I’ve been going to Duck Football games with my Dad since I was in high school (don’t ask what era that was…I’m old)
Traditionally, we’ll drive up and park in the Oakway Shopping Center off Coburg and walk all the way to the North Gate for entry.
It makes it a little easier to head home, but there’s also a Carl’s Jr around and so traditionally we’ll grab a burger on the way out.
What does this have to
do with Oregon clobbering Oklahoma State Saturday?
Well, for the first time in all those years we didn’t have to pay for our burgers.
Neither one of us.
UO Football has a promotion with the fast food chain that if the defense scores a touchdown, fans in attendance get a free burger.
Oregon scored on a pick six in the third quarter. Then, just for fun, they did it again mere moments later.
Two scores, two free burgers.
Mike Gundy, OSU’s coach (for now), made the same mistake Colorado had a couple years ago and provided a free dose of motivation by adding to one of his answers that Oregon “spends a lot of money” and therefore they should be formidable.
Coming from a school who reaped millions from billionaire alum T. Boone Pickens, this was an interesting statement. But it also gave Oregon’s Dan Lanning, already a master motivator, some free material to work with.
The result? 69-3, and it could have been worse.
The offense was crisp, balanced, and explosive. The defense? Well, they just weren’t having any of it.
Sheer talent-wise this is already one of the best defensive backfields Oregon has ever compiled and it showed. And early on especially, Oregon’s lines were completely controlling the game, as at one point Oregon was outrushing the Cowboys roughly 230 yards to about 30.
Already up by almost 50 in the third, it would have been completely understandable for OSU to put up some garbage time points, and for UO’s second unit to be a bit more defensively lenient.
Not on this day.
They pitched a second half shutout and added 14 more points to the scoreboard in the process.
Granted, this is a spiraling Cowboy program right now, but Oregon’s defense refused to even give them an inch. First, second, or third unit.
Lanning came to Oregon with the mantra of “defensive guy”. A few years into his tenure, his emphasis in who he’s brought in on that end is already beginning to show.
Realistically, the defense won’t really be challenged until Oregon travels to Happy Valley at the end of the month.
But already, I like their chances more than I did heading into the season, especially defensively.
The burgers themselves were evidence of that.
