By Dylan Farrell

In Saturday’s afternoon matchup, Oregon’s Green team held on for a narrow 23-20 victory over Yellow in what proved to be an unexpectedly defensive showcase.

Despite anticipation of offensive fireworks between starters Bo Nix and Ty Thompson, the first half of Oregon’s spring game was defined by sluggish offense, strong defense, numerous incompletions. The game remained scoreless through the end of the first quarter, but Green leapt out to a 10-0 lead by the end of the half. Camden Lewis opened the scoring with a chip shot field goal, which was followed by a passing touchdown from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin. In the first quarter, receivers on both teams struggled with dropped passes.

Both teams’ defenses let up in the second half, and Thompson found more consistency behind center, passing for two touchdowns. He flashed some chemistry with Kris Hutson and Tez Johnson, completing passes for 50+ yards to each of them at points. Hutson hauled in a 71-yard completion before getting caught around the ankles inside the 5-yard line, setting up a score that would be finished by Jordan James. Johnson hauled in a pass around the middle of the field and turned on the jets up the left sideline to set himself up for a stellar run and a touchdown of more than 60 yards.

Austin Novosad made an appearance for one drive that ultimately ended in a punt before being replaced shortly thereafter by Nix. Bo Nix had a strong performance of his own, passing for a touchdown and adding another on his feet, flashing the speed and agility that he often displayed last season before his ankle injury against Washington. Green’s top receivers by targets over the day were Troy Franklin and Traeshon Holden, both of whom had strong showings and flashed some big plays. Holden dropped a number of passes over the course of the game, but he also hauled in a couple of attempts for gain.

Both teams had significant defensive contributions from players like Mase Funa and Matayo Uiagaleilei as well as much of their secondaries. Corners played hard and showed that they weren’t afraid to hit hard to go with it, something that Oregon’s backfield lacked last season.

In all, this showing of Oregon’s next iteration shows promise and the opportunity to improve over last season’s disappointing end.  

Audio Story for Spring Game

By: Ben Schoenfield