There is an advantage to being tucked away in the quiet of the Pacific Northwest. In college football, Eugene, OR isn’t Baton Rouge, Tuscaloosa, Death Valley, or Columbus, OH, where every Saturday is a referendum on that college football program.
I’m certainly not saying Justin Herbert is anonymous, but given the press of the other two who just played, he may as well be. And that may not be a terrible thing.
Herbert may be the best of them all. He’s not a one-season wonder like Joe Burrow, and he isn’t a quarterback who has had ankle injuries the last two seasons. He does fit certain prototype NFL teams tend to gravitate towards where quarterbacks are concerned, and at 6’-6”, may have the type of frame that can withstand a 17-week beating, which he may receive in a city like Cincinnati.
In 2019, Herbert has thrown for 2,329 yards and 24 touchdowns. His head coach, Mario Cristobal has also stated he can make every throw, he can run, and he can execute the entire Duck offense. One NFL insider is on the record saying he has a better upside than the other two.
So what does all this mean?
Well, after a college football Saturday where Alabama lost to LSU, the supposed best two quarterbacks dueled to the delight of Bengals fans who may have already picked their favorite of the two.
I’d remind Bengals fans to look again, not at the SEC, but at Oregon, and the quarterback who may be better than both. While the flavor of the month in Burrow or Tua might be nice right now, the one who may emerge is the one you need to stay up late to watch on the West Coast. Saturday night 10:30 ET to be exact, when the Oregon Ducks take on the ArizonaWildcats.