mikethehiker

Play 6 is 3:31 in the 3rd quarter, 2nd and 5 at the Wisconsin 10. I believe it’s Devon Jackson this time doing a very nice job of beating the block and filling the gap at the line of scrimmage for a very nice tackle.

Play 5 is 11:52 in the 3rd quarter, 2nd and 15 at the Wisconsin 31. Tight end #88 for Wisconsin crashes down on our defensive end and then kicks out our linebacker to open a perfect hole for a play that didn’t look like it was designed to go that direction. Thieneman again to the rescue and a massive gain of 18 yards.

Play 4 is 0:50 in the 2nd quarter, 3rd and 5 at the Wisconsin 38. We have a chance to get the ball back with a stop and a timeout, but Wisconsin gets a great push up front and our linebackers again are easily blocked downfield by linemen. Run goes for 6 yards and a first down.

Based on recent history, if you had told me before the season started that Oregon leads the nation in fewest passing yards allowed per game after 8 games, I would have said we must be on our way to our first national championship. Pass defense when it matters most, has been our Achilles heel limiting many great seasons. Well, here we are at #1 in the country averaging a mere 124.6 passing yards per game. Although it’s harder to follow backend defenders while watching on TV, I am relieved when teams choose to pass against us and nervous when they elect to run. In addition to our phenomenal corners and safeties, there are no better linebackers I’d rather have in pass coverage. They are playing outstanding football! However, our run defense is still an area for improvement. We are not terrible by any stretch as we rank #27 in FBS at 114.8 yards per game. As good as our linebackers are in pass coverage, it seems to me they struggle against the run. But there are likely a number of factors at play. Analyzing plays over and over again, I came away with a real appreciation for how quickly players have to diagnose and react to plays and how critical instincts are at game speed. It’s a long two weeks between games, so I took some time to include a few key running plays below from our last game vs. Wisconsin for analysis. I’ve added some observations and would love to hear the thoughts of others as we seek to learn more. Play 1 is 15:00 2nd quarter, 2nd and 5 from Wisconsin 28. Between the left end and left LB, we simply don’t set the edge, and the running back goes for close to 10 yards. D-Line holds their gaps well and this seems like a very preventable play. Play 2 is 11:35 2nd quarter, 4th and inches at the Oregon 43. Seems like we’ve got this one well covered. Handoff goes to the fullback, and Boettcher just misses the tackle. Thieneman then holds on for dear life and another 9-yard gain. Play 3 is 10:25 2nd quarter, 2nd and 20 at the Oregon 44, still the same drive. On this play, Wisconsin O-Line won their battles across the board. They hold our lineman in check and each of our linebackers are easily picked up by offensive linemen hustling downfield to block. First contact is 4 yards downfield, and the gain goes for 7 yards. I appreciated Uiagalelei’s discipline here to set the edge with the motion man and then check the QB before committing to backside pursuit.

Hope Oregon cleans up on a few recruits and transfers. We can be very picky.

It was great Duck weather!!

I think OBD are going to learn more from these experiences than games like Rutgers. Very grateful that Stein made the adjustment and stuck with the ground game. We can’t see what Dante is seeing down the field, but it doesn’t seem like he knows where he wants to go with the ball or what matchups he has when he calls for the snap. Is Stein calling plays with a less experienced QB in mind, or is he still running an offense for the two QB’s with the most games ever played? It would be interesting to compare the average release time from the last three seasons. Dante seems to get rattled a bit after those early sacks. I’m not sure why we have him running as much as he has with the 8 capable running backs we have.

We need more adversity and in-game adjustments. I hope Iowa, USC, and Washington provide some resistance. With the old PAC-12, every team was frisky every Saturday. In the B1G, half of the teams in the conference are dead on arrival. No wonder Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State coasted every year.

Miami wasted so much time on the final drive. They had two timeouts in their pocket. In field goal range; just run the ball!!! Or maybe take a shot at the end zone with play action. This is just as bad as the other Mario losses. Beck has already thrown 4 interceptions (1 taken away due to a terrible roughing call). Mario is money losing these games.

Add another loss for Miami. It’s extremely difficult to win consistently in college football anymore. Oregon is an exception. At least we only lose to teams playing in the national title games. We’ll see where Indiana ends up. There’s a good chance Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana finish 1-2-3 if we all win out going into the B1G title game. I think the SEC champion finishes with 2 losses again.

