Oregon never really stood a chance.

The third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, college football’s reigning national champion, scored every time they touched the football. Seven drives, seven touchdowns. A year after winning a national title with defense, Georgia’s passing game tore the Ducks’ defense apart.

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett had a career day, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix had a day reminiscent of more than a few throughout his career to this point, and the Bulldogs walked away with a 49-3 win in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.

Here are three takeaways from the afternoon.

Antsy from the jump

Oregon looked very tight to begin the game.

Nix threw two first-half interceptions as Georgia built a 28-3 lead. The defense missed tackles left and right, something I don’t think anyone really expected to see from a Dan Lanning-led defense. They got pushed around at the line of scrimmage. At the halftime break, Georgia had 313 yards and it only attempted 12 rushing plays.

Was it attention to detail? Uncertainty in the new scheme with a new defensive coaching staff? Or simply just nerves? It’s possible the answer is the latter, but Oregon looked out of position often. Georgia pass-catchers were open all over the field, finding soft spots in the zone and producing RAC yardage to boot.

The big issue facing Oregon going forward rests here. The starts in Oregon’s last three games — all major matchups — have been mistake-riddled. In the first halves of the Pac-12 title game against Utah, the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma, and now the 2022 season-opener against Georgia, the Ducks have been outscored 81-6.

This was a big moment for the program and an emotional spot for Lanning, returning to the state of Georgia and facing the team he just had so many great memories with. For a program like Oregon, you never want to just dismiss an embarrassing loss in a marquee game, but you also have to acknowledge the toughness of the spot the team was in.

Tip of the cap to Bennett

Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken had the perfect approach for the Bulldog offense. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap and say, “Well done.”

Bennett was nearly perfect. He didn’t miss a throw when a throw was there to be made. He completed 25 of his 31 attempts for 368 yards and two touchdowns. Ten different Georgia receivers caught a pass. Monken gave Bennett quick-hitters to get the ball out, neutralize the Oregon pass-rush, and get playmakers in space. Oregon had no sacks and only one tackle behind the line of scrimmage all day.

That’s troublesome on its face — only twice last season did Lanning’s defense at Georgia have fewer than five in a game, and never fewer than four — but some of it was just opportunity. Georgia didn’t give the Ducks a ton of chances. When there were plays to be made, Oregon missed the tackle.

We thought converted outside linebacker DJ Johnson would make an impact. He never really got involved. We thought defensive end Brandon Dorlus could take a step. He never really got involved. Both players finished with just a tackle each. Noah Sewell, viewed as one of the best players on the team, had three tackles and nothing more. Given what we know about them, they’ll be better next week. Oregon just couldn’t afford them to all be off this week.

It was a poor defensive showing. And it was a brilliant offensive performance from Monken and Bennett. That’ll lead to the kind of lopsided margin we saw Saturday. Credit to them.

The QB spot for the Ducks

Oregon made the decision to start Nix after an offseason quarterback competition, and it made the decision to keep him on the field for nearly the entire game. Was second-year freshman Ty Thompson actually close to Nix in the competition? It’s a fair question to ask considering the way things played out. If he wasn’t close, that would be multiple times with multiple staffs where it looked like Thompson could get onto the field in a lost cause and start to earn some experience, and instead he was left on the bench.

On one hand, you have to remind yourself that this is what Georgia does to teams. Think about how it terrorized Clemson a year ago. The Bulldogs are a top-three team for a reason, ridiculously loaded on defense.

On the other, throughout Nix’s career, this is what he has been.

Nix finished 21-for-37 with 173 yards and two interceptions. He was under 60% on his passes and didn’t throw a touchdown. Both interceptions were poor. The first was a poor throw where the defender made a heck of a play. The second was a poor decision.

Next week will be very important for this position.