Lockie in for injured Adams at Ducks QB

Addison told reporters this week that he felt he was back after taking his first hit in the opener. And just as importantly, he needs confidence that the team trusts him to go out and make plays against big-time competition. “We definitely progressed as the game went along”. After Panthers quarterback Nick Arbuckle cut the lead to 13-7 with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, Freeman put together back-to-back runs of 18 and 22 yards to give Oregon’s offense its first score of the day. Against a Panthers defense that caught the Ducks off-guard at times with an aggressive blitz, Lockie was limited to two yards on eight carries.

The Ducks are 3-0 as they head into Pac-12 play.

Helfrich said Adams, who has a broken index finger, is available to play if needed. “They have responded to challenges, but we will be challenged differently in conference play”.

In the third quarter the Ducks defense struggled to stop Georgia State who were trading touchdowns with the Ducks and actually outscored them 21 to 14. Penny Hart picked up where he left off last week against New Mexico State with two receptions for thirty-eight yards, but Will Lutz missed a fifty yard field goal that clanked off the goal post.

Starting presumably because Adams was resting a sore finger on the sideline, Lockie went a respectable 23 of 31 for 228 passing yards and two scores, with no interceptions.

“When we’re playing here, it’s not a calm environment to play in or practice in”, linebacker Rodney Hardrick said. Oregon took five minutes six seconds off the clock.

“You can’t turn the ball over the way we did”, Georgia State coach Trent Miles said.

The punt return for a TD gives him three for his Oregon career, one short of the school record held by Cliff Harris and receiver Keenan Howry.

Lockie moved the Ducks in the first half, but four possessions inside the GSU 25-yard-line ended with field-goal attempts, not touchdowns.

Oregon quarterback Jeff Lockie (17) throws the football during the…

On the other side of the field, the Oregon offense matched the uneven performance.

Oregon wide receiver Kirk Merritt fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Georgia State scored a touchdown when Arbuckle threw a 14-yard pass to Todd Boyd to cut Oregon’s lead to 33-14.

But Arbuckle struck again against the porous UO defense, hitting Robert Davis, who beat Arrion Springs and then outran the defense on a 75-yard TD pass play. Lockie also hooked up with Johnny Mundt for an 11-yard score in the third quarter. Neal would be tacked for a loss and Arbuckle threw several incomplete passes on the drive. But the team regrouped and reeled of nine straight victories and a spot in the championship game of college football’s first playoffs.