By Travis Rooke-Ley, Wednesday October 30th
Ducks Rising: The Inside Look
The Week That Was
1. Offense: Hard to complain about anything offensively when you score five first half TDs. Similarly to UCLA, MSU and Purdue, I think it's important that we separate the offensive performance into competitive time versus garbage time to assess the unit. For the 4th conference game out of five, the game was in hand at halftime and we saw a very limited and toned back offense come the second half. Good problem to have. As far as the first half goes, Gabriel was his usual self; 16 for 20 with 3 TDs and the offensive line completely controlled the game. We ran the ball efficiently, and again gave Jordan James a light work day. I’ve given Noah Whittington a hard time this season, but this was his best game since 2022. He looked strong, fast and decisive and his continued health back from injury is a big development as the season progresses. As Justius Lowe and Kenyon Saqiq grow into bigger roles, the weaponry at Gabriel’s disposal is as good as any team out there. It’s crazy to score 5 TDs in the first half against a good team with your starting TE out, 2nd WR only catching one ball, and 3rd WR mostly benched. Our offensive versatility and balance is going to be a problem as the season goes, and I loved the way in which Stein constantly kept the Illini on their toes. We saw new run game wrinkles and misdirection, TE bubble screens and sweeps to Sadiq, misdirection screen to Herbert, throwback to Tez, just to name a few. As long as we continue to play clean when it comes to turnovers and penalties, few teams will slow us down.
2. Defense: This unit is moving towards becoming the best Oregon defense I’ve seen in my lifetime as a fan. We broke into the top ten of scoring defense nationally this week, and as I touch on below, this could easily have been a second straight shutout. There are just a ton of players playing at a great to dominant level right now. Beyond the talent, the experience of our entire defense is leading to the best assignment football of the last 15 years. Specifically within our secondary, we are glued to receivers and I can barely count the number of truly open completions over the last month. Despite losing arguably our best player in Jordan Burch, we haven’t missed a beat and Matayo Uiagalelei is playing the best football of his career. His ability to play the read-option game and contain running threats over the past two weeks has been impressive. That’ll play again this week when Michigan brings in Alex Orji for their run-heavy sets.
3. Young Guns Stepping Up: I wanted to use this section to shout out a few players that have made huge developments this year. Justius Lowe is really playing great, and it was fun to see him score his first TD and make another really good contested catch late in the second quarter. He also is a really good blocker, and is holding up against LBs and DEs incredibly well. On that same note, Kenyon Sadiq is really damn good. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands, but he’s similarly turning into a dominant blocker. His block on the Illini DE that sprung Noah’s long TD was big-time. He’s making Ferguson’s absence a lot more attainable each game. Defensively, Amauri Washington is in the backfield so much. He gets off the ball really fast, and blows up at least 3-5 plays each game. His continued play is going to lead to some early round NFL discussion as a true junior next season. He would start for 99% of teams in the country based on his play so far. Lastly, Sione Laulea’s late interception marked back-to-back weeks with a great defensive play by our reserve CBs. I think we went years where our starters never seemed to turn around and play the ball, and now seeing our reserves do it is great to see.
4. Look Ahead to Michigan: Honestly, I think there’s a bit of overconfidence from the fan base heading into Ann Arbor this week. I know Michigan has really struggled on offense all season, but I disagree with those expecting to roll in and blow them out without sweating. I do think that’s possible, and if it happens, it will be because we dominated the first quarter. Michigan is similar to some past Stanford teams in that their success is really predicated off whether they are playing from ahead or behind. Their offense lacks playmakers and dynamism, especially at WR, and getting them in multiple score hole will really limit their ability to move the ball. On the other hand, if they are ahead or in a close game, their ball control and QB run game can work in shortening the game. I assume that will be their plan, and it’s why I expect the Ducks may choose to take the ball if they win the toss and try to get an early lead. Michigan’s defense is definitely the second most talented unit we’ve faced, and they have top-end NFL talent at every level. Specifically, they have probably the best DT tandem in the country, and the potential #1 overall pick in CB Will Johnson. However, Johnson missed last week’s game and is questionable this week. Overall, I think the first 20 minutes or so of game time will determine which route this game takes. If we can jump to a 10-0 or 14-0 lead, I think we’ll handle them without much stress. I think our defense will clamp down and make it very hard to move the ball from behind. Alternatively, if this game is close like 10-10 in the second quarter, I think we’re in for a ballgame. This is a big swing game for them, and they’ll pull out all the stops to keep the crowd in the game, and make it a game late.
