We can take a lot away from the Oregon Ducks Week 1 win over the Idaho Vandals, and formulate a lot of opinions based on what we saw, but ultimately, the first thing that head coach Dan Lanning told us after all was said and done sums it up about as well as you can.
“Different from what we thought it might look like,” Lanning said bluntly.
That’s putting it lightly, for sure. Oregon looked nothing like the national championship contenders that we were expecting to see, but much more like a squad that will struggle offensively in the Big Ten and rely on their defense to win a lot of games.
Of course, it’s only Week 1, so it’s important not to overreact to what we’ve seen so far and know that the talent and coaching acumen is still there in Eugene to take this team deep into the season. We just need to see improvement going forward.
At long last, though, we’ve gotten to see some action on the field and assess where the Ducks are right now. Here’s a look at the players who saw their stock rise or fall the most in Week 1.
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Let’s at least start this out on a positive note. Former Duke transfer Brandon Johnson looked really good for the Ducks, racking up three tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, and 1 interception. He finished the day with the second-highest grade of all defenders, according to Pro Football Focus, and gave confidence to Oregon fans that the secondary is in a great spot this year.
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Now we turn to Ajani Cornelius, who looked like a shell of the 2023 version of himself. A year ago, Cornelius was among the best right tackles in the nation, going the entire season without allowing a single sack. On Saturday, though, Cornelius gave up a pair of sacks in the game, one of which caused a fumble. He still ended the game with the highest blocking grade on the team, per PFF, but it was a far cry from the type of games that we saw from Ajani a year ago.
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We were expecting big things from Matayo Uiagalelei coming into his sophomore season, and he absolutely delivered on those expectations. The EDGE had three tackles and two sacks in the game, continually making his presence felt in the backfield and getting pressure on Idaho’s quarterback. There are a lot of talented edge rushers on Oregon’s roster, but Uiagalelei is proving himself to be elite early on.
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Considering the expectations and the opponent, this was undoubtedly the worst showing from a Dan Lanning team during his time at Oregon. The Ducks closed as 49-point favorites over Idaho, and they led by just three points early in the fourth quarter, looking completely unprepared for most of the game. Lanning has routinely gotten his team up for all games, not just the big ones, so it came as quite a shock to see the Ducks so lifeless in this season-opener.
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It looks like Tez Johnson can be great even without his adopted brother Bo Nix under center, huh? Oregon’s WR1 was spectacular on Saturday, catching 12 passes for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It’s beyond clear that Johnson is the go-to target for Dillon Gabriel given his 13 targets in the game. It’s also clear that Johnson is among the most talented WRs in the nation, and should have a monster year ahead of him.
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Is anyone surprised that Bryce Boettcher had a big game and led the team in tackles? Personally I can’t say that I am. Boettcher got the start for the Ducks in place of Jestin Jacobs — more on him soon — and had five tackles to lead the defense. As usual, he was flying around and making plays and could have a bigger role on the defense than we might have originally expected.
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Speaking of Jestin Jacobs, where was he in this game? All offseason, the Oregon defense has been billed as a strong unit led by both Jeffrey Bassa and Jacobs, but neither of them had a big impact in this game.
Jacobs played just 7 total snaps on the game, most of which came in the second half. I’m not sure if it was due to an injury or disciplinary reasons, but I was shocked at how little Jacobs was on the field.
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It was Dontae Manning who got the start opposite of Jabbar Muhammad on Saturday afternoon, and the former 5-star cornerback looked really solid in his time on the field, racking up two tackles on the day. As a player across from Muhammad, Manning is going to be tested often this season, but he held his own in that position on Saturday.
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Publish date : 2024-09-01 07:01:00
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