Gophers Can’t Weasel Out of Duck Spanking, 42-13

BY KEN WOODY

Many experts figured Dan Lanning’s team might be a bit lethargic after two long road trips and their bruising victory last week against Iowa in a Midwest monsoon, but the Ducks came to play Saturday, controlling Minnesota’s game but outmanned Gophers 42-13 before a loud and grateful Autzen Stadium crowd.

There were stars aplenty from the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Dante Moore was once again protected by his offensive line and given enough time to complete 27-of-30 pass attempts (90%) to eleven different receivers for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Kenyon Sadiq, back at full speed after an injury, caught eight passes, several in crowd-pleasing “lay out for it” efforts for 96 yards and a touchdown.

It was a game of Big Plays; run and pass, and Oregon dominated, just as they did last week at Iowa. In both games, the Ducks doubled the output of their vanquished opponent. Against the Gophers, Oregon had eight passes of over 15 yards and four runs over 10 yards against Minnesota’s three passes and one rush.

The Gophers were game and showed discipline throughout, but could not match Oregon’s talent advantage with their largely three-star rated players. Minnesota actually outplayed the Ducks defense on third-down: converting 7-of-16 attempts and burned Oregon several times with slanting and blitzing that caused some mischief, but not enough to keep drives from becoming touchdowns.

Offensive coordinator Will Stein put together drives that netted six touchdowns in their first seven attempts, the one failure being a lost fumble in the first half. Minnesota finally forced punts on Oregon’s last two drives that came against reserves relishing game action before the lively crowd that created a “big game” atmosphere even when the game was well in hand.

Defensively, Lanning saw his Ducks tackle mostly well, but also missed some as Gopher running backs ran hard and broke some tackles. Oregon rushed for 179 yards on the efforts of four different backs, three of whom also starred against the Hawkeyes last week. Minnesota could only gain 62 yards net rushing and had to rely on passing too much to make a difference.

Noah Whittington gained 72 yards and a touchdown, including a 40-yard romp when he broke away from a pile of tacklers who were more intent on grabbing the ball away from him rather than tackling him. It looked like he was stopped in the pile, but he kept his feet moving and suddenly, to the surprise of the Gophers and the delight of the crowd, Whittington burst into the open towards the end zone. He bobbled the ball going over the goal line and then fumbled it going out of the end zone and the result was a lengthy review by the referees to figure out what happened.

By estimate, the whole effort could have been ruled a fumble out of the end zone and a touchback. The play reminded many of the game long ago against Utah when a Ute dropped the ball going into the end zone and it was picked up by a Duck linebacker who ran 102 yards for a touchdown the other way.

Frishman Jordon Davison gained 60 yards and two touchdowns and put a move on a Gopher safety on a 39-yard scoring play that almost caused him to dislocate his hip trying to match the clever cut Davison put on him at full speed. Dierre Hill Jr., also a freshman, gained 25 yards and was close to getting past the line of scrimmage with his great acceleration. It seems only a matter of time before the Ducks will spring him so he can show his speed. For Lanning, it’s like having a Lamborghini in his garage, ready to rumble.

The Ducks scored four touchdowns on five possessions in the first half, losing a fumble on a poor play that looked like it might have been an audible called by Moore. With a third-and 12 at midfield, Moore saw a three-man defensive line with eight other defenders spread around the field and changed the play to a quick pass to his right to receiver Perry Cooper who was in a crowd and attempted to lateral to another player running behind him. It all happened too fast and the ball went to the turf where Minnesota recovered on the Duck 42-yard line.

The Duck defense held and forced a field goal, making the score 14-3; the Gophers were still in the game, if they could stop the Duck offense—which they couldn’t: Minnesota’s quarterback Drake Lindsey, who hit a couple of impressive passes in the half, could only get 50% with 11-of-22 for only 76 yards.  He was mostly contained, converting 19-of-32 tries for 138 yards total and a 4.2 per pass attempt, which paled in comparison to Moore’s average of 10 yards per attempt.

The Ducks put a decent rush on Lindsey, but could only get two sacks as the Gophers moved him around based different formations that put him in a decent position to complete a pass. Minnesota had 13 days to prepare for the Ducks and it was apparent they put in some rather bizarre attempts at offensive trickery that could not make up for the lack of physicality and speed advantages the Ducks defense maintained.

There were two passes, one completed and one unsuccessful that caught Oregon defensive backs looking at the receiver and not the ball, missing a chance to go after the ball. Lanning’s young secondary has yet to establish itself as a bunch of ball hawks which is a bit irritating as the players are, (according to recruiting services), loaded with talent. Minnesota had 17 interceptions last season with a relatively under-estimated group of defenders, and Oregon only has nine so far this year with a bunch of four and five-star recruits. One standout is freshman Brandon Finney Jr. who forced two fumbles last week against Iowa and had a pass breakup and 12-yard sack against the Gophers.

Sometimes, there are frustrations trying to stop the opponent’s offense, yet when you check the Ducks’ stats at the end of game you see a different, important realty: defensive coordinator Tosh Lopi’s charges only allowed 2.6 yards per rush and 4.2 yards per pass attempt. These are impressive performances based on clear heads, great pursuit to the football and fierce tackling; all of which are imperative in upcoming games against USC and Washington.

Lanning spoke of the “physicality” advantage his team had over the Gophers, (which incidentally, are members of the weasel family) and the discipline his team demonstrated in running away with this victory. Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck paid his respects: “We just got beaten,” a grammatical effort that pretty much said it all.

Next game, USC at Autzen, sure to be a packed house with frenzied Ducks howling and quacking for victory in coach Lanning’s playoff pursuit. Make no mistake, the Trojans have offensive talent to test Oregon’s defense and has improved its own defense this season. At 8-2 for the season, 6-1 in the Big Ten, they are tied with the Ducks for second place and come into Autzen with their own playoff aspirations. Deep into the Big Ten schedule, it’s heading for a climax.

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 19th 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.