Sorry to hear about the rough week David. Hope you’re feeling better now. I knew right after the Penn State win that I was VERY glad OBD had an extra week to gather their emotions. Evidently, it wasn’t enough.

I wanted to write this post prior to the Indiana game this past Saturday, but I didn't want to jinx the game. Due to a family function, I only caught the opening series for each team but the game had an eerie feeling from Indiana's first sack on the first play. Even prior to the Ducks running out from the tunnel. The low energy, the grey clouds, the lack of fire, the poor prep from the first snap - everything seemed off. This weekend was the two year anniversary of our last regular season loss - by far the longest streak in college football and longest streak in Duck history(?). Our Ducks now have one regular season loss in the past two calendar years. In this day and age, bad football games happen to even the best teams. What Oregon has accomplished over the past 24 months in the regular season is close to impossible. Let's take a look at what the very best in college football have accomplished in the last two calendar years since the Ducks last lost a regular season game on October 14, 2023 (all regular season losses): Oregon - 1 loss (#3 Indiana 20-30) Ohio St. - 3 losses Texas - 3 losses Georgia - 3 losses SMU - 3 losses Memphis - 3 losses Alabama - 4 losses Mississippi - 4 losses Notre Dame - 4 losses Boise State - 4 losses Miami - 5 losses Missouri - 5 losses Penn State - 6 losses Indiana - 6 losses Tennessee - 6 losses LSU - 6 losses Texas A&M - 6 losses Michigan - 7 losses Washington - 7 losses BYU - 7 losses Clemson - 8 losses Arizona State - 8 losses Illinois - 8 losses Oklahoma - 9 losses South Carolina - 9 losses This loss to Indiana stings! Coaches and players have a lot to learn from it. Maybe we do, too, as fans. However, there has never been a better, more prosperous time to be an Oregon Duck fan. Let's fight like crazy to finish 11-1 and start another long streak!

Ducks 41-10 2 turnovers 4 sacks 209 passing yards

Student athletes and coaches both should have to sit out a year when they transfer to another FBS program with the exception of graduate transfers who can play immediately. I know what the ramifications are and I think they're healthy.

Oklahoma is getting a lot of mileage for their win over a mediocre Michigan team at home. They are no where near top 5 in the country.

Before the last two drives of the 4th quarter, PSU had a total of 67 passing yards and 67 rushing yards. That's astounding!!! I was pleasantly surprised with our overall defensive performance, particularly in the ground game. Our tackling was superb! It would be very difficult to find a more dominant D-line performance by OBD in a big game like this. I was surprised at just how bad Drew Allar was Saturday night with making decisions and throwing accuracy. His long TD pass was an absolute dime though. Penn St. had some success running late, but almost all of it was Drew Allar on QB sneaks or busted plays. Even on the last drive, if you take off 20 (3rd and 9) and 8 (2nd and 10) yard scrambles from Allar, we were still holding PSU under 3 ypc (9 for 25 yards). They just had two big 4th down conversions (one was initially stopped short). Most of their rushing yards came from obvious or most likely passing downs.

Penn State 24-13 0 turnovers 1 sack 240 passing yards I hope I'm dead wrong, but 2 weeks to prepare and a must win situation for Penn St. They shorten the game and play mistake free. Oregon plays solid but makes a few mistakes (e.g. untimely turnovers or drive killing penalties) in a tough environment. Tough learning opportunity for a young team. Now I'm depressed already.

Ahhh. I appreciate the nuance with the rollout. Maybe the author took that same factor into account.

I think we have had one sack. It was in the 3rd quarter against Oregon State. I remember thinking when it happened, "Oh well, get the first one out of the way." With the one exception of the Rose Bowl last year against Ohio State (8 sacks), Oregon has had an unprecedented run of protecting the quarterback. 2022 - 5 sacks (#1 in FBS) 2023 - 5 sacks (#1 in FBS) 2024 - 13 sacks (#10 in FBS minus 8 sacks vs. Ohio St. We also gave up 3 sacks to Idaho, and 4 to Boise St.) 2025 - 1 sack (#2 in FBS)

Charles, I'm so sorry you won't make it to the game. I know you had to have been looking forward to this for many months. Praying for the pain to quickly subside and for increased mobility. I so appreciate all the work you do for this forum.

