EUGENE — One of the first things that Naji Saker told me after his arrival at Autzen Stadium on Saturday was how many NFL scouts were on the field during warm-ups.
“Bunch of NFL scouts out today,” my photographer texted.
Oregon beat Boise State, 34-27, on Saturday in front of those scouts. I wrote a column from the stadium about the game — was it a College Football Playoff preview? Something else? Saker captured the action and emotion of a confusing season-opening game through his camera lens.
The Ducks (1-0) won. They weren’t all that happy. The Broncos (0-1) lost. They also weren’t thrilled. Fans on both sides endured a mixture of emotions.
Saker’s photo gallery is worth your time. On Sunday, I reached back out to my photographer to ask what else he noted on the sideline. After all, he’s down on the field for three hours, virtually shoulder-to-shoulder with the teams.
“The energy from Boise State stood out to me,” he said, “especially after the first touchdown. That celebration was huge, and then there was the punt fumble recovery, and the coach went crazy… their coach was yelling, jumping up and down, hugging players.”
Enjoy:
These are great photos. Catching the action like this in a still photo is a real talent!
Boise State uniforms really aesthetically pop when they clash against a green field, rather than the smurf turf! Great photos and great game yesterday.