Good Luck Ducks, Week 2: Lone Star Style

 

The #13 Ducks travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on a Big 12 foe. 

 

Well, well, well. Oregon put up a school record 81 points last week on Portland State and showed no signs of concern as they head into their first real test of the season tonight as they face the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. As sick as I am about the whole conference realignment/disintegration of the Pac-12, I would have always been more favorable towards Oregon joining up with the Big 12 as I always felt that the play styles of the schools in both conferences were a bit more aligned than some of the other Power Five schools. Instead, I guess we're stuck being in league with the likes of filthy Ohio State.

The Ducks face an old friend this week in Tyler Shough, who leads the Red Raiders attack after spending the start of his college career in Eugene. Shough backed up Justin Herbert (heard of him?!) before becoming the starter during the abomination that was the 2020 season. He ended up transferring after that season.

Texas Tech lost a squeaker to Wyoming last week and will likely be looking to take it out on the (*checks notes*) silver and white tonight on their home turf. While this isn't a ranked vs. ranked nonconference match-up per se, it still seems like a pretty big stage to see if the Quack Attack is for real here in the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Three.

What can we say about the Ducks after one game? The game turned out to be a glorified scrimmage, with several key players pulling off moves that would normally only be allowed in video games. Bucky Irving... BUCKY IRVING... continues to be my favorite player on this current squad. Bo Nix didn't show off the versatility (i.e. the running game) that elevated him to Heisman hopeful status at all, but he didn't have to. His continued precision passing game against a less than challenging opponent did all that it needed to do, and Oregon was actually able to get in two backup dudes to relieve him before the final whistle was blown.

I could probably write more here, but most of it would just be Bucky Irving's name in all caps over and over again.

Notes and other things:

• While waiting for a bus tonight after a particularly raucous Osees show, I popped into a gas station convenience store and discovered an Oregon Ducks trading card set that I never knew about. It's been out for almost a year! I can barely find any information about it, let alone a checklist, but I've opened two packs and now it's haunting me and it's all I want to think about.
• Ducks Ranking This Week: 13 (AP style). It doesn't mean anything, but that's cool I guess. Six (!) Pac-12 teams are now ranked in the Top 25, with UCLA hovering just outside the rankings. The conference ran the table (12-0) in Week 1, and I honestly have no idea when that happened last.
• Bo Nix Heisman Watch: Apparently a billboard in Manhattan (shout out to Joey Harrington) and downtown Dallas (uhhhh) is no match for only playing a half-and-change of football. He should have stayed in the whole time! The Ducks could have put up 110 points instead of a measly 81!
• Game time is 4:00 PM PDT on FOX in Lubbock, TX. Go Ducks!