The Oregon football team came into the season ranked #3 in the country, but they struggled quite a bit on Saturday in their opener against Idaho. The Vandals are an FCS team, so they obviously weren’t given much of a chance heading into this matchup against the Ducks. However, they found themselves only trailing by three points in the fourth quarter.
Oregon football came into this game favored by 44.5 points, but they didn’t come even close to covering. Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter when Idaho scored a touchdown to make it 17-14. If the Vandals got a stop on the next drive, they would’ve had a chance to tie with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown. Oregon put together a nice drive, however, and they scored a touchdown to extend the lead back to 10.
The game started off well for Oregon as they got a quick stop on defense and they went down and scored a touchdown on their first drive. It looked like the Ducks were going to cruise like everyone expected them to, but they couldn’t get into a rhythm after that on offense.
If you just look at Dillon Gabriel’s numbers, you would think that the Ducks put up a lot of points and easily won. He finished the game 41-49 for 380 yards and two touchdowns. The fact that he threw the ball 49 times against Idaho and Oregon scored only 24 points is quite bizarre.
Based on the expectations for this Oregon football team coming into this game, this was an incredibly disappointing performance. The Ducks came into this season with aspirations to win the Big Ten, make the College Football Playoff and win a national title. They have a lot to clean up if they are going to achieve their goals.
Last season, Oregon was one of the best teams in college football as they finished the regular season 11-1. Their lone loss was to undefeated Washington, and the Ducks got a rematch with the Huskies in the Pac-12 title game, and they were big favorites heading into that game. A win in the Pac-12 title game would’ve punched Oregon a ticket to the CFP, but they couldn’t get it done against Washington again.
Still, last year was a good one for Oregon, and it set the expectation for this season. The Ducks obviously lost quarterback Bo Nix, so they went into the transfer portal and got arguably the best option at QB in Dillon Gabriel. The Ducks also had some issues on defense last year, and they attacked those weaknesses in the transfer portal as well. When all was said and done, the Ducks had one of the best transfer portal classes in the entire country.
Oregon is now in the Big Ten, and a lot of people believe that they can win the conference in their first year. Some people are starting to doubt the Ducks a little bit after Saturday’s showing, but Oregon did get the win on Saturday and it is very normal for teams to look a little sluggish in the season opener.
One of the biggest concerns about this game is that it was against Idaho. As an FCS team, the Vandals had no business coming into this game and hanging with the Ducks, but they did.
Now, Oregon has to move on and regroup for week two, and the road will get tougher as they will be taking on Boise State, a team that is expected to compete for a playoff spot as they are one of the top group of five teams. A win against the Ducks would certainly go a long way toward getting into the CFP.
There’s no doubt about it, Oregon has to play better this weekend to get a win against the Broncos. After the ugly performance against Idaho, here are a few things that Ducks fans should be a bit concerned about.
Offensive line
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The offensive line certainly made some mistakes on Saturday, and that is such a crucial part of success in the Big Ten. Teams that are good in the Big Ten are always extremely sound at the line of scrimmage, and Oregon didn’t really show that on Saturday. They didn’t run the ball well, and the offensive line was certainly a big reason why. The big fellas up front need to get more push.
Run game
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This goes hand in hand with the offensive line. Oregon football had 37 carries against Idaho and they racked up just 107 total yards. That is good for just 2.9 yards per carry. That is not going to cut it in Big Ten play. The offensive line was a big reason why the Ducks didn’t run the football well on Saturday. They definitely have to improve their run game if they want to compete in the Big Ten. They can’t get too one-dimensional.
Penalties
Penalties were a little bit of a concern on Saturday as well. Idaho had three penalties for just 15 yards, and Oregon had eight for 60. They have to keep their composure and they have to be sound on the procedural things. That is what good football teams do. Penalties are drive killers, and in a close game like that where they weren’t scoring a ton of points, penalties can be a game-changer. This is another thing that Oregon has to be better at this week when they play Boise State.
A sound offensive line, good run game and not committing penalties are all important factors necessary when it comes to winning conference championships and going to the College Football Playoff. Oregon football struggled in those areas on Saturday, but Ducks fans shouldn’t be too concerned at the end of the day. It was only week one, and there is a lot of time for this team to improve. It would be surprising if they don’t bounce back in a big way this weekend.
Oregon and Boise State will kick off in week two at 10:00 ET from Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. The game will be streaming on Peacock, and the Ducks are currently favored by 19.5 points.
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 15:00:00
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