State of Oregon: Week 9

It was hard not to feel the irony sitting inside Autzen Stadium last Saturday. As Oregon’s showdown wound down to the end of the first quarter, Don Essig instructed the nearly 60,000 people in attendance — 99.9% of them Oregon faithful — to look to the scoreboard for scores around the county.

And that’s when we saw the past spiral toward another blowout home loss.

The Oregon Ducks are in an enviable spot. Of the first-time head coaches hired this season, Dan Lanning’s name was usually the last to be mentioned. Brent Venables, Marcus Freeman, and others were the toast of national media. But Lanning, just 35 years old at the time of his hiring, was a bit of an afterthought. He took over an Oregon program that has sustained success for the better two decades but only recently moved to the next tier. With two national championship appearances and multiple top-10 recruiting classes, the Ducks are firmly entrenched among the top 15 programs in the country.

Under Mario Cristobal’s watch, Oregon made and won the Rose Bowl, put two players into the top 10 of the NFL Draft, and won the Pac-12 title twice. They signed numerous five-star players and built up depth that the program had never experienced.

But on the inside, the past couple of years were anything but merry. Cristobal’s ultra-conservative philosophy, mixed with his disciplinarian style in running the program, wore thin. Players and coaches alike were tired.

Football was no longer fun.

So as it was, last Saturday represented everything new and exciting with Oregon. Lanning proved his chops in leading Oregon to its 6-1 start, complete with the thorough defeat of another Oregon predecessor, Chip Kelly. College Gameday returned and provided the most raucous and dynamic environment of the season outside of Tennessee.

Then, in something unseen since the 2018 victory over Washington, Autzen rocked and rolled like the old times. Players danced and flew around as they cared. Fans showed up early, rarely sat down, and used all available vocal cords to ensure UCLA rarely had a moment of peace. And the offensive philosophy of new coordinator Kenny Dillingham — combined with the new coach who embraces it — was on full display.

Oregon is good, potentially great, but they’re also fun. The program won many games in the previous four years, including the monumental victory at Ohio State. But rarely was it fun, even in victory. Too often, the wins felt like a slog, as if we were crawling to the final :00 on the clock.

We have yet to see that under Lanning.

When our heads tilted toward the scoreboard with Oregon leading 17-10, coming off a recovered onside kick, and the stadium in complete euphoria, there it was:

Duke 45, Miami 21.

The symbolism was undeniable.

The Good

What’s not good? Oregon’s offense out-classed UCLA’s, and Oregon’s defense did its job. They held the Bruins to three field goals in the first 35 minutes, essentially icing the game. Lanning put together another masterclass in clock and game management, and those in attendance created an atmosphere unseen for a long time. All in all, it was the perfect day for Oregon.

But there’s one shout-out I feel deserves mentioning: the Oregon students.

They have been rightly maligned for a few years now. They show up late and leave early. Plus, they don’t have the enthusiasm they once had (not saying from when I was there, but…we were terrific). But so far this season, the students have been a difference-maker. They were great during the Stanford game and set the tone this past Saturday. Starting (or continuing from the bar) at 4 am on the Gameday set, they showed up in droves. Then, they kept their energy through the show, during the game, and, I’m sure, well into the night.

Bravo, kids.

The Bad

Kickoff returns continue to be a sore spot for the Ducks. It’s hard to fault Joe Lorig because the rest of Oregon’s special teams have been fantastic for the most part, but this is an area Orgon needs to improve. Late-season games against good defenses like Utah and Oregon State might require a big special teams play, and popping a significant return would be a great place to start.