Walking Fiji gives me far too much time to think. Every day, as I go through the same routine, I find my mind wandering into the corners of football, life, and everything in between. There’s something about the rhythm of those long walks—mile after mile—that pulls me into a reflective state, where I replay the ups and downs of Oregon football seasons, the overreactions, the hopeful highs, and the inevitable stumbles. I've watched this story unfold countless times before, and with each step, it feels like I’m living through it again.
Sometimes overreactions are just the nature of the beast in watching football—or any other sport, for that matter. Every bad play, every close game, every missed opportunity is amplified in the world of fandom. The 2024 college football season has already given fans plenty to digest, and Oregon's slow start exemplifies the rollercoaster of emotions that come with being a fan. Overreactions to a sluggish start, defensive lapses, or offensive inconsistencies are common, but they rarely tell the full story. In the world of college football fandom, where every play can feel like the tipping point between triumph and disaster, it’s easy to get swept up in the moment. As we’ve seen before, and as the Dr. Pepper commercials humorously capture, fans often ride the highs and lows with fervor. But stepping back, there’s a bigger picture at play.
After watching Oregon dismantle Oregon State in the second half yesterday, I decided to go back and read some of the message board fodder during the Texas Tech game. The Ducks struggled with penalties, miscues, defensive lapses, and there were people questioning everything. There were concerns about the offensive line, the defense giving up big plays to Tyler Shough on the ground, and even some doubts about the coaching staff and Bo Nix’s decision-making.
In the end, Oregon squeaked by after Cam Lewis hit a 34-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the game, and Jeffrey Bassa sealed it with his 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. After that close win, Oregon went on a roll, scoring a combined 139 points while giving up just 22 during a three-game span.
That got me thinking about how much of the 2024 season mirrors the 2023 season from a performance standpoint. Yes, Oregon has struggled against teams they were expected to dominate. But one of the things I admire about Oregon this season is that they’ve had to fight for everything, learning how to work for wins. Sometimes when things come easy, we take them for granted, and I think there was a bit of that early on in the season, affecting the approach.
Of course, the struggles weren’t entirely about complacency. The offensive line was essentially down to a fourth-string right guard following injuries to Matthew Bedford, Dave Iuli, and whatever kept Nishad Strother on the bench for the first game and a half.
But I also don’t want to overreact the other way and crown a team that just beat a squad with potentially less talent than Idaho or Boise State. What we learned is that Oregon has some talent, but we still don’t know if the top-end talent and depth are enough to not only reach the College Football Playoffs but to make a championship run as projected before the season began.
The 2024 season has already seen its fair share of surprises across the country. Notre Dame, a team with College Football Playoff hopes, lost to Northern Illinois in a stunning upset before bouncing back with a blowout win against Purdue. South Carolina dismantled Kentucky, only to watch the Wildcats nearly pull off an upset the following week. These swings in performance define a season still in flux, where the true contenders are just beginning to emerge.
Dan Lanning seems to understand this uncertainty well. After the Oregon State game, when asked about the offense’s near-perfect execution, Lanning tempered expectations by saying, “Maybe, but we can be better.” It’s a statement that mirrors the reality for the Ducks: there’s still a lot of work to be done across all phases of the game. From offensive line injuries that have forced Oregon to dig deep into their depth chart to lingering questions about the defense’s ability to play four consistent quarters, the Ducks remain a work in progress.
Ultimately, this season will likely be defined not by how Oregon starts, but by how they finish. The early struggles, though concerning, might serve as the foundation for something greater—a team that learns to fight through adversity and emerges stronger on the other side. But until they face a fully-loaded opponent and prove they can maintain that level of intensity for a full game, questions will remain. As Lanning aptly noted, the Ducks can be better—and they’ll need to be if they’re going to make a run at the College Football Playoffs.
And somewhere in the middle of these walks with Fiji, between overthinking a missed block or the latest injury update, I find myself remembering lines from Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Maybe it’s the familiarity of this journey—the ups, the downs, the uncertainty of the road ahead—that makes me see these football seasons as just another path. I’ve walked this road before, and while the outcomes vary, the process remains the same. You keep walking, you keep learning, and eventually, you get somewhere.
