Jordan, very timely article, very timely........Your intro paragraph sums up the very essence of a trick play.

 

The execution of a trick play should catch the opposing team off guard. Even if this play had been executed with " dazzling precision" the Utah defense was not caught off guard. The entire left side of the Utes D stayed home. Fundamentally sound football.

 

What did DL and Dilly expect the Utes would do with Ty in the game? Ty was not going to catch the Utes off guard with a long pass downfield. They new the play would be basic and simple. The well coached Utes just stayed home and protected the backside with precision. 

 

Jordan, you were right about the result being humiliating or embarrassing. The Duck coaches got both.

 

Of course hindsight has perfect vision. Its easy to second guess others mistakes. Coach Lanning and Dilly appear to have a little river boat gambler in them. From day one they told us all they want explosion plays. Well sometimes explosions backfire.

This play sure did. That's why its called gambling. I hope they continue to roll the dice........

 

Personally, the reward for the solid defense's opening series should not have been a scoop and score by the Utes. However, thats part of football!

 

Big win for our Ducks. Hats off to all the players and their efforts. Way to step up D. O Line great job protecting the warrior named Bo....

 

Now lets kick some Beaver tail.

What a suprise performance from the Duck D!  My apologies to the players, I was critical of their efforts and performances all week.

 

This was a tremendous effort. They made Utah earn every yard, as well as stop some critical 3rd and 4th down conversion attempts.

 

Best humble pie ever........

 

GO DUCKS!

2021 was a football year to forget. This fan was absolutely frustrated at MC's stubborness. Even the victories were gut wrenching and I am ashamed to say that i had lost interest in our Ducks......

 

The fun and joy was gone for this fan. After the first quarter of the first Utes game i turned the channel snd did not watch another Duck game until this year. The offensive Ferrarri that MC was given the keys to had turned into my Grandpas plow horse of the early 1950's.

 

Even though Georgia took us out back of the woodshed for a beating, the offense moved the ball. Sometimes with ease.

Unfortuneately, the moment was too big for OBD's, in all 3 phases of the game. However the offense was creative and different.

 

For the next 9 games the offense was fun to watch. The loss to Washinton was tragic. But for a few mistakes and lapses in judgement by the coaches, well we shoild have put 50 on those putrid dogs.

 

David, you are so right! The Utes will not be facing a one dimensional offense tonight. If Bo is even at 75% then the Utes will have their hands full.

 

If Bo can't play? The Utes will put 8 in the box and force Ty or Jay to beat them with their arms and legs. That's just part of football. At least this year the Ducks have Dilly's creative play calling. Just need a QB to execute those plays.......

 

GO DUCKS.........

Well wether Bo plays or not I feel Utah will score 31 to 45 points on the pourous Duck D. The Duck O needs to score and score often.

 

There's alot of talent on the Ducks offensive roster. They havent lost the ability or talent to score points. If needed, somebody has to seize the opportunity and step up. Step up and lead.

 

Going to be a great game with 2 top 15 teams going at it. Hope all the players avoid injuries and Utah has a quiet flight home.

 

Go Ducks........

This has been a great thread to follow. Very diverse comments, thoughts and opinions 

 

Just wanted to add that running the ball against Washington was possible because the putrid dogs had to respect Bo. They had to play defense against Bo's arm, legs and most of all his smarts. Once the Duck O came to the line, Bo assessed the D's formation and called the audible. Bo took what the dogs gave him. He never came to the line and saw 7 or 8 defenders in the box. With great O Line blocking the running lanes were wide open. Dilly and Bo's audibles made that possible.

 

If Ty starts, he will face 7 or 8 in the box. Running against Utah will be difficult because they will dare Ty to beat them with his arm and legs.  Running lanes will open up when Ty completes passes or scrambles for first downs. The more Ute defenders that are forced out of the box will open up the powerful Duck ground game.

 

Hopefully, DL and Dilly make adjustments that play into Ty's natural strengths. Like his arm, legs and athleticism. Roll him out, make those big fatties chase him in the 1st half. Tire them out. 2 back sets for blocking and dump offs. Coaches know better than me.

