What to make of these Dan Lanning Ducks so far?
One could choose to dismiss the season-opening 49-3 loss to Georgia as an outlier, against the defending national champions and very likely still the best team in the country. One could also take the same approach with Oregon's 70-14 win over FCS Eastern Washington.
So who are the Ducks, really?
Maybe Week 3 will bring some clarity in that regard. No. 25 Oregon (1-1) hosts No. 12 BYU (2-0).
The Cougars are almost exactly where the Ducks opened the season in the rankings, so Lanning's squad is indeed what most expected it to be this should be a very competitive, winnable game and chance to assert what could be possible the rest of this season.
After pummeling South Florida, 50-21, in Week 1, BYU beat a ranked Baylor team, 26-20, in overtime last week despite missing its top two receivers.
The Cougars, who won 21 games over the last two years, have hopes of being the 2022 version of Cincinnati and rumbling unbeaten all the way to the College Football Playoff.
It's a formidable challenge for Oregon, and indeed whatever happens should tell us all a lot about the Ducks.
Let's take a closer look at BYU ...
No. 12 BYU Cougars (2-0)
Coach: Kalani Sitake (8th season, 50-29)
2022 BYU Stats
Record: 2-0 (No. 12)
Scoring offense: 38 PPG (Tied for 40th nationally)
Scoring defense: 20.5 PPG (T-51st)
Total offense: 469.5 YPG (38th)
Total defense: 291 YPG (35th)
Five Players to Know:
QB Jaren Hall (No. 3): The Cougars have had a surge of success in recent seasons. A year ago, their season ended with a heartbreaking loss to UAB in the Independence Bowl. That season saw BYU hit 10 victories and 2022 is more of the same with the big win over Baylor showing the potential of this group. Leading this successful team has been Hall at quarterback. The junior captain is a dual-threat who had a breakout season in 2021 with 2,583 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 5 interceptions along with 307 yards and 3 TDs rushing. When he doesn’t use his legs, Hall is more than comfortable staying in the pocket. He has 522 passing yards and 3 touchdowns through two games this fall and will be yet another dangerous quarterback for Dan Lanning’s defense to go up against.
WR Chase Roberts (No. 27): One thing that made the Cougars’ upset victory against Baylor more impressive was due to the personnel they ran with -- or rather without. Their two leading receivers, Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney, missed the game with injuries. Romney looks like he could return this week while Nacua is more uncertain. In the meantime, Hall relied heavily on Roberts to make up the missing production. Roberts is only a redshirt freshman but has been thrown into the fire much quicker than he might have expected. The 6-foot-4 wideout caught 8 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown a week ago, and should factor in again this week depending on the health of the other wideouts. If Romney and Nacua are unable to go against the Ducks, Roberts will be the main problem for Oregon to worry about.
DB Malik Moore (No. 12): Bo Nix looked much calmer at home when facing Eastern Washington last week. He only had one forced pass that still went his way and resulted in a Terrance Ferguson touchdown. For another clean game, Moore will be someone to look out for before going deep. The Cougars only have1 interception this year and it has not come from a defensive back. Moore is the most likely to change that as the fifth-year senior has 5 career picks. Moore has good size at 6-foot-1 and is coming off of a year that earned him All-Independent First Team Defense honors. His production helped BYU hold Baylor to 137 passing yards in a game that went to double-overtime. Nix will have a challenge on his hands to make sure the offense can do better than that.
RB Christopher Brooks (No. 2): The passing attack was what helped the Cougars in their upset victory last week. Leading the way in their Week 1 win against USF, however, was the ground attack. Brooks, who spent four years, is the lead back for BYU. He only had 31 rushing yards in Week 2 but dominated Week 1 with 135 yards on just 13 carries. The fifth-year senior has 2,260 career rushing/receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. He needs to be accounted for by Oregon.
