What happened to Oregon football's offense? Takeaways from UCLA loss
· Yahoo Sports
Before a late surge of yardage from third-string quarterback Brock Thomas in the fourth quarter, the Oregon football team was headed for a cataclysmic statistical offensive failure in a 17-15 loss to UCLA Oct. 10 at Autzen Stadium.
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Statistically or no, the Ducks' (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) showing offensively can only be described as absolutely disastrous following a promising performance against USC two weeks ago.
At one point in the fourth quarter, Oregon had less than 100 yards of total offense, and until its first drive of the fourth quarter its longest drive was four plays. That first, six-play drive of the fourth quarter ended in a fumble, anyways. The Ducks turned the ball over seven times, the most in 20 seasons.
So what exactly went wrong Saturday? Well, the short answer is pretty much everything.
Ducks sloppy, out of rhythm the entire game
Two weeks after a near-300-yard passing performance against USC, Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola came crashing back down to earth in one of the worst performances of his career. The junior and Nebraska transfer completed just 6 of his 19 pass attempts for 43 yards and threw two interceptions. Both turnovers were the first interceptions thrown by an Oregon quarterback this season.
The damage didn't stop there, Raiola fumbled once, Jordon Davison mishandled a wildcat exchange and fumbled away a possession, and Evan Stewart also lost the ball to the Bruins while fighting for extra yards. Eventually, even third-string Thomas fumbled a center exchange on a fourth-and-1 for a total of seven turnovers.
You aren't going to win football games like that.
"It hasn’t been good enough this year," coach Dan Lanning said. "Running the ball, we haven’t been as effective this year. All of those things tie together. Your passing game complements your run game, your run game complements your pass game and your ability to protect the quarterback."
Oregon averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and totaled 73 rushing yards. If you take out a lopsided Portland State win, the Ducks average just 105 rushing yards per game, which would rank near the very bottom of college football.
Dan Lanning talks offensive line: 'Our players have to play better, we have to coach better'
Oregon's maligned offensive line has continued to be a revolving door of new players every game. Outside of center Iapani Laloulu, all four guard and tackle positions were rotated throughout the game, with players moving all around, from the bench, to different positions on different drives.
To date this year, Oregon hasn't found consistent success with one group, or any group.
"They had a good plan, and our plan wasn’t as good," Lanning said. "That’s a part of it. Our players have to play better, we have to coach better, that’s part of it. I think we all knew that it wasn’t going to be the same experienced O-line that we had this past year, but we felt comfortable."
When asked about his assessment of his group and whether or not he feels not bringing in an experienced transfer is a regret, Lanning pointed to Oregon's recent success in developing offensive lines throughout the season. He said that unit has typically played better as the season gets rolling.
It hasn't through five games.
"The guys we have right now are the guys we have," Lanning said. "I love the guys we have in that room. We have to coach them better and give them an opportunity to have success on the field. They have to be critical of themselves, too."
Dan Lanning on play calling duties: 'Everything has to be up for evaluation'
After vehemently defending offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer and defensive coordinator Chris Hampton over the first month and a half of the season, Lanning didn't exactly shoot down a question about whether he'd consider a change at OC.
"I have to definitely evaluate the game first, go back and look at it," Lanning said. "We didn’t have success on offense, so I think you have to look at all things. You have to look at all things. Was it the calls? Was it the way we operated in practice? Certainly was it the way we operated in the games? But everything has to be up for evaluation."
Lanning promoted both Mehringer and Hampton internally over the offseason after the departures of Will Stein to Kentucky and Tosh Lupoi to Cal to become head coaches.
Though Lanning has come to the defense of Mehringer through six weeks of the season, citing that the play calls haven't been a major issue, he left the door open to change postgame Saturday.
That said, Oregon doesn't exactly have certified experience waiting in the wings to call offensive plays. Assistant head coach and running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples is 31 and without significant play-calling expertise. Ross Douglas is the pass game coordinator and receivers coach, but is also just 31-years-old without significant time as a play-caller.
Koa Ka'ai and A'lique Terry, the quarterbacks and offensive line coaches, respectively, are also in their early 30s without pre-existing experience. If Lanning ultimately makes the decision to take Mehringer's play-calling duties away, who will he turn to, instead?
What's next for Oregon football? What does this mean?
For the first time since Lanning's first year at Oregon in 2022, the Ducks do not control their own postseason destiny as they look for a College Football Playoff berth.
Two losses before mid-October are a death sentence for most teams, and it absolutely removes any room for error the rest of the way if they even want to be in the discussion, including an early November date in Columbus against Ohio State.
"We’re fighting an uphill battle now," Lanning said. "You can’t look 10 weeks ahead, you have to look at what’s in front of us right now. We don’t control our destiny anymore. It’s not necessarily just up to us, but we do control how we respond … There’s defining moments in a man’s life and how you respond."
The Ducks will get their next chance against Nebraska Oct. 17 at Autzen Stadium before hitting the road again versus Illinois the following week.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: What happened to Oregon football's offense? Takeaways from UCLA loss