Oregon’s Offensive Line Folds To Indiana

Going into last Saturday’s match-up against Indiana, the Ducks had one of the most dominant offensive lines in the country. That is no longer the case. On the very first play of the game, the Ducks gave up a sack, and the sacks kept coming. The Oregon offensive line was porous and had no answer for Indiana’s pass rush. To make matters worse, this mismatch became all the more evident with the multiple holding penalties the line committed throughout the game, because the Ducks just couldn’t block Indiana’s aggressive rush.

As a result, QB Dante Moore was forced out of the pocket regularly in order to avoid taking additional sacks, but that reduced his effectiveness as a passer. Moore tends to roll out to his right, and as he rolled out the left side the field would often open up. But he was out of position to make the pass, as a pass across his body is one of the riskiest throws in football.

Indiana also had solid pass coverage matched with the pressure, and as coaches and players look at the film after the game, they will probably see they had more opportunities downfield than they thought, but Moore didn’t have the time to see them and make those throws.

Oregon’s run game was hot and cold throughout the game, though Jordan Davison was by far the most productive runner. He was making his yards up the middle, where the offensive line found its strength as both tackles struggled against Indiana’s aggression. On the first series, Noah Whittington had some successful runs right up the middle.

Leaning on the power run game would have moved the ball down the field and forced Indiana to make an adjustment, which might have opened up the passing game.

Jordan Davison was one of the few players to find consistent success against Indiana.
(Photo By: Eric Becker)

As the game got tighter it felt like Will Stein went away from the run game, and more importantly away from Davison. There was an overall lack of patience from the Ducks’ offense.

Without a solid run game the Oregon offense drifted into being one-dimensional as Moore felt the need to continue to pass the ball — though, as noted above, he just didn’t have the time and his receivers weren’t getting the initial separation that makes the Stein offense go.

This isn’t to place all the blame on the offensive line, as the defense gave up far too many points and easy yards, and special teams outright missed a field goal that would have given Oregon the lead going into the half. Instead, Indiana moved into their field goal range and went into the half with the lead. There are plenty of mistakes and blame to go around.

But when it came to the offense (and the offense’s job to give the defense a rest), the unit failed to stay on the field in the second half. And it all starts and ends with the offensive line.

The Ducks need to take this loss and turn it into an opportunity to grow. The season is not over yet, and all their goals are still in front of them.

David Marsh 
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By: Eric Becker

Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in financial technology in SLC, Utah.

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David Marsh

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.