#4 Oregon Jumps Out Early, Hold Off Fresno 42-25

Kenjon Barner runs to daylight against Fresno State

Oregon looked like they were back in full form in the first half as they jumped out to a 35-3 lead and many fans headed to the tailgate area not to return for the second half. What they would miss is a Fresno State team who refused to go away and made the game interesting until late in the game as the Ducks uncharacteristically struggled to move the ball. The Bulldogs got within two scores in the fourth before Kenjon Barner put the game away with his third touch down run of the night. By the time Robbie Rouse found the end zone again for Fresno there wouldn't be enough time for the Bulldogs to mount a comeback any longer.

Fresno was able to claw their way back into the game due to Oregon's sloppy play with the ball fumbling the ball three times. Fresno turned those three turnovers into 13 points which turned a typically raucous crowd into a nervous bunch. After a solid debut, quarter back Marcus Mariota showed growing pains which is to be expected from a first year quarter back but he is going to need to show more if Oregon is going to do big things this season. A good running game helps any quarter back and Kenjon Barner's 201 yards on the ground could be the type of safety net the Freshman needs.

Fresno started the game with the ball and Oregon looked as though they had them hemmed up and the Bulldogs lined up to punt the ball away. As the Ducks ran back into coverage though, Fresno ran the fake and got the first down. Fresno would get into the red zone before Boseko Lokombo broke through and sacked quarter back Derek Carr to force a field goal.

The lead was short lived though as Oregon went right to work. Four rushes and 51 seconds later, De'Anthony Thomas got loose and scored his first touch down of the day from 39 yards out. It was precisely the response Oregon needed and after forcing another 3 and out Oregon struck quickly again with Kenjon Barner busting through the line with a three yard scoring run. After the team traded punts Oregon started to drive again as the first quarter came to an end. It was the longest drive of the day to that point for the Ducks and they capped the drive off with a rumbling touch down by Colt Lyerla who broke through Fresno defenders to the end zone.

Fresno would continue to struggle on offense and turned the ball back to Oregon and De'Anthony Thomas. Thomas had the highlight of the game when he broke free on 4th down and scampered 51 yards, avoiding tacklers and breaking through contact to find his way into the end zone for the second time on the day. It seemed that Oregon had Fresno State's number on offense all through the first half but they showed promise at the end of the 2nd quarter getting down into field goal range and tacking on 3 to make the score 35-6 going into half time.

Despite the control the  Ducks seemed to have of the game, it seemed as though they took their foot off the gas. Not only would the Ducks not score in the third quarter but they would surrender 10 points in the quarter. Marcus Mariota would fumble the ball deep in Oregon territory and in only two plays Derek Carr would find Isaiah Burse for an 18 yard strike. The next drive would not be much better as Bralon Addison would fumble again, the Bulldogs recovering the ball inside the 15 yard line. Fresno though would only be able to convert it into 3.

Oregon would get the machine up and running again but their drive was thwarted by yet another fumble as Marcus Mariota was blasted by Phillip Thomas in the back field for the sack fumble. Again though, the Oregon D would tighten the screws in their own territory as Fresno kicked another field goal to bring Fresno within two scores. The next time the Ducks got the ball, the offense slowed down and Fresno got a healthy dose of Kenjon Barner as they controlled the ball for nearly 6 minutes, milking the clock down inside of 4 minutes when Barner scored his third and final touch down of the day. The Bulldogs would respond with another touchdown and failed two point conversion gave the final score of 42-25.

A big concern for Oregon is mounting injuries. Wide receiver Josh Huff went down on a punt return clutching his knee. After the game though Huff stated that he would be back to practice on Monday. It's difficult to know the extent of his or lineman Carson York's injury considering how close to the vest Oregon keeps their injury information. Also not dressed for the game was John Boyett but nothing has been made available on his status either. It's likely that none of those three will be needed against Tennessee Tech next week but after that, the Pac-12 season starts and Oregon needs to be healthy going into the gauntlet that is the Pac-12 schedule.