Last week was a punch to the face. A wake-up call was sent to the entire Oregon roster with a clear message: no game is an easy game.
The Ducks underperformed against Idaho in their season opener despite the clear advantage. A 10-point win left Duck fans with a sour taste and many concerns in their heads. A bounce-back type of game was necessary in week 2 to show the nation, and themselves, that they are as good as everyone expected.
As tough as Idaho played Oregon last week, Boise State was sure to bring even more energy. The Broncos have a complete roster across the board and are led by the heart and soul of their team, running back Ashton Jeanty.
The arguably best running back in the nation is coming off a 6-touchdown performance and was looking to boost his early Heisman Trophy resume in Eugene.
Boosting his resume would be an understatement. The junior ran for 193 yards while reaching the end zone three times. His effort pulsed through the entire Boise State sideline and made Oregon’s second game of the season even harder than the first.
While the Ducks certainly played better, there are still a lot of things that need to be fixed before conference play begins: more rushing, better protection, and fewer penalties, to name a few. With all that being said, a win is a win, and Oregon came out on top 37-34. Before the Ducks get ready for their early trip to Corvallis, I have some takeaways from Saturday night’s contest.
### O-Line trouble still isn’t fixed
The biggest takeaway after last week is that the offensive line isn’t playing to the Oregon standard. In recent years, Oregon’s offensive line units have been a staple of the Ducks’ success.
So far this season, that hasn’t been the case, despite only two key departures in the unit from last year’s squad. Dillon Gabriel hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm. Oregon’s offense relies on using its explosive playmakers, but when Gabriel doesn’t have the time to get set, the playmakers don’t have the time to get open.
This has also hindered Oregon’s ability to run the ball. Jordan James seems to be the only halfback able to gain positive yardage. At the end of the first half, the Ducks only had 16 rushing yards. They finished the game with 109 yards on the ground, with James accounting for 102 of them.
Lanning used a rotation of linemen to try to find a rhythm against the Broncos. So far, nothing has stood out as the clear top unit.
Until things start to gel, the entire offense will have a tough time getting back to the level of the 2022-2023 Oregon offense. The talent is there to make it happen; it will just take time before the offense comes together.
### A glimpse at explosive plays
It wasn’t to the level that Oregon fans have become used to, but compared to last week, the improvement in executing explosive plays was much better. It started early with a 67-yard strike to Evan Stewart in the first quarter that led to Oregon’s first touchdown of the day.
Traeshon Holden got in on the action in the third with a 59-yard touchdown of his own.
“I think our coaching staff did a good job of recognizing when we would have those [big play] opportunities,” Lanning said. “They got in blitz, and we were able to hit the slant to Traeshon for a touchdown. We told ourselves early on that we were going to take a shot downfield – and Evan capitalized on that.”
Gabriel finally found enough time in certain moments to let the play develop and connect with his electric receiver room. Making these plays even more frequent is the next task, but improvement is improvement nonetheless.
### Gabriel does NOT like pressure
Over the past two weeks, watching Dillon Gabriel react to pressure has been tough. First, it was Idaho, and now Boise State proved that it wasn’t just first-game jitters. It’s not solely on Gabriel, and it isn't solely on the offensive line, but rather the entire unit failing to come together in unison.
The pressure has affected the entire offensive scheme. Besides Jordan James, the Ducks again had no luck running the ball, leading toward another heavy attack through the air. While Gabriel’s 18-of-21 for 243 yards performance doesn’t appear shaky from the outside looking in, it again wasn’t a confident outing from the sixth-year senior.
He was sacked far too often, and it visibly got to him. A couple of overthrows late in the game and a costly fumble in the fourth quarter made it much easier for the Broncos to make it a tight game.
“There’s a lot to clean up as a unit,” Gabriel said. “As you take back, we each took our turns messing up. I’m right at the top of that list. There’s going to be a lot of self-reflection, a lot of going to the doctor, and cleaning stuff up because we have to.”
Bo Nix was one of the best around in terms of pocket awareness and avoiding sacks. For Oregon’s offense to start clicking again, Gabriel must improve in that area.
### Special Teams save the day
The Ducks beat themselves up at times in this one. It easily could have been an upset victory for Boise State, had it not been for the electric special teams unit providing two touchdowns.
The first was an 85-yard punt return from Tez Johnson late in the third quarter, with the other being a Noah Whittington kick return that was dropped in the end zone and picked up by Jayden Limar. Without those two crucial scores, who knows what the outcome could have been?
Lastly, you can't talk about the special teams play without mentioning the game-winning field goal drilled through the uprights by Atticus Sappington as time expired. The special teams units all around were the deciding factor.
“I think the difference tonight was special teams,” Lanning said. “Big punt return, big kick return. Those were really critical in this game. I told Atticus early on when he missed that extra point that ‘you’re going to have another opportunity again for this team, and it's going to be the difference for us,’ and it was.”
Despite being clear favorites at home, Oregon came into the game without a single victory over Boise State. The program plays hard, travels well, and is never an easy out. With an opponent like that, you find every possible way you can to score, and for the Ducks, that rang true on Saturday.
