Pages

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Win or lose today, Dan Lanning remains the right choice as Oregon's head coach

 


This week sports reporter Nick Ursini of KEZI television in Eugene asked ESPN Game Day host Rece Davis if Dan Lanning needed a "signature win" today at Utah. Davis gave a thoughtful, common-sense answer:

About Lanning, Davis said, "I think he's got every characteristic you want for an elite coach. Do they need to win tomorrow? Well yeah, because they want to win championships."

Fan expectations have reached insane levels in this era of the college football playoff, NIL and the transfer portal. Used to be, the thinking was a coach needed three to four years to build a program and get "his players," the right guys for his system, the talent to compete.

In the midst of the one-year overhauls by LSU's Brian Kelly, USC's Lincoln Riley and Deion Sanders at Colorado, the pressure to win is almost immediate. At some schools, anything less than a playoff berth meets with grumbling and unrest.

Most Oregon fans like Lanning for his passion and effort, but some reserve judgment after the close losses in rivalry games, 0-3 now against Washington and Oregon State. As year two unfolds, there's an undercurrent of expectation that anything less than a conference title in Year Two represents failure.

That's unfair. After 20 games, Lanning is 16-4 as a head coach. His .800 winning percentage ranks 2nd all-time among Duck head coaches with 20 or more games, behind Chip Kelly at .868 (46-7). He's reached the AP Top Ten in each of his first 2 years (finishing 15th in Year One) and has had a top ten recruiting class in both seasons.

10-3 and a win in the Holiday Bowl over North Carolina is a solid debut for a first-time head coach, and he coached brilliantly in that bowl win, coming from behind in the fourth quarter.  For example, Nick Saban is widely regarded as the greatest coach in college football history. Saban was 6-5-1 in his first season at Michigan State, 8-4 in his first season at LSU, 7-6 in his first season at Alabama. Kalen Deboer, a hot commodity after his hot start over his first two seasons in Seattle, went 12-6 at Fresno State, his first job in the FBS.

Despite the quick-strike Social Media criticism, Lanning didn't inherit a turnkey squad from his predecessor in Eugene. Imagine the Oregon offense without Bo Nix and Bucky Irving, two players Lanning and his staff brought from the transfer portal. Similarly, the Oregon defense has been transformed via the portal. Khyree Jackson, Tysheem Johnson, Jordan Burch have given the unit backbone and a new toughness. Through recruiting and the portal, the coach has remade the roster in his first two seasons, instilling a culture based on authentic connection.

Consider that in two years, his teams have never had a flat game, a game where the effort and focus weren't there. They've lost games, but they've always been ready to play.

Lanning has recruited relentlessly and his staff decisions have been excellent. Carlos Locklyn, Tosh Lupoi, Will Stein, A'lique Terry, Demetrius Martin have all been exceptional hires. 

The Ducks are 6.5-point favorites in Salt Lake City today, and they are the more talented team. They have the more explosive offense. But both teams are good on defense, and Rice-Eccles Stadium is a tough place to play. In fact, the Utes have a 27-game home winning streak there. 

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is the acknowledged dean of PAC-12 coaches, renown for teaching discipline and toughness. He's won consistently, 84-36 since 2014, the best record in the league, a .700 win percentage, and the last two conference championships.

I fully expect the Ducks will win today, but even if they don't, they've hired the guy I believe will become the most successful coach in program history. He'll learn what he doesn't know, even if some of his bold decisions don't pan out.

Posted by Dale Bliss at 5:08 AM 0 comments

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Gambling? Aggressive? The crucial adjustment in mindset Dan Lanning has to make


 In the brief Dan Lanning era the Ducks are 0-3 in rivalry games, losing by 3, 4 and 3 points. In those they've had 6 Red Zone possessions that resulted in 0 points and they've gone 3-12 on 4th downs. 

Rivalry games are different. They tend to be close and tense. Points are precious. Field position matters more.

In all three of those games they led in the 4th quarter, outgained the opponent and won or tied in the turnover battle. As a team they must learn to finish these out--be two plays better, make better decisions and reads.

Decisions have a different weight in rivalry games, particularly because momentum swings are more powerful.  By the 4th quarter the Ducks had quieted Husky Stadium.  The failed fourth down gave the opponent life.

When a coach makes big decisions in critical moments, he has to know more than the math. He has to know how his team will respond and what's going to work. And he has to have the wisdom to learn from his own mistakes.

Posted by Dale Bliss at 10:23 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Wouldn't it be nice? Wilson Love provides the winning edge for Oregon's top ten units

 


It's never happened before. They're the only team in the country that's doing it.

Five games into the season, and Oregon is number two in the country in scoring offense at 51.6 points per game. That part was commonplace in the years of Chip Kelly and Marcus Mariota.

The rare part is that the defense is keeping pace. Currently Oregon's stingy, salty defensive unit is 8th in the nation in scoring defense at 11.8 points per game, 3rd in yards per play defense at 4.02 points per game.

They are the only team in the nation with a top ten offense AND a top ten defense, something Duck fans lamented for years. "If only our defense could keep up with our offense..." Now it does. This defense has muscle.

