The Ducks are 10-0 and it’s hard to find anything to complain about, but perhaps the biggest thing is that the Ducks haven’t been terribly exciting this year. This is probably by design; Dan Lanning isn’t coaching just to win that week’s game, but to win the whole thing — and to do that requires looking out weeks ahead.
One of the biggest gripes among fans is how the offense has only managed to score 40+ points in one game all season, against Oregon State. Oregon is averaging around 35 points per game, and that alone looks more like Mario Cristobal era numbers than Lanning’s. However, the Oregon defense has only given up more than 18 points in two games all year, against Boise State and Ohio State. So the margin of victory has been comfortable in all but two games.
The fact that Oregon’s offense isn’t blasting opponents out by larger margins feels wrong. The third quarter in particular has been frustrating, as the Ducks have only scored more than three points on three occasions all year long. Lanning and Offensive Coordinator Will Stein seem to be intentionally slowing the game down with an emphasis on burning clock over scoring points.
Furthermore, Lanning has been working hard to preserve his players’ health. Against Maryland, Jordan James had a career low of 29 yards on seven carries. James only carried the ball once in the second half. It seemed he may have suffered a minor injury, so minor that he was standing on the sideline with his helmet on and ready to go in at a moment’s notice.
Lanning’s post-game comments were cryptic about his availability, but it was clear that Lanning was far more concerned about keeping James healthy than risking his health. The same is most likely true for Jordan Burch, who seemed to have tweaked his ankle during the game.
If the desire is to keep valuable players off the field in the second half, though — why is Dillon Gabriel still in at the end of the game?
Jordan James ran for few yards against Maryland but his health is more important for long term success.
(Photo By: Eric Becker)
Gabriel is mostly just handing off the ball to Noah Whittington or Jayden Limar who are both getting valuable reps and not putting the QB at risk. Keeping Gabriel in, instead of a backup, means that there is still normal and experienced communication between the quarterback and offensive line, as Gabriel can help by reading the defense.
Though Lanning wants to end the game, he isn’t ready to lose his lead with a roster composed completely of backups and then need to put in the starters again. He wants the game to end on his terms. The goal is to get to the end of the season with a healthy roster for the playoff, and finish by making a run for the National Championship.
Eight Weeks Without a Bye
Beyond just making the playoff, Lanning has a more immediate concern in terms of player health. The Ducks will play eight of their nine B1G conference games without a bye week. This week the Ducks travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers, and this will be the eighth game in a row without a bye week. The previous bye was before the first conference game against UCLA.
Going so many weeks without a break is rough, and the Ducks have lucked out a bit this year as Michigan is not the heavyweight they’ve been in the past, and the other B1G opponents haven’t inflicted too severe of a physical toll on the Ducks yet. This makes Lanning’s job easier, but getting his roster to the bye week mostly intact will be critical in finishing up the season against Washington, and then the B1G Championship Game.
With this long stretch of games, Lanning’s priority is to get through the slate of games with wins — and it doesn’t matter if the team scores 35 points or 55. In the new playoff format, beauty points don’t matter like they used to. Only winning matters.
I was talking with a fellow Duck fan outside of a grocery store the other day, and he was saying how he lost a bet on the Ducks to cover the spread against Maryland. My immediate reaction was that it’s not safe to bet for the Ducks to cover the points spread because Lanning doesn’t care about the spread. Lanning only cares about winning, and he is going for the ultimate prize: a National Championship.
David Marsh
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By Eric Becker
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.
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David Marsh is a high school social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher he is known for telling puns to his students who sometimes laugh out of sympathy, and being both eccentric about history and the Ducks.
David graduated from the University of Oregon in 2012 with Majors in: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Geography. David began following Ducks Football after being in a car accident in 2012; finding football something new and exciting to learn about during this difficult time in his life. Now, he cannot see life without Oregon football.