The Week That Was

 

1. Offense: It was a workman's effort from the offense Friday night, jumping to a quick 21-0 and then essentially sitting on the ball for three quarters. The offensive performance was very similar to UCLA and Michigan State in a lot of ways, once again choosing to play vanilla offense for large portions of the move and take the W. More on the whole “style points” arguments later. Gabriel was his usual self, completing over 80% of his passes and giving Stewart, Tez and Sadiq opportunities with the ball all game. His Interception was both a bad read and bad throw, where he missed a wide open Justius Lowe behind the defense. The other negative play I logged was the first-half completion in the red zone to Jordan James, which resulted in the ball at the 1. Although it was probably a TD, and we eventually scored, he was way late on the throw which could have cost us. It was good to see us convert TDs in the red zone, but we have to continue to improve our passing attack in tight spaces as the field shrinks.

 

Overall, it was great to see Jordan James only have 10 carries and rest the entire 2nd half. I like what I saw from Jay Harris, and I thought Jayden Limar looked faster than I remember. The continued development of the RB2 position will be one to watch as the season progresses. Justius Lowe had another really positive game, and his progress as a 4th WR option is another big bright spot. Kenyon Sadiq only had two catches but you can see the type of athleticism he brings to the position, and even when Ferguson returns, I think he’s a priority target each game. While Ferguson has been an inconsistent block throughout his time, I love how willing Sadiq and true freshmen Roger Saleapaga are to stick their nose in and block. Both are going to be really versatile, good players for us next year. 

 

2. Defense (Good): As Dan said postgame, hard to argue when there’s a zero on the board. I feel like we’ve been so close to shutting teams out over the last three years, but great to see us finally finish the job late. It really speaks to the depth of the roster when our 2s and 3s are still dominating reps against a Big Ten starting offense. I’m playing the same tune again, but Derrick Harmon, Tritium Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei continue to play dominant football. Mayato specifically was really impactful in the zone read game, finishing with a sack and multiple TFLs. Not many teams in the country can lose a guy Like Jordan Burch and still have a dominant front. The secondary was another positive, allowing 93 yards through the air. We’ll see how the second half of the season goes, but I’m ready to eat some crow on Nikko Reed and Dontae Manning. I thought both would transfer in the spring, and when they stayed, saw them fighting for blowout snaps. Both are playing the best they ever have, and have earned every snap over Kam Alexander, Sione Laulea etc. 

 

3. Defense (Bad): We gave up 208 yards rushing on 40 carries. It’s fine, I’m not worried. I don’t think guys were out of place, and we certainly weren’t being pushed around. They ran a ton of QB-run concepts which opens up another threat that the defense must account for. If there’s any cause for concern, it was the tackling, which was probably the worst it’s been this season. I feel weird complaining about that coming off a shutout, but you heard Lanning reference this both at halftime and postgame. We are in the backfield a lot, and guys were typically in the right holes, just didn’t wrap up like we had been over the last month. Going into Illinois, another team that will try to establish the run, I hope to see a better game from the LBs specifically. Hoping that continued health and reps will get Jestin Jacobs back to the player he can be as right now I think it's clear he’s our 4th best LB. 

 

4. Style Points: As mentioned above, it’s obvious at this point that Lanning has made the decision that style points and final score matter zero. And I’m inclined to agree with him. As recently as last year, we saw us chasing points, and Nix TDs well into the 4th quarter. This year, we’re putting games into shutdown mode at halftime. We’ve now played three conference 2nd halves (UCLA, MSU and PUR), where we’ve gone into no-show mode, and just grinded out clock. From a coaching perspective, I think the shift comes down to a long season ahead and having no reason to put extra stuff on tape. This was obvious having watched the offense on display against Ohio State versus much of the play-calling we’ve seen in other matchups. I think the one coaching point Lanning would have is to play a little cleaner and truly put these games away before halftime. We had multiple chances this week to make it 28-0 or more in the second quarter and couldn’t capitalize, similar to UCLA. Rather than having Gabriel and the entire starting offense out there, the staff would much prefer to have the 2s getting opportunities and being the ones letting that clock run. Those late 1st half points are the ones that prevent Dante Moore from a half of game reps, to instead prioritizing his redshirt and running Austin Novostad out there.

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5. What it All Means: Not going to lie, I got kind of emotional moving to #1. 2009-2014 was a heck of a run, but I was unsure when/if we’d ever truly make it back to that level. 2016-2020 specifically was a stretch where I think many of us questioned our place in the sport, but here we are. After the happiness of #1 sank in, I next thought about that 2022 49-3 loss to Georgia and the growth to today. Coach Lanning is still young and there’s a lot of growth ahead. He’s got to beat UW, and we need to make a run in the playoffs. Nonetheless, he’s 29-5, and built an incredible roster and winner in Eugene. Three years ago, we were completely uncompetitive with Georgia, and even within that year, we became pretty dang elite. The last two seasons showed promise, but were equally as frustrating. Last season will forever go down as the most painful 12-2 season imaginable. Here we are at #1, and a schedule that sets up to have a great chance to run the table. As playoff scenarios continue to flow, it’s clear to me that matchups will ultimately determine what that final 4 looks like. Whether we get a favorable draw or the roughest one out there, it's pretty awesome to again be the top dog for at least a week.