5. National Thoughts: This 12-team playoff is really making the national discussion interesting. Specifically to Oregon, the scenario game has begun and it’s crazy the wild swings in draws you could get as the 1 or 2 seed. Just today, I saw scenarios matching us with the winner of ND-Indiana (great), and then five minutes later playing the winner of Ohio State-Alabama (not great). What’s clear is that no matter how special of a season this turns into, the stress of that selection show is real. It’s wild that we could go 13-0 and there’s a chance that both the 5 and 6 seeds have a clearer path to the title game than us.
Game Notes
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I will cherish the day and moment when we finally get a holding call to our advantage. I count 5-10 times every game where Matayo, Harmon or Washington gets held in the backfield and yet can’t recall one going our way this season. Could this be the week?
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Speaking of officials, they had a rough game. There were multiple uncalled delays of games on Illinois that were uncalled due to “official timeouts”. They also cost us a TD fumble recovery by calling a play dead. Lastly, they picked up a clear block in the back on the one long run we gave up all game. Not surprisingly, we gave up points on that drive.
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One call they did get right was Harmon’s terrible late hit penalty that eventually resulted in their only TD. Just have to be smarter there, and that can't happen in a bigger game.
Team Update
Ferguson: I think that Terrance could certainly go this week, and probably could have even played last week if it were a playoff game. With how well Sadiq and Herbert are playing, I think you’ll see the staff continue to play the long game with his health and give him time to get 100%.
Burch: Same goes here. Ideally you have him for Wisconsin, but if that’s a stretch and he’s not 100%, I bet we wait until after the bye.
Redshirt/Medical Decisions: I think you’ll see some strategic roster decisions as the season gets deeper when it comes to Gary Bryant, Dave Iuli, Matthew Bedford, Jahlil Florence, Dave Iuli and a few others. At this point in the season, there’s a calculus to be made about how much a guy can help this season vs how another full season can help our roster down the line. Point being, there’s more than simply health that goes into these decisions as the season gets deeper.
2025 Roster: On that note from above, it is clear that the 2025 roster has the chance to look very different, especially on offense. I think the staff is prioritizing returning as much experience on that side of the ball, with the expected early NFL entrants and graduations at QB, RB, TE, WR and OL. With Dante Moore the presumed QB in 2025, you’d like to go into that season with as much proven and experienced talent at his disposal. I expect we’ll push to offer some big $$ to get a few guys to return, and then supplement in the portal. As of now, I look for a push to get Stewart and Conerly to return, with James being a wild card. RBs have a short shelf-life so I don’t blame him if he jumps at a chance to join an NFL roster.
Recruiting Update
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QB Dominos: While I was initially told a reclass option was likely for Jared Curtis, I’m now told that it's unlikely. With that known, I think we’ve begun our push for signing JKS as our 2nd QB in the 2025 class. As of now, I’d say it's 50/50 at best that he makes his UGA official in November, and I know the staff is pushing for him to flip in the next couple weeks and shut things down.
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TE Update: It’s well-documented by now that we’re in a good spot for Vander Ploog. I consider him essentially part of this class, so at this point, it’s looking at who will be the second TE in this class. Between the three big fish in play (Cure, Olesh, Roberts), I’d rank their likelihood in that same order. Pay close attention to if Cure pops up on campus for the Maryland or Washington games. If we can get him to Eugene, I think the odds turn in our favor.
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2025 Close: This will be an eventful and exciting close to the class for Duck fans. As frustrating as it can be to have a staff that is so tight-lipped, understand the value and benefit that it has. I can specifically think about two position groups right now where we have targets that aren’t even being discussed. Trust the staff, and pay close attention to who pops up on campus in November as that’s your best clue into the players being prioritized late. The last month is where your best offer, and last pitch tends to happen, and no one has proven to have more success close to signing day than Lanning.
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2026: I don’t say this lightly, but I am very confident this will be our best class ever.
Your $$ at Work
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With the new influx of subscribers, we are working with the staff and continuing conversations on what they need and where we can support. Given their continued impact and development on the field, we’re excited to be able to continue to support guys like Devon Jackson and Justius Lowe.
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What’s to Come
We’ve made some exciting updates to the Ducks Rising Community on the Lockerverse app over the last week. You can now access all of our exclusive videos with Marshall Malchow, Terrance Ferguson, Tez Johnson and JPJ. Look for part 3 of my interview with Marshall later this week as well. We are also working on adding all previous editions of The Inside Look to that same landing page on the Ducks Rising Community page, and hope to have that added by the end of the week.
Also, please look for the free link to our Michigan Game chat in the community this Saturday at 12:30pm. Encourage your friends and family to download the app and join us during the game!
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