Ducks’ Poise, Sappington’s Kicks Bring Down Iowa,18-16

BY KEN WOODY

It was not good weather for kicking field goals, not even decent, but Oregon’s Atticus Sappington shook off some early season disappointment with a monumental three-field goal performance in the wind and rain to give the Ducks a last-second 18-16 win over Iowa. The win keeps Oregon alive in the Big Ten race and was an achievement that brought nation-wide respect (at least for the weekend) for coach Dan Lanning’s four-year effort to bring respect to a tougher group of Ducks who have moved Oregon to a contender, no longer a “palooka.”

Most football games that “go down in the ages” are wide-open, high scoring affairs that linger long past the final gun. But the Ducks, to the amazement of the mid-west Big Ten television announcers, toppled the Iowa Hawkeyes in front of a sold-out crowd of over 70,000 in a driving wind and rain storm. The announcers bubbled with enthusiasm for the Ducks “physicality” and apparent to them, anyway, their new-found ability to play the rough-house line of scrimmage game that has been traditional for Big Ten football teams seemingly, forever.

The outcome was a pleasure for Oregon fans who have long chafed at the snobbish attitude experts outside the Pacific Northwest hold for the Ducks’ flash and dash offense and sometimes good defense. But times have changed in the past four years of coach Dan Lanning’s rein in Eugene. His team won against a physically formidable Hawkeye team that was looking to get in the college playoff race against the Ducks, who were missing three key offensive starters: receiver Dakorien Moore, tight end Kenyon Sadiq and tackle Alex Harkey. Statistically and physically, the Ducks were deserving winners.

The Duck offense rushed for 261 yards, (average rush 7.3) reaching the number-one target for Lanning who believes the team that runs best in a game will win. Oregon’s defense held the Hawks to a 3.3-yard average per rush and 38 percent success on third-down conversions, and continually bottled up a strong rushing offense that only once gained more than ten yards on a play.

The defense was tough for its strong play, particularly against the run, although there were several times Hawk running backs and their quarterback managed an additional 2-3 yards after contact with Oregon tacklers. There were a couple of issues though, where the Ducks looked bad– including five completions, where receivers were wide open, apparently unnoticed and therefore, uncovered. Mark Grownowski, the Hawks’ signal caller, had two long completions where Oregon safeties did not seem to notice tight ends lumbering by them and catching passes that gave Iowa momentum when their running game was getting them nowhere.

The worst mix up came late in the fourth quarter, with Iowa fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line; the game on the line. The Hawks had a five-man line and three receivers set wide to the left and the other wide receiver and back in the slot wide right. Oregon had a three-man front and a linebacker behind them, with everyone else spread out covering wide receivers– seven defenders covering five receivers.

Iowa is not a good passing team and their best offensive threat is their 230-pound quarterback. In previous games, Grownowski ran quarterback draws for touchdowns in similar goal line situations, but the Duck defense maybe missed those films and was not prepared. A better choice of coverage would have been five defenders for five receivers and six for the threat of Grownowski running; there should have been two linebackers and four linemen to look for the quarterback, who pranced in without a hand on him, putting Iowa ahead for the first time, 16-15 with 1:51 left in the game. It was a dramatic example of poor preparation that almost cost the Ducks an important victory. Dante Moore and Sappington saved the day in the end.

The Ducks’ offensive line maintained a strong charge and pad level and opened holes in a proud Hawkeye defense that gave up seven runs over 10 yards. The elder running back, Noah Whittington had two, freshman Jordon Davison had two, Darien Hill, Jr. had two and quarterback Dante Moore had a fourth-quarter 49-yard run that set up a Sappington field goal for a 15-7 lead. The three running backs continually showed off their toughness and ability to find a hole when it appeared there were none to be found.

The Ducks’ offensive game plan included better pass protection for Moore than the previous two games. In several situations offensive coordinator Will Stein called for formations that afforded more than five blockers for pass plays; effectively helping the offensive tackles with pass rushes that broke down against Wisconsin last week.

Credit to the offensive line: the Hawkeyes’ defense was shut out getting a sack, managed only one tackle for a loss, and no quarterback hurries or forced fumbles. Iowa did get one interception that might have been caused by a receiver taking an outside release on a safety that allowed another to make an end-zone interception in the first quarter.

The passing game suffered in the relentless rain deluge, whipping winds and slippery footballs: Dante Moore was 13-of-21 (62%) for 112 yards but excelled in last minute situations before halftime and in the waning seconds of the game. After throwing the interception, he completed seven in a row to set up Sappington for a 46-yard field goal and a 12-7 lead before halftime and then the winning drive– hitting 5-of-7 to give Sappington a 39-yard opportunity to be the hero with a game-winning field goal with only three seconds left in the contest.

Moore’s best throw of the night brought high praise from the television commentators: a 24-yard dart to Malik Benson who made a fantastic sideline catch on a ball that come out of nowhere and under the arm of the covering Hawkeye with 24 seconds left in the game. The throw was the only completion over eight yards in the 50-yard march that featured six completions of six yards or less. It was bedlam in the stadium, but Moore and the offense were organized and unafraid as the clock ticked down and Lanning not calling a time out until 23 seconds were left in the game.

Hard-core analysts might question the coach’s use of time outs. At two points, the Ducks calmly took 16 seconds to get a play off, just as they did at the end of the first half. In that Sappington was able to kick field goals in each situation resulting in victory, the experts should cool their jets. Pro scouts must have noted Moore’s cool demeanor while in the middle of a three-alarm fire, and it reminds of the cool nature that both Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel consistently demonstrated in successful last-minute situations before halftime and end of games while serving time in Eugene. Much credit must go to the offensive coordinator and Lanning for the organization and calm demeanor the Ducks have shown the past four years when the game gets tight. They work on it in practice every day.

Next up: Minnesota’s Golden Gophers, perhaps cousins to Brother Beaver in Corvallis. The Gophers have an imaginative coach who can get his players stirred up, as he will when they arrive in Autzen on Friday night. Too bad: Friday—in the olden days colleges wouldn’t play Friday night games, deferring to high schools who don’t have television money to run their programs. Anyway, look for an interesting contest—Minnesota can throw the ball and as such presents a threat to a Duck secondary that plays several freshman and as they did at times against Iowa, make critical mistakes.

The Duck Nation can be justifiably be proud of Lanning and his staff’s efforts with this year’s edition of Duck football. There should be an appreciation of how they play and conduct themselves as ambassadors of hard-ass, physical football that has led to some good times in Eugene. But beware, the last three games of the regular season are going to be knock-down slug fests.

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, NOVEMBER 12th AT 5:00 P.M.  Plays from Oregon game 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