EUGENE, Ore. -- Every Sunday through the season we’ll be giving out a handful of helmet stickers to deserving Ducks. After Saturday’s 62-13 blowout win over South Dakota, when really everyone and their mother could’ve gotten one, it was tough to narrow down, but here are the three big winners (and one honorable mention).
The redshirt junior completed 14 of 20 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He took off six times and picked up 43 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown, his final play of the day. With 23 yards against Michigan State next weekend, Mariota will take the top spot for overall offensive yards at Oregon. The best part of his performance might’ve been the chemistry he showed with his receivers and running backs. Though he only connected with three receivers, there’s definitely promise in the young group and Byron Marshall proved to be a sure handed pass-catching running back that Mariota will be able to rely on this year.
The freshman lived up to his hype as he accounted for two touchdowns on 10 carries (he also caught one pass for 11 yards). Mariota said that he knew Freeman was going to be special earlier this summer during a 7-on-7 session after he juked some linebackers. “He stepped onto campus with kind of a confidence that you could tell right away that he believed in himself that he could do whatever he needed to do,” Mariota said. “For a guy his size to be that elusive and to be able to have the ability that he has, it’s special for us.”
Injury gods
Too often we see some player go down with some freak injury in a cupcake or gimme game. And with Michigan State coming to Autzen Stadium next weekend, the Ducks needed to make sure they go into that weekend firing on all cylinders. And whether it was the strength and conditioning staff (most likely) or the injury gods that kept the injury bug away from the Ducks in the opener, they deserve some credit. Props to them.
Honorable mention
Any fan in Autzen Stadium who stayed to watch the whole game, especially when most of the starters exited after the first half. Give yourself a pat on the back. Nothing like doing the wave at 10:43 at night when your team is up 49 points.