Credit goes all around. The coaches made some terrific off season portal moves to strengthen both units. Coordinators Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi have done a great job. The Ducks have excellent depth, particularly in the defensive line and secondary. That's kept them fresh. Even the fans have helped. The energy at Autzen Stadium and from the growing contingent at road games inspires greater effort.

But an underappreciated key in Oregon's 5-0 start and playoff contention is that this is, overall, the fastest, strongest and best-conditioned Oregon roster ever. Without fanfare or flamboyance, Wilson Love has transformed the Oregon strength and conditioning program.  Across position groups you will witness explosiveness, flexibility and functional strength.

On both sides of the ball, this is a physical team. Watch the surge and agility on this play by the defense during the Stanford game, from Jordan Burch (1) and Taki Taimani (55).

Even Oregon's wide receivers display improved strength. All season Troy Franklin and Traeson Holden have driven through defenders for first downs, delivered the blow to a tackler, like in the photo above.

It takes strength and explosion to make a catch like this touchdown from tight end Terrance Ferguson against The Cardinal, pulling the ball down over a defender. At the same time, nine months in the weight room provides the leverage and push the Oregon offensive is getting at the line of scrimmage, standing up the Stanford defense.

Posted by Dale Bliss at 4:58 AM 0 comments

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Ducks shake off first quarter lethargy to stun Stanford, 42-6

 


On a Saturday when the PAC-12's two other 5-0, top-ranked teams struggled to put away opponents on the road, the Oregon Ducks stumbled early but surged through the last three quarters to best Stanford in Palo Alto, 42-6.

It was a game that started with eerie portents and a creeping familiarity. Oregon struggled out of the gate while the hosts put together two long field goal drives, choking the clock. After The Cardinal's Joshua Karty nailed a 53-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter they led 6-0. Stanford had 120 yards of offense in the first fifteen minutes of the game. The Ducks had run just three plays, gaining a total of six yards. Bo Nix missed an open Tez Johnson on a deep shot on third and 4.

With their opening possession of the second quarter the Ducks misfired again. Bucky Irving ran for four, Nix was flushed out of the pocket and missed Irving down the right sideline, on a throw he didn't have time to set his feet and bounced to his receiver, then threw underneath to his running back again on third down, stopped short of the sticks. Oregon chose to punt on 4th and three, their second three and out in two possessions.

A sack by Evan Williams got the defense off the field in 5 plays.

It was 9:08 of the second quarter before the Quack Attack made a first down, on a keeper to the left side by Nix. That led to a six-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. Nix hit the ever-reliable Troy Franklin for 13 yards, then Jordan James busted loose behind Josh Conerly and Marcus Harper II for a 13-yard run followed by a 30-yard touchdown run and a 7-6 lead.

Jordan Burch burst through the line on third and five to tackle Lake Oswego product Casey Filkins for a loss and Stanford went three and out.

Ahead now, Nix and the offense found their rhythm, driving 75 yards in six plays. Nix hit Franklin on passes of 15, 12 and 11 yards, Irving ran for 11, then on 2nd and 4 from the Stanford 17, he performed a shake, bake and stiff arm to power his way for a TD, again behind the duo of Conerly and Harper.

The Ducks led 14-6 at the half. After his early struggles Nix settled down to complete 12-15 passes for 96 yards, and the Oregon o-line powered Irving and James to 94 yards and the two touchdowns, 10.2 yards a carry. Burch spearheaded the defensive effort with 5 tackles, two of them for loss. Williams, Khyree Jackson and Mase Funa all had sacks. After their 120-yard start Stanford managed just four net yards in the second quarter. 

The pattern continued in the second half. Unleashed now, the Oregon offense would score six unanswered touchdowns, 4 second half TD passes by Nix, two to Troy Franklin, a back shoulder throw high over the defender to Troy Franklin, then a slant zipped to Traeshon Holden with 11:33 to go in the fourth quarter to reach 42-6.

Stanford would not score again, the defense getting back-to-back sacks from Bay Area product and true freshman linebacker Jerry Mixon and then veteran Brandon Dorlus. Dontae Manning and Nikko Reed made nice plays in the secondary. Ty Thompson took over at quarterback. The Ducks reached the Cardinal 31, then took a knee twice to end the game.

After the game Dan Lanning told the press, “We started off a little slow, but we kicked it into gear. I thought our guys responded. We just had to get through that lull to start."

They'll probably need a stronger start in two weeks when they face UW in Seattle. The Huskies reached 5-0 in the PAC-12's nightcap by edging Arizona 31-24 in the desert. In Boulder, Colorado USC jumped out to a big lead then hung on to beat the Buffs 48-41. Shedeur Sanders shredded a suspect Trojan defense for 371 yards and 4 TDs; Colorado piled up 564 yards of offense, but Caleb Williams threw six touchdown passes to win the shootout.

Those are matchups for another day. In Palo Alto the salty Oregon defense churned out 5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss to establish itself as the league's most dominant. The Ducks outgained Stanford 506-222 and they were perfect in the Red Zone. Three times the defense stopped them on fourth down.

Posted by Dale Bliss at 5:03 AM 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)