 

Turn this game into 7 on 7 and my money is Ty. Dump offs and check off to Oregons awesome backs, in space, should generate chunk plays.

 

Go Ducks.......

 

 

Alex, thank you for the article. You presented a great deal of "what ifs" to ponder. Personally there are too many layers to consider than can the Ducks beat the Utes without Bo Nix? Or can Ty play the best game of his life?

 

Even at full strength with the #1 offensive line and Bo healthy OBD's would have their hands full beating Utah. The pourous Duck D forces Bo and company to score on nearly every possession. This version of a Ducks Defense cannot be counted on to stop the Utes. A unit littered with 4 and 5 star talent, backed up with mostly 4 star talent cannot get off the field. It baffles me! And DL and his D staff have had spring ball, fall camp and 10 games to get those problems fixed.........

 

The better question may be can the Ducks beat a good top 25 team with this defense?

 

Alex, if Bo can't play, it will be a difficult and tall task for TT to generate first downs let alone touchdowns. This is not criticism directed at Ty. Cutting your teeth against the best, experienced HC in the PAC is a big ask.

 

Utah will pack the box and take the Oregon running game out. They will force TT to beat them with his feet, arm and quick decision making. Ty has the talent, feet and arm. He lacks the experience to read yhe D and make repeated quick decisions. Utah will do their best to keep TT and the offense from finding their tempo.

 

If Ty stays in the pocket and locks in on one receiver then we will see interceptions and pick sixes. Hopefully, Dilly will roll Ty out with a safety valve receiver. Make the Utes get tired chasing him. Short 4 yard passing completions are as good as a run.

 

If Bo can't play then I hope Ty has the game of his life. Hope Ty and the entire offense rallies behind him.

 

Better yet for a wish! I hope the 11 players who step on the field for the defense "shine"........

 

It's a team game D. Pull your weight and let's beat Utah. GO DUCKS......

Ty has all the physical tools to lead the team. However, he lacks almost 40 starts under his belt. He lacks the game time reps necessary to bring the offense to the line of scrimmage with Dillys play. Then in a few seconds, read the defense, bark out an audible and execute that play.

 

That key ingredient keeps defenses off balance........ Bo and Dilly, together, worked it to near perfection after the Georgia game.

 

That uneasy feeling i had earlier today, about Bo, has turned to into a knot in my stomach. But that's part of football.

 

For TT or JB the rubber may very well meet the road this Saturday. This Duck fan will support either one 100%.  This would be a great time for the future NFL players on the D to step up and meet their potential. That could be all the difference in a victory or a defeat.

I sure admire how Coach Lanning will not say anything negative about his players. Those players know that he and the entire coaching staff have their backs.

 

That sequence left me feeling a little uneasy about the health status of Bo. Nothing definitive just uneasy. Sure glad DL has confidence in the back up QB's............

 

Go Ducks. There is no tomorrow. Just Saturday against the Utes.

Thanks David for laying out the possibilities for the different paths to the PAC Conference Title Game.

 

Hopefully OBD's can dig deep and bring their execution levels up a notch. The PAC championship race is exciting for sure and fun to watch.

Sometimes painfully fun to watch.

 

Utah finally tasted a PAC title last year and they are defending that title very well. The Ducks, hopefully want it more this Saturday.

 

The only chance for a Duck victory is for Bo and Forsyth too play. And be able to play at a high level. Injuries and timing are a big part of football. True chanpions find a way to win.

 

GO DUCKS........

The Ducks high scoring, clock eating offense has bailed the defense out in more than a few games. The defensive weaknesses have existed since the spring game. Actually since the 2019 season... Probably going to be fixed beginning in spring of 23........

 

What wont need fixing is Coach Lanning's willingness to own the problems. DL and his staff are probably losing much needed sleep over a defense that cant pass rush, apply pressure, pass cover and get off the field on 3rd down.

 

However, win or lose, it's a team effort. Every play thru out the 60 minutes matter and contribute to the final score. Coaching mistakes or player execution? Offense, defense and special teams, well it doesnt matter. Its on the team....

