Joel Klatt worried about Oregon’s early struggles: 'I think that there is some real concern'
Oregon has defeated its first two opponents this season by a combined 13 points. The Ducks were an 18.5-point favorite last weekend alone, and they barely escaped an upset-minded Boise State team that came into the year as the Mountain West favorite.
The week before that, FCS Idaho gave head coach Dan Lanning’s squad all it could handle. Oregon got out of the opener with a 24-14 win. Struggles on the offensive line carried over from Week 1 to Week 2, and the Ducks had no answer for Boise State running back and Heisman Trophy hopeful Ashton Jeanty.
Oregon needed two special teams touchdowns and a last-second field goal from Atticus Sappington to dodge its first loss of the season.
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt called the Ducks’ 37-34 triumph “unconvincing” on his show Wednesday.
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“I mean, Jeanty was phenomenal, and I thought that Oregon would be better at the line of scrimmage, both offensively and defensively,” Klatt said. “The offensive line clearly has not gelled trying to break into new starters. We see them now giving up sacks at a rate that is, frankly, alarming as compared to last year. They’ve already given up more sacks in two games than they did all of last season.”
Oregon ranked first nationally with only five sacks given up last year. In the opener against Idaho, the Ducks conceded three sacks. Then in the first half versus Boise State, they allowed four more sacks.
As Klatt pointed out, No. 9 Oregon has an Oct. 12 date with No. 3 Ohio State looming. The Buckeyes have a robust defensive line rotation that’s headlined by senior defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau.
“If I’m checking in on the fan base of Oregon, I’m worried,” Klatt said. “I think that there is some real concern for Oregon because these are not fluky issues. When you have leaky protection, that persists. All of a sudden, you don’t become great in pass protection. That is something that is a standard held prior to the season. It’s not developed. … Can you get a little better in pass protection? Yes. But generally it’s ‘can you or can’t you?’ That’s the way that I’ve always felt.”
On one hand, Oregon finally got its first win over Boise State (the Ducks were previously 0-3 in the series). On the other hand, they were outgained by the Broncos, 369-352, and needed big play after big play in the second half to keep stride with, and then ultimately surpass, Boise State.
“Dan Lanning sums it up perfectly,” Klatt said. “If I’m checking in on the fan base, I just have to quote Dan Lanning: ‘I have a sense of relief because of the result, but there are certainly a lot of things to fix.’ That’s the mild version. The less mild version is it’s borderline panic based on the expectations in the preseason in Eugene.
“Remember, everything has to be through the prism of expectation. That’s why these teams that have played better than we expect, we’re so excited about. That’s why teams like Oregon that have played much worse than we expect, we’re much more worried about. We’re worried about Michigan, we’re worried about Oregon. There’s concern for both of those teams. They’ve got to fix some of those issues before they head into the Big Ten slate or else this is not going to be the year that everyone thought it was going to be in Eugene.”
Oregon will head to Corvallis to play Oregon State in a rivalry showdown this week. The pressure is on for Lanning to right the ship, especially before Big Ten play kicks off for the Ducks on Sept. 28.