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Monday, January 10, 2022

Oregon fans ready for the Dan Lanning experience after Georgia championship romp

 

Dan Lanning's Georgia defense throttled the Alabama Crimson Tide offense in a bruising 33-18 win in the National Championship Game Monday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs kept constant pressure on Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and forced two interceptions, the second one returned 79 yards for a touchdown by safety Kelee Ringo.

Ringo's Pick Six came on third and 10 with :54 seconds to play, icing Georgia's first national title in 41 years.

The Dawgs sacked Young four times and hurried him throughout. They held Tide tailback Brian Robinson, who gashed Cincinnati for 204 yards on 26 carries in the semi-final, to 68 rushing yards in 22 attempts.

In all, the Lanning crew held the SEC champs to a net 30 yards on the ground. Young connected with tight end Cameron Latu and wide receiver Jameson Williams on big pass plays, but Georgia's big, quick, physical Front 7 stiffened in scoring territory, holding their opponent to four field goals through three quarters.

Bama's only touchdown came after a fumble recovery at the Georgia 16. With 11:35 to go in the fourth quarter Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett rolled right, pressured by Christian Bennett. Trying to avoid the sack as he was being tackled he attempted a pass but lost control of the ball. Though it went forward, officials ruled it a fumble. 

The call stood after review and The Tide scored four plays later on a short pass to Latu.

In all, though, the game was a triumph for Lanning and the Georgia defense. In the league championship game they'd been embarrassed by the Alabama passing game while losing 41-24. This time they dialed up more pressure and showed better conditioning, holding the nation's number three scoring offense (41.4 points a game) to just 18 points.


The relentless D gave Bennett and the Georgia running game time to get untracked.

For Duck fans, the game was a glimpse into the new head coach's vision for his future defense at Oregon. Though it will take a couple of seasons to amass the kind of talent Georgia employs on a squad with 19 five-star players, the cupboard is not bare in Eugene. A unit led by Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe, Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae, Jeffrey Bassa, Bennett Williams and Christian Gonzalez can readily duplicate the pressure and aggressiveness against PAC-12 competition.

Monday's win in the rematch showed Lanning's ability to scheme, adjust and motivate. Already, recruits have taken notice.


Posted by Dale Bliss at 10:13 PM 0 comments

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Ducks lose again at the Alamodome


They call this the dead period, and for Dan Lanning and his new Oregon staff, it feels like it's almost time to visit Miracle Max.

Saturday morning at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Oregon suffered another decisive defeat, this time in the recruiting battle.

In a game full of top prospects from the 2022 class, Oregon had no breakthroughs, no commitments and no surprises.

MVP Rayshon "Speedy" Luke of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California announced he was choosing Arizona. He's a 10.5 sprinter with electrifying open-field moves, the closest thing this 2022 prospect group has to De'Anthony Thomas.

 

Jedd Fisch and the 1-11 Wildcats are kicking Oregon's butt in recruiting right now. The Wildcats have climbed to #22 in the Rivals Team Rankings after flipping Tetairoa McMillan in the early signing period and nabbing Luke today. They also grabbed another Duck target from the transfer portal, wide receiver Jacob Cowing of UTEP.

After 15 decommitments since the departure of Mario Cristobal, Oregon has fallen to 66th in the Rivals Team Rankings. The new staff is loaded with top recruiters, but they have a lot of work to do to avoid a lost year and damaging gaps in the future roster.

As the telecast unfolded and recruiting decisions were made, it got worse for the Ducks, a bit like falling behind 30-3 at halftime. Edge Rusher Cyrus Moss, a UO target who visited Eugene twice over the last year, chose the Miami Hurricanes. Dynamic wide receiver Kevin Coleman of St. Louis, Missouri shocked the college football experts by picking HBCU Jackson State, coached by Deion Sanders.

Coleman would have been a great pickup, fluid and super fast. Just this week Stephon "Boogie" Johnson decommitted from Oregon, leaving new wide receiver coach Junior Adams with zero new arrivals in his receiver room for 2022--McMillan, Coleman, Isaiah Sategna and Johnson, all gone.


The returning receiver candidates, Kris Hutson, Troy Franklin, Isaiah Brevard, Dont'e Thornton, Isaah Crocker and Seven McGee are all good players, a young group that had a good showing in the 47-32 loss to Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, but it's important to replenish the depth after losing Jaylon Redd, Johnny Johnson III, Devon Williams and Mycah Pittman.

That's a huge talent drain, especially when you consider that Lincoln Riley and USC nabbed Mater Dei 4-star wide receiver CJ Williams of Mater Dei. At the A-A Bowl Williams hauled in a touchdown bomb in the right corner of the end zone, then announced his college choice a few moments later.


It takes dudes to win in college football. Due to the unfortunate timing of losing a head coach just two weeks before Early Signing Day, Lanning and his new staff were placed in a very challenging position. After the National Championship Game on Monday, they'll immediately have to get to work on a salvage operation, patching and rebuilding a demolished recruiting class.

It'll be a bit like the aftermath of a hurricane.


Posted by Dale Bliss at 2:56 PM 1 comments
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