 

What matters is the Utah game. I am confident that the coaches and players will work on those weaknesses and bring their A plus game on Saturday.

 

No one, i think can say they didnt see those players give everything they had. I am proud of the effort and grateful for this coaching staff. This season could have been much worse.......

Drex you make some good points and thanks for the topic which is timely and painful to ponder.

 

Personally i agree with Log Haulin that this is a player personell problem, not a coaching problem.

 

Let's go back to the Spring Game. All 3 QB's moved the ball, with ease and put up points. Almost 700 yards of offense. The coaches saw how easy it was to pass on the back 7. Now the D got a lot of touch sacks but the QB's were scramblimg away when they got touched. Both TT and JB torched the Duck D. Yet they cant make the field or execute on the field. At least 5 of the QB's we have faced will play on Sundays. We face another one this week. Any wonder our opponents can light that scoreboard up?

 

Whether this waved a red flag (with the coaches) or not, well i don't know. However the coaches moved forward installing the D scheme and teaching players responsibilty thru fall camp.

 

Then the brutal Georgia game. The Dawgs scored at will. The Ducks got no pass rush, didn't or wouldn't hold the edge and the D backs were repeatedly beaten. Nine games later we saw all that against the huskies, again. WTH? After the Georgia game, in a nice way, Coach Lanning said they installed to much, to soon for the D.

 

The coaching staff then backed off and went into a bend don't break scheme. So after all those practices and games the players cannot get the bend don't break system down?

Those 2 long TD's were on the players not the coaches. Players are responsible for their execution.

 

The Dawgs did not and do not play a bend don't break system. They attack, apply pressure and create chaos. Coaches coach and players execute. Coach Lanning and his staff have not forgotten how to coach. The players are struggling with execution. No knock on these players and yheir efforts, however they may not fit the scheme.

 

As fans, we may have been blinded by 8 straight wins and 40 plus points a game. That output covers a loy of weaknesses. We just didn't score 40 against the huskies. So we lost.

 

In spite of the pourous D the Ducks were one play from scoring 40 points and winning the game. That's all about coaching and execution.

 

Coach Lanning doesnt have to change coaches. Just recruit a few key players that fit his system. Or bring those players to Eugene via the portal.

 

GO DUCKS! Beat the Utes......

Lots of solid viewpoints on this thread. Much to ponder and maybe even rethink, for sure.

 

It's obvious that mistakes were made by coaches(their decisions) and players(their execution), alike. Sometimes you can overcome them and sometimes you cant.......

 

This was a can't situation...........

 

Sure saw alot of heart, will power and determination by the Ducks players. Yes, the loss was brutal but we can be proud of these young men!

 

IMHO, i don't feel Coach Lanning got out coached. Lanning and the offense took the air out of the ball in the 4th quarter. And Deboer and his staff had no answer.

 

The Ducks score a TD and the game is over. The Ducks stopped themselves. That was execution not coaching.

 

It never crossed my mind, until the final whistle blew, that we would lose that game. That game was all about 2 high powered offenses and who would outscore the other.

 

I feel The Ducks were out scored but not out coached.

 

GO DUCKS! Let's beat Utah.

 

 

Ducks 62-24

3

3

472 passing

 

Let's go Ducks D. Make this game your coming out party. Pick six, scoop and score.

GO DUCKS!

Spot on Alan, absolutely spot on.....

 

My wife asked me why i appeared so angry this week and yet had not stepped in it to deep with her once all week. ( normally very happy and always annoying her).

 

I reminded her this was husky week and that the stench from the north was headed to Eugene. That's a  great deal of you know what to clean up along the I-5 corridor.

 

Born and raised in Spokane (Cougar fan by geography) I hsve been forced to endure those pompeous, arrogant, self-righteous butt wipes since the late 1950's. GEEZ......

 

Alan, yoir article is yhe best ever at painting the true picture of what they are and what the represent. WELL DONE.......

 

Does anyone know if the current sleaseball president of usc was a husky? She sure displays all the traits of a dog......

