Oregon posted some impressive offensive numbers during Willie Taggart’s first game as Ducks head coach — nine rushing touchdowns, 77 points, 348 rushing yards and 703 total yards.

But after deconstructing his team’s 77-21 demolition of Southern Utah on Saturday, Taggart will be focusing on the dirty dozen.

The Ducks were flagged for 12 penalties during the lopsided win.

Mistakes are par for the course in an opener, but Oregon ranks 122nd in penalty yards (115) entering this Saturday’s game against Nebraska at Autzen Stadium.

“There were some mistakes in the game that we can correct, starting with the penalties,” Taggart said during his Monday news conference. “There are some penalties that we can coach better and get our guys to not do some of the things we did in that game.”

Oregon’s infractions included roughing the kicker, a face-mask penalty, two unsportsmanlike conducts and four pass-interference penalties.

The new coaching staff inherited a team that ranked 125th in accepted penalty yards per game (75.8) in 2016.

Tony Brooks-James set the tone for the evening by returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in 13 seconds. The junior running back also lost a fumble at the goal line and muffed a kickoff that led to a touchdown for the Thunderbirds.

“We’re not good enough as a football team yet to have all those penalties or turn the ball over and think we’re just going to go out and beat a quality opponent,” Taggart said.

Respect for Riley

Nebraska coach Mike Riley will return to Autzen Stadium, where he was 1-6 during his two stints at Oregon State.

“I think that’s big,” Taggart said of Riley’s homecoming of sorts. “But he was the coach at Corvallis, not at Eugene.”

Riley’s Beavers were 2-1 against Stanford when Taggart was an Cardinal assistant for Jim Harbaugh.

“I know coach Riley is a good football coach, well-respected across the country, whether it’s college or pro,” Taggart said. “When (Harbaugh) was in San Diego (with the Chargers), coach Riley was his coach. … They were always well-coached and they were always ready to play.”

The Cornhuskers (1-0) are coming off a 43-36 win over Arkansas State, which was a little too close for comfort for the program’s passionate fan base.

“Yeah, that Nebraska is big, they’re strong and they won the ballgame,” Taggart said when asked what he has learned about Riley’s team. “Arkansas State, they played well, they played Nebraska tough, but just from watching it I didn’t necessarily think that Arkansas State took control of the game. I always thought that Nebraska was in control of the game throughout the game.”

New QBs and DCs in Saturday’s rematch

Tommy Armstrong’s 34-yard touchdown run with 2:29 remaining delivered Nebraska’s 35-32 victory over the Ducks last season.

Riley’s new quarterback, Tanner Lee, was 19-for-32 passing for 238 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the opener. His new defensive coordinator, Bob Diaco, was not made available to reporters after the Cornhuskers allowed 497 yards and 32 first downs to Arkansas State.

Oregon started Dakota Prukop in last year’s meeting. Now Justin Herbert has firm control over Taggart’s offense, finishing 17-for-21 passing for 281 yards and a touchdown against Southern Utah.

The Ducks have also switched to a 3-4 defense and kept coordinator Jim Leavitt muted after last Saturday’s game.

With all of the changes, Taggart said there is not a lot to be gained from rehashing the Ducks’ 2016 debacle in Lincoln, when Oregon went 1-for-5 on two-point conversions.

“We haven’t watched that game with our players,” Taggart said. “(The coaches) watched it earlier, back in the spring, but things are different. Their offense is different, defense is different. We watched it to kind of look at the personnel, look at our guys, but not necessarily with anything to help us this upcoming season because things are so different for both teams.”

Quotable

Oregon is No. 1 nationally in scoring. Taggart was asked how his offense can improve.

“They’ve got to score at least 78,” he joked. “No, those guys just have to continue to execute, and whatever points we get out of it, if it’s enough to win a ballgame we’ll take it.”

Next up

Nebraska 
at Oregon

When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: Fox Line: Oregon by 14

Radio: KBND 1110-AM, 100.1-FM