The I-5 Corridor Mailbag: Enjoying a slice of revenge
Tyler Shough has the opportunity to pull off something rare Saturday: Getting revenge on the Ducks.
You know, it’s been a bit since we’ve had a good, old-fashioned revenge game like this one.
To be clear, Oregon and Tyler Shough didn’t leave on nasty terms. The former Oregon starting quarterback has found a comfy home at Texas Tech, where he’s been the off-and-on starter as he’s battled injuries the last two seasons. Last week, Shough was 31-of-47 for 338 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception in the Red Raiders’ 35-33 overtime loss to Wyoming.
Still, there once was a time when Shough dreamed of being the quarterback Oregon trotted out on billboards. Shough came to Eugene as one of the first big recruits of the Mario Cristobal era, backed up Justin Herbert for two seasons, and then spent the rest of his time in Eugene fighting off hypothetical — Oregon’s all-out courtship of D.J. Uiagalelei — and literal competition. Shough’s one year as the team’s starting quarterback in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season came while Oregon brought in Boston College transfer Anthony Brown Jr. to breathe down his neck.
By 2021, Brown was Oregon’s starter and Shough was in the transfer portal.
Today, he’ll be starting against the Ducks. And yes, Oregon’s on a new staff. And yes, Shough should be mature enough at this stage of his career to not buy into the hype of a game like this.
He’s got a beard now, after all.
"He's an older guy, so I think he understands," Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "You've just got to understand it's about us. So if you focus on them, that allows you to take away from what you need to really get better at."
Still, we just don’t get many games like this around Oregon.
Running back Thomas Tyner played against the Ducks in the Civil War for Oregon State, but by then Tyner was a shell of the player he once was. Darren Carrington caught 9 passes for 130 yards in his only game against the Ducks after being kicked off the team following a DUI arrest in the summer of 2017. But Carrington’s Utes lost 41-20 to the Braxton Burmeister-led Ducks. He also had a key fumble returned for a touchdown by Ugo Amadi.
As for quarterbacks, all we’ve had so far is the Best Revenge is Living Well tour:
Terry Wilson: Had a great career at Kentucky that would have completely made Oregon fans jealous had it not run parallel to the career of Justin Herbert.
Bryant Bennett: The same thing, but substitute Kentucky for Southeastern Louisiana and Herbert for Marcus Mariota.
Travis Jonsen: He did win a Super Bowl — as a receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after transferring from Oregon to Montana State.
Dakota Prukop: Oregon’s attempt at Vernon Adams Jr. 2.0 didn’t quite work out, with Prukop’s last pass as Oregon’s starter falling incomplete against Colorado. However, the former Montana State star has actually put together a six-plus-year career in the CFL.
Justin Roper: After being beaten out for the starting job by Jeremiah Masoli, the 6-foot-6 Roper ended up in Missoula, where he earned the unfortunate nickname “Overthroper,” as he eventually lost the starting job to Andrew Selle of West Billings.