Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Pac-12 football: Midseason awards and superlatives

By Patrick Mayhorn

GENE, OR - OCTOBER 13: Linebacker Justin Hollins #11 of the Oregon Ducks, place kicker Peyton Henry #47 of the Washington Huskies, punter/holder Race Porter #46 of the Washington Huskies and cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. #4 of the Oregon Ducks watch as Henry's field goal attempt to win the game misses in the final seconds of the regulation at Autzen Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. The Ducks won the game in overtime 30-27. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
GENE, OR - OCTOBER 13: Linebacker Justin Hollins #11 of the Oregon Ducks, place kicker Peyton Henry #47 of the Washington Huskies, punter/holder Race Porter #46 of the Washington Huskies and cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. #4 of the Oregon Ducks watch as Henry's field goal attempt to win the game misses in the final seconds of the regulation at Autzen Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. The Ducks won the game in overtime 30-27. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Best offensive player: Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon

While Laviska Shenault is the most valuable player in the conference to this point, he isn’t the best offensive player in terms of sheer production and talent. That distinction goes to Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, who may very well be one of the three or four best quarterbacks in the country, along with Tua Tagovailoa, Dwayne Haskins, and McKenzie Milton.

His stats are awesome to this point. He’s put up 1613 yards and 17 scores on the season, while completing 63.1 percent of his passes and tossing just five interceptions. Statistically speaking, he’s right there among the top quarterbacks in the conference, and his play is a huge reason for Oregon being one collapse against Stanford away from undefeated, and probably a top-five ranking right now.

Even with that loss, the Ducks are still firmly in the national conversation, thanks in large part to their ability to lean on Herbert to distribute the ball and open up defenses. His contributions may be even more obvious on tape than they are on paper though because while stats are great, watching Herbert play is so much better.

This guy is, to put it lightly, a delight to watch. He throws a beautiful deep ball, and his fastballs are harder than just about any quarterback in the country. He may have some issues in the second half of the season against better defenses, but he passed the Washington test on Saturday, so there’s no reason to think he can’t keep up this level of play.

Home/Pac-12