Oregon Football: 3 Takeaways from Ducks’ win over Southern Utah in season opener

2. Passing game improving in Justin Herbert‘s sophomore season

Part of what made the ground game so potent was the fact that it was balanced by a solid passing effort. Despite losing Darren Carrington II in the offseason as well as their top three tight ends to graduation, the Ducks passing game looks ready to take the next step as a group in 2017.

A large part of that development is the maturation of quarterback Justin Herbert. Before taking a seat in the second half, Herbert was efficient and dangerous throwing the ball. The sophomore completed 17 of his 21 passing attempts for 281 yards and a touchdown to new tight end Jacob Breeland. It was an efficient effort from a young guy who earned the starting job midway through last season.

But the passing attack proved to be just as good when Taylor Alie came in for Herbert later in the game. Alie completed all six of his passes for 74 yards, and added a rushing touchdown for good measure. Together, Herbert and Alie combined to post 355 passing yards. It was a complete effort by a group that had most of the question marks on offense.

The Thunderbirds are hardly the best gauge of how far the Ducks have come through the air. But even though they put up gaudy numbers against FCS competition, co-offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo got a good idea of what he has to work with in his first season leading the quarterbacks and receivers.