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Game Notes

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• That combination of Tim Brando, camerawork and reviews was absolutely atrocious. I usually look forward to watching the replay, but that was rough. Hope the Big Ten demands better moving forward.

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• I thought Jeremiah McClellan, Kingston Lopa, Kam Alexander and Terrance Green all really popped in the 4th quarter and there’s probably some guys I missed. This defense is not going anywhere in the years to come with the type of athletes and size we have in the system.

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• Josh Conerly has been an absolute stud for the last month and is going to make it harder and harder to get him to return if he continues to play at this level. Once again, he was Dillon’s best friend Friday, keeping him clean, and curving out some big holes. The athleticism at his size is really rare.

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Team Update

 

2026 OL: Had a few questions about what 2026 could look like on the OL and here’s my best guess. Cornelius will go pro, and Harper is out of eligibility. Strother will have another year if his 2023 season is granted a medical redshirt. I’m asking for more clarity on that. Poncho will return at Center, and assuming they return to health, I expect Iuli and Bedford to have a leg up at Guard. If Strother is back, and Iuli takes one spot, Bedford does have experience at Tackle if needed. As discussed, Conerly will be a likely round 2-3 guy at this stage, and the question remains if he’d entertain a return with a big NIL package and try to work his way into round 1. We’ll be in the portal at OT, but I’ve heard good things about the development of some of the 2024 prep OL class. 

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Ferguson: I haven’t gotten an update this week, but was told a week ago that he had a good chance to only miss one game. I’m sure the staff feels we can win this game without him, but I think there’s a better chance than most are believing that he’ll go.

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Burch: Don’t expect him soon.

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Recruiting Update

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• Hayden Lowe is a name to track as signing day nears. Lowe, a USC DE Commit, is receiving some special treatment from Coach Lanning specifically, and I think we’re right there with SC heading into closing time. SC has some proximity and familial advantages, but I’ve learned that Dan v Lincoln is a pretty big mismatch. One to watch over the next month to see if he pops up on campus. 

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• TE recruiting is picking up, with four main targets heading into November. Many are familiar with Linkon Cure and Vander Ploog, but conversations continue with both Andrew Olesh and Nate Roberts. Ideally, we sign 2 of these 4, but I think we can survive if we only end up with 1. The development of Sadiq and Saleapaga really helps here, and I’m guessing we’ll look to the portal either way for a big blocking here anyways.

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• 2025 and 2026 QB: Some big developments over the past few days when it comes to the 2025 and 2026 QB Board. First, 2025 Cal QB Commit and major Oregon target Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele was offered by Georgia on Monday afternoon. That’s obviously a big offer, and the chance he sticks with his Cal commitment must be going down by the day. Given Oregon’s connections to Hawaii, and lineage at the position, I still feel we’re in the best spot if he decommits… if we have room….The reason being, as I write this, news is breaking that we are the current leader for 2026 QB 5-Star Jared Curtis. Many are wondering how that would impact the commitment of 2026 Top 100 Jonas Williams, but here’s what’s interesting. I’m hearing some serious chatter that Curtis may reclassify to 2025, which puts him firmly in play for our 2nd QB spot in the 2025 class. This is obviously a super fluid situation at this stage, but right now, my bet on our 2nd 2025 QB is 60% Curtis and 40% JKS. Stay tuned for more updates on this in the coming days. 

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Your $$ at Work​

We’re super grateful to all the new subscribers to Ducks Rising this football season. We are making huge progress as a collective in providing what this staff needs to compete at the highest of levels nationally, but still need more help. Please encourage your friends, families and colleagues who love the Ducks to subscribe as your $$ are making a direct impact in what you see on the field.

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Just as the returns of Jordan Burch, Tez Johnson, Terrance Ferguson and Ajani Cornelius were big for this year's squad, the same will be said for impactful returners for the 2025 season. Help us in making that happen again by contributing to Ducks Rising every month. 

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What’s to Come

Part 2 of my Interview with Oregon Chief of Staff Marshall Malchow dropped this week in the Ducks Rising Community on the Lockerverse App! In part 2, he talks about roster acquisition and retention and the role collectives play in those conversations. We encourage everyone to subscribe and check that out. 

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We had a great Purdue Gamer chat, and plan for this to be a weekly feature during football season. Join us for the Illinois Gamer in the Ducks Rising Community on Lockerverse this Saturday at 12:30 as the Ducks host the Illini at Autzen Stadium.

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