Alex, your article covers all of the main reasons the Ducks will prevail against the huskies. One additional point is that the huskies defense is terrible. Teams, with less high profile players have had no trouble scoring a lot of points against the little dogs.

 

The huskies won 7 games because those teams couldnt score enough points. Just as uclasuck and ASU did the Ducks will score points and light up the scoreboard......

 

Truthfully, if Beavus had a passing attack they would have blown the huskies out of their own stadium.

 

Alex, while it may be telling to see OBD's come from behind in the 2nd half, well I sure hope we dont put ourselves in that position. At this point in the season the committee is looking for teams to dominate weaker opponents. IMHO, the huskies are a weaker opponent that the Ducks should dominate.

 

The huskies are a lot of other things but if i go there this post will get blocked and I would get a suspension. For certain.......

 

GO DUCKS! You can never score enough points against the leg lifting, academic prowessed, entitled, stench from the north to satisfy this old gray beard.

It's just a hunch but Coach Lannings family and their happiness may play a key role in the future.

 

DL has commented in interviews that he wants to plant roots for his family. Not move the kids around anymore and let them settle in.

 

When DL says he wants to stay at Oregon as long as he is wanted, well i believe him. His parents raised that young man right.

 

Win or lose he appears to be humble and cut from the cloth of previous Duck coaches. We are fortunate to have DL and the staff. 

 

GO DUCKS.....

This particular week brings so much joy. Husky fans will have to suffer and endure terrible traffic out of Seattle, endure terrible traffic thru Portland, suffer with slow traffic down I-5 to Eugene.......

 

Then endure a beatdown at the hands of this fun Duck team. Endure the humiliation of getting taken to the woodshed on national TV  Then head north and endure the reverse traffic snarls 

 

Just knowing they will suffer is icing on the cake. Unhappy husky fans make for happy Ducks fans.

 

Go Ducks.......

Losing early, very early is the best way to go. Especially on the road against the defending national champs. The committee has forgiven early season losses. If not, I am not sure the Ducks woild be ranked #6.

 

Late losses overshadow a weekone loss. But winning out is a must. Destroying  the next 3 opponents, with a combined win/loss record of 20-7 sure wont hurt.

 

The loser of tOSU/Michigan and Tennessee will be watching football while the Ducks play a top 10 usuck or uclasuck for a conference championship. That win and title will not be overlooked by the CFP committee. (A TCU loss wouldnt hurt)

 

Georgia winning out helps the Ducks.  Rece the know it all will have no say in it. Neither will Klatt. It may just be The Real Dawgs and The Ducks destiny to meet again in the CFP. Wouldn't you be proud of both teams?

 

HOWEVER: Winning out starts with beating that foul stench from the north. No other game matters.

 

GO DUCKS!

I wonder how many high profile games has Penix played in? How many big games have their O line played in, too?

 

The little doggies have put their numbers up against weak a$$ opponents. The only team they played with high level talent was ucla. The Bruins took them to the woodshed.

 

The game was on the road against the Bruins, in front of like 12 people. On Saturday they will face a legit top 10 team in front of 58,000 plus screaming fans. On the road......

 

Get Penix off his mark, disrupt his timing and turnovers will follow. This game should be a big time beat down. GO DUCKS!

DAZENCONFUSED..........WOW!

 

That was a thorough, detailed explanation of the coverage options that Coach Lanning can throw at the little dogs. Thank you.........

 

Getting pressure on and disrupting the timing for Penix is critical in this game.  Moving Penix off his mark should creaye opportunities for sacks and turnovers.

 

The little dogs can put up points. Everyime the Ducks defense stymies their offense good things will happen. The huskies will fall 7 more points behind and Bo and the O will chew valuable time off the clock.

 

Happiness is seeing the little dogs hang their heads and slump yheir shoulders. Especially as the continue a great husky tradition.

 

Losing to the Oregon Ducks......

David, thanks, good article. Generated some good comments and thoughts from the Forum members.

 

My thoughts on the TT subject are a bit mixed. Ty, i dont feel, has forgotten how to play football. He simply may not know to play football in Dilly's system. I try to remind myself that he is a true freshmen in this system. As is JB. Even experienced NFL QB's struggle in new systems.

