Author Archives | Beck Parsons, Sports Reporter

Early tests for the defensive front

It’s been a turbulent start for the 2024 Oregon Ducks football team. Both of this year’s games have been uncomfortably close, but the No. 9-ranked Ducks are 2-0 heading into Week 3’s final non-conference matchup of the season.

Although Oregon’s offense struggled to find consistency against the University of Idaho, Oregon’s defense looked solid. Duck defenders limited the Vandals’ offense in the season opener, allowing only 14 points and two third-down conversions on 12 attempts.

The defensive line did an especially good job, allowing only 49 total rushing yards while recording four sacks and seven tackles for loss. Sophomore edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei was responsible for two of each, but expressed his dissatisfaction.

“Even if we did play good, it’s like ‘where can we get better?’” Uiagalelei said after the Idaho game. “Even though we won, there’s a lot of stuff we could have done better.”

According to Uiagalelei, the rest of the team is similarly focused on improving. “We’re playing us every week. If we play to our standard, I don’t think we can lose a game,” Uiagalelei said.

After a narrow victory over Idaho, Uiagalelei and the Ducks turned their focus towards Saturday’s Week 2 showdown with Boise State University, which presented Oregon’s defense with an interesting challenge in the form of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

Jeanty, who was named the Mountain West Conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, made headlines in Week 1 after carrying the ball 20 times for 267 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 56-45 win over Georgia Southern University.

Jeanty’s performance seemed to motivate Oregon’s defensive preparation. “I feel like it’s a mission to stop him from doing that against us,” defensive tackle Derrick Harmon said during a mid-week interview.

Fellow tackle Jamaree Caldwell compared Jeanty’s ability to absorb contact to that of Oklahoma State University running back Ollie Gordon II, who was voted last year’s Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Caldwell transferred to Oregon this offseason after two seasons with the University of Houston, against whom Gordon tallied 154 yards and three touchdowns in 2023.

Oregon ultimately defeated Boise State via a last-second field goal, but the Ducks defense was tested all night. Jeanty carried the ball 25 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns, and Oregon only managed to sack quarterback Maddux Madsen a single time. 

Jeanty’s biggest play came with 13 minutes remaining, when he ran a simple inside zone through a gaping hole in Oregon’s defensive front. Completely untouched, Jeanty took the ball 70 yards for a touchdown that tied the game at 27. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning described the run as something Jeanty “creates with a lot of teams”.

“You can bottle him up, bottle him up, bottle him up, and then he makes a huge explosive play,” Lanning said. 

Although Oregon allowed some big plays as a result of defensive mistakes, defensive lineman Jordan Burch remained optimistic. “We all know we had some mistakes that we gotta clean up but as a whole I feel like everybody played really hard and tried to get the win,” Burch said after Saturday’s game.

With possibly the season’s biggest running threat behind them, Oregon’s defensive front moves forward as a group united by a determination to keep improving. “It’s like family now,” Caldwell said of this year’s defensive line. “[With] a lot of transfers coming in, it takes a little while to get to know a lot of people, but now I can call people as brothers.” 

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What happened in the Oregon vs. Idaho game?

Oregon’s 2024 transfer portal class consisted of 14 players and was ranked by 247Sports as the second-best class in the nation. Oregon’s 2024 team has newcomers starting at quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, defensive tackle and more. As a result, the Ducks’ season opener was expected to be a tune-up for a transfer-heavy team that might need a little gameplay to sync as a unit.

But could anyone have expected a result like this?

The University of Idaho Vandals were 44.5-point underdogs heading into its Aug. 31 clash with the Ducks. After Idaho quarterback Jack Layne crossed the goal line for a touchdown with 9:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Vandals were three points behind the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, and on the verge of one of the most shocking non-conference upsets in history.

Oregon held on to win 24-14, but its poor performance against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team like Idaho served as a testament to the importance of non-conference games. These early-season contests provide a valuable opportunity for teams to identify and address their strengths and weaknesses. 

“There’s certainly some things that we can clean up,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “Great teams are able to learn from tight matches, [and] this was a tight match.”

Oregon is 2-0 in previous FCS matchups under Lanning, winning by a combined score of 151-21. Had the Vandals pulled off a win, it would have been the first FCS victory over a top-5 opponent since Appalachian State University defeated the then fifth-ranked University of Michigan on Sept. 1, 2007.

While blowouts give schools a chance to game-test risky plays or promising young talent, early struggles like Oregon’s highlight clear ways the team can improve and grow. They also offer Oregon’s 14 transfers opportunities to master schemes and sync up with their new teammates, which will be crucial given Oregon’s transfer-heavy lineup.

Oregon’s defense looked solid. The offense, which struggled to establish a rhythm or score consistently, may need more time to coalesce.

Although transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel was accurate in his Oregon debut, he failed to reliably connect with wide receiver and fellow transfer Evan Stewart. Stewart, who was ranked the No. 2 overall player in this year’s portal, finished with three catches for only 15 yards.

“We didn’t create some of the explosive plays I was hoping we could create offensively,” Lanning said after the game. 

The offensive line may have struggled the most of any group. Gabriel was sacked three times and fumbled once. For comparison, the 2022 and 2023 offensive lines each allowed five sacks all season. 

Although three of last year’s starters returned for 2024, penalties and errors plagued the line against Idaho. Gabriel was consistently pressured and often forced to make checkdown throws instead of pushing the ball downfield.

“We have to go back and evaluate the film,” Lanning said of the offensive line. “We gotta figure out how to eliminate some of the pressures that showed up and some of the sacks that showed up.”

Lanning and the Ducks will face non-conference opponents Boise State University (1-0) and Oregon State University (1-0) – both of whom have stronger teams than Idaho — in the next two weeks before beginning conference play against UCLA on Sept. 28. 

Oregon survived a scare against Idaho, but the team will need to make use of the lessons these next two non-conference games can provide if it wants to live up to this season’s lofty expectations.

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Oregon v. Idaho Preview

Oregon will begin its 2024 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 31 against the visiting University of Idaho Vandals. Duck fans have been looking forward to what seems a promising year of football and will get their first look at the much-hyped 2024 squad when the season opener kicks off at 4:30 p.m.

Oregon is listed as a 44.5-point favorite against the Vandals, who haven’t beaten the Ducks since 1950. Oregon has won the last 23 matchups and holds an all-time record of 52 wins, four ties and three losses when facing Idaho.

Idaho will be led by third-year head coach Jason Eck, who holds a record of 16-9 across two winning seasons in the Big Sky Conference and seems to have turned the program around. 2022 was the team’s first winning season since 2016, and a 9-4 record in 2023 resulted in the team’s first two consecutive winning seasons since the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

Eck began his coaching career as an offensive line coach at Idaho in 2004 and served as an offensive line and/or tight end coach at various FCS programs until 2022, when he returned to Idaho to assume his first head coaching position. Eck recently signed an extension that will keep him coaching the Vandals until 2028.

“Getting that was awesome, and it was good to see the appreciation for what we had done,” Eck said at the Big Sky Conference’s preseason media day. “We’re excited about what we’ve accomplished here.”

In 2023, the Vandals reached the FCS playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1995. Following last year’s success, Eck’s Vandals are ranked third in Big Sky Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll and seventh in the preseason FCS Coaches’ Poll, which considers 129 teams from 