, we had some batted balls early, some adversity early, didn’t complete some, some slow starts. And then to be able to get some shots there at the end, I think that was big.”
Thompson’s touchdown passes were of 63 yards to newcomer Tez Johnson and 17 yards to Kris Hutson. Thompson finished the game 16-of-34 for 274 yards, while Nix was 19-of-40 for 193 yards.
Neither threw an interception, as there were no turnovers in the game. Officials on hand only threw six penalty flags, as well, as the Ducks’ execution was fairly clean.
2. The slow start offensively was due in no small part to a really disruptive defensive front.
On the first play of the scrimmage, outside linebacker Mase Funa nearly repeated his pick-six from Oregon’s dramatic win at Washington State last season. Funa ultimately finished with three pass breakups, and he also had one of the Ducks’ four tackles for loss in the Spring Game.
A major theme for Oregon throughout this spring has been “good to great.” Coming off a solid first season under Lanning and his staff, the UO defense is…
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