 

The athletic ability, the arm strength

and competitiveness are still there. As many of the experienced coaches, on this Forum know, the lightbulb comes on at different times for different players.

 

Hopefully, these young men don't get discouraged. It is on them to earn their playing time. However there is nothing to be discouraged about in losing out to Bo Nix. He came in with 30 plus games experience and was deep in the learning curve.

 

I admire all the players who work hard for months to just get a few reps in a game.

 

GO DUCKS! Kick some husky tail..

DAZENCONFUSED, thank you for this well thought out, well organized and well explained article. The huskies can definitely score a bunch of points and they have a solid, experienced QB who can make NFL throws. Going to challenge our ever improving D for sure......

 

The huskies are 6-0 at home but just 1-2 on the road. They will definitely give the Ducks a hard fought game that may come down to the 4th quarter before its settled.

 

If the Ducks can pressure Penix and disrupt his timing then interception opportunities will be there for the taking.  A few sacks and a few turnovers by the Ducks D will have the huskies playing catch up all day.

 

Going to be a wide open game and a big challenge for the Ducks.

 

GO DUCKS........

I think it is natural to think that Coach Lanning's name, just like Dilly's, won't pop up with a number of head coaching searches.

 

It's okay and good for the coaches. Coach Lanning and staff picked up the Duck players after that brutal Georgia game and set them on the right course. The staff installed new systems (both sides of the ball) and developed the skills of the players. 8-1 and No.6 validates this.

 

Just as we watch the games and progress of OBD's, well so do AD's at schools in need of a coach. The more success the more AD's will watch. It's part of big time college football.

 

Auburn needs a HC in place ASAP......early signing day is in a matter of weeks. Do you really think Coach Lanning is available, anyway? This man is the type who finishes what he starts. Take your finger off the panic button. 

 

Auburn can pick from Hugh Freeze(Liberty), Matt Rhule, Bill O'Brien even Deon Sanders.  No big buyouts on Hugh or Deon. Matt and Bill are available immediately.

 

If Alabama was calling then I would be concerned. Just because Auburn plays football in Alabama, well they don't play football like Bama. The Tigers are a middle of the pack SEC team with a pretty thin cupboard. Boosters wont wait 3 or 4 years for a rebuild.

 

Oregon will be playing in their 4th straight title game. And Coach Lanning and staff will be getting a nice pay raise.

 

GO DUCKS! Beat the huskies....

Its time to put it all together and no better place to start than the dogs from up North.

 

70 points is achievable for Bo and this offense. But to me it appears that Coach Lanning likes to run the clock out on you rather than run up the score.

 

The look on Chip Kelleys face when he realized that he would not have enough possessions for his offense to catch the ducks.......priceless.

 

Charles you are correct that the D and special teams, too would need to light up the scoreboard.

 

GO DUCKS.......

I love the Ducks and I drink as much Duck Homer Ground Fresh Kool-Aid as possible, however, the Ducks D has some solid "holes" in scheme and experience that Stetson and those tight end super freaks will exploit.

 

As long as the Dawg D is on form then the Ducks will be playing from behind. That is not the Ducks strength. The Duck offense is impressive and piling up points against opponents with weaker defenses than the Dawgs. Hec, the Vols were piling up points, too.......until they faced the Dawgs and that nasty talented D.

 

I hope our Ducks run the table. Their SOS the next 3 games far surpasses the 3 SEC cupcakes the Vols play. That should be enough to leap frog the Vols and whoever loses between UM vs tOSU. Then a win in the PAC title game against a top 10 ranked uscuck or uclasuck will propel the Ducks into the top 4.

 

With a TCU loss Ducks could hit the top 3 spot. This Duck team can beat either tOSU or Michigan. If the Dawgs do their part then the Ducks will get the rematch in the Natty.

 

That would be exciting, for sure. I just don't have to be excited about being the last team standing in the way of a Dawg repeat. It wont be like playing Colorado, Arizona or Stanford. It will be like playing the defending national champions......again!

 

Make it happen Ducks and Dawgs!