I like our chances much better on defense without TE Tyler Warren on the other side. It really wreaks havoc on a defense when you have to pay so much attention to one player AND you don't have the personnel to neutralize him. Hopefully, no more double teams, bracket coverage, or otherwise leaning the defense towards that player. Just let the boys pin their ears back and play. I know they have other great skill players, but I like our backend much better this year. Offensively, play calls have to get in quickly and our offense should presume they will not be able to hear a word. I wonder if we might sneak in a little more no-huddle and two-minute. Why give the crowd another 40 seconds to ramp up before every play? Neither team has had to play deep into a 4th quarter. So wear the defense out and don't let them substitute. Let's flip the script and outrush them. And please, if you have a chance to take your first 3 points on the road in a big game and hostile environment - KICK THE FIELD GOAL! I don't care what the score is. Put points on the board. (Only exception to this is down 4+ with under 2 minutes to play). All the pressure is on Penn St. Stay ahead of the chains. Stay ahead on the scoreboard. If they don't win this with their upcoming trip to Columbus looming, they are staring at a road playoff game.

I'm glad we don't have to play us at Autzen 😄 Yes, there have been some wild environments in our old conference. Fans can cause the home team to get frisky and turn what should be easy games into nightmares.

This week, OBD will face a harrowing task going into white out conditions at Beaver Stadium for a prime time, Top 5 battle with Penn St. This venue should not be underestimated in a way that Ohio St. appeared to have underestimated Autzen last year. The question I have is whether this Saturday will be the toughest road environment the Ducks have ever played in? I think it could be. There is bound to be some recency bias, but here are some potential previous candidates and reasons why I don't think they reach the level of this Saturday: 1) Anything prior to the 1990's - were the Ducks ever good enough to command the attention of a frothing fanbase like a Top 5 battle warrants? Did fans froth prior to 1990's like they do today? (Just kidding - I know they did). Also, I'm looking for good Duck teams where it was clear the venue affected their play and they weren't just overmatched. 2) Any Pac-8/10/12 venue. I have to be careful here, because if I discount Pac-12 venues, it throws some shade on Autzen as well. We all know smaller stadiums can still affect games in significant ways. There have been some wildly difficult conference road games like Washington (2023), Arizona (2009, 2013), Utah (every night game), Arizona St. (every night game), Cal or USC in early 2000's, or Washington St. (2018). But do any of them rise to the level of Beaver Stadium this Saturday? 3) Michigan (2007, 2024) and Tennessee (2010) - these are two of the largest venues the Ducks have played in, but the games ended up being uncompetitive and it turned out the teams were going in different directions. 4) Nebraska (2016), Michigan St. (2015), Boise St. (2009), Oklahoma (2004) - All tough road losses. 5) "Neutral" Site Games - Auburn in the natty (2010-2011), LSU (2011), Auburn (2019), Ohio St. in the natty (2014-2015), Georgia (2022) all proved to be virtual road environments, but not quite at the level of playing in Death Valley or Athens. 6) Ohio St. (2021) - We all have to admit that Ohio St. fans were not quite awake for this game. We came in under the RADAR, took the crowd out early and earned an awesome road win. Are there any other candidates for the toughest Duck road environment ever?

I agree with Charles that this team is still very young and has a ton of upside to improve by the end of the year. I was paying very close attention to run defense today and I do have a concern at the linebacker spot and I’m not sure what we can do about it this year. Boettcher plays his heart out and makes a ton of plays, but he misses some, too. And who’s after Boettcher? Jackson is consistently blocked. I watch Boettcher come across the field to make plays on Jackson’s side. Mixon is coming on, but I still see only 2 tackles. If we send Boettcher on a stunt, who cleans up behind him? Overall A for effort, but I’m not sure we have true, natural linebackers. I hope Tosh can coach these guys up.

Improved run defense. We shouldn't need run support from the secondary unless the numbers dictate it. Gap control, beating blocks, setting the edge, staying low, and improved tackling where the pile doesn't keep falling forward for 2-3 extra yards. Save the stunts for next week.