BY KEN WOODY

Coach Dan Lanning had to be a bit frustrated watching his experienced offensive line get manhandled by Wisconsin’s defense Saturday before 58,940 fans who braved inches of rain to witness a closer-than-expected win over the Badgers. Lanning had Atticus Sappington onside kick to begin the game and the Ducks recovered, an electric beginning for an easy victory predicted by gamblers to be by 22 or more points.

Not so fast, my friend. Oregon’s NFL-ready tight end Kenyon Sadiq dropped a pass, and the Ducks gave up a sack turning the ball over on downs; basically four-and-out. From that point on, Lanning’s offense was sloppy and inefficient: giving up seven tackles for loss, four sacks, -16 yards rushing in the first quarter and 39 yards total rushing for the first half.

As coach says, the team that runs the ball best is the likely winner and the best thing going for the Ducks were their defenders who bulled their necks and allowed the Badgers only 20 yards rushing in the second half while Oregon made some second half adjustments and totaled 164 on the ground. Coach Luke Fickell’s team took their sixth-straight loss, but had the measly consolation of at least scoring a touchdown, their first in the last three games.

For all the frustration of offensive ineptness in the first half, Lanning’s offense went to some tempo in the last half of the second quarter and drove the ball 99 yards for a score in 16 plays that ate up 8:46 of clock, leaving only a minute before halftime. The second drive was finished by back-up quarterback Brock Thomas who replaced Dante Moore, after Moore suffered a severe bloody nose after being tackled on a running play. Word after the game indicated that the nose might be broken, which is unusual, as Moore’s helmet had a face mask and shield.

Moore’s stats were limited by rain, poor pass protection and some errant passes: not his usual style. He was 9-for-15 and 86 yards. He threw two darts down the middle for gains of 20 and 23 yards, but there was a definite lack of daring play calling, if you call throwing the ball to take advantage of a spread-out secondary “daring.”

As has occurred in past games, the pass protection was limited by the selection of formations that left lesser blockers without help from tight ends or backs. It would be beneficial to check out past strategies the Ducks used for the last two quarterbacks to light it up in Eugene: Dillion Gabriel and Bo Nix. At times, the offensive predisposition was reminiscent of the way in which former head coach Mario Cristobal neglected to use his quarterback Justin Herbert to his fullest potential.

Thomas was 4-for-4, 46 yards, and one touchdown, his first, a two-yard lob to offensive tackle Gernorris Wilson who was wearing an eligible-numbered jersey for the play that capped a 54-yard drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Both Thomas and Moore were handicapped by continually high snaps from center in the shotgun formation, made worse by the wet conditions the quarterbacks were forced to operate in.  A couple caused fumbles or poor coordination with handoffs to running backs. With so many poor snaps it was puzzling to not have the coaches do something to solve the problem, like moving the quarterback under center (Anyone remember the Alamo Bowl against TCU)?

The saving grace for the offense was the outstanding running of freshman Jordon Davison, who gained 102 yards with a longest of 20 yards and two touchdowns. Noah Whittington also carried 14 times for 97 yards and broke away for a long run of 36 yards. Dierre Hill Jr., another freshman with startling acceleration earned 28 yards on only two carries and it would be advantageous to call his number more often. All three running backs ran hard and often ran through tackles for extra yardage after contact.

Oregon had one turnover, that on downs their first drive of the game. Following punts on the next three short drives, the Ducks scored successive touchdowns the last part of the second quarter (99 yards) and their first drive of the third quarter (75 yards); enough to outscore the Badgers, who suffered from poor field position most of the second half.

Wisconsin’s only score came in the fourth quarter when quarterback Hunter Simmons heaved a 42-yard bomb that Eugene Hilton caught in front of Duck safety Dillon Theineman who slipped and fell on the slippery turf while covering the Badger. It was the only long pass play completed against the Duck secondary which seemed at times to be more concerned about covering Wisconsin’s non-existent passing offense while leaving the middle open for running plays by Gordon Ituka who gained 85 yards on 21 carries.

Coach Lanning will waste no time dealing with the penalties the Ducks were charged with—9 flags for 75 yards including majors for the second straight week called on the offensive line who seemed to have lost the crisp discipline and powerful blocking displayed in wins over Penn State and Rutgers. A couple of holding calls were the result of “sloppy hands,” something that occurs when the blocker has taken a poor angle or stopped his feet moving when colliding with the target defender.

All in all, it was a good win, hard fought in uncomfortable circumstances. The Ducks are lucky Wisconsin was an inferior offensive threat that could not help out their solid defense, just like last year. Lanning and his staff now have another bye week to heal up, get healthy, and fine tune offensive and defensive elements that have deteriorated. The first bye week before Indiana the Ducks totally blew their practice time as revealed by their poor performance against the Hoosiers.

Oregon will have to make another cross-country trip, this time facing one of the Big Ten’s strongest defenses in the Iowa Hawkeyes. Before this season started, it was common knowledge that the road games at Penn State and Iowa were “trap games”—big crowds, tough teams and lots of tradition for good football. Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein need to make a plan that attacks the Hawks’ defense with the speed and explosiveness inherit in their youthful skill positions while Tosh Lupoi’s defense needs to create more turnovers, especially interceptions instead of just knocking the ball away from receivers. It would also be helpful if the punt return team would demonstrate a fanatical desire to hold up coverage players; currently, observation shows the return man is on his own.

Ken Woody coached college football for 18 years as an assistant at Oregon, Washington, Utah State and Washington State and as a head coach at Whitman College and Washington University-St. Louis. He conducts a coaching clinic, free to all, at the 6^th Street Grill WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29th AT 5:00 P.M.  Plays from Oregon games are analyzed, there are scouting reports for opponents, and highlights from referees; all to learn and enjoy football and understand why the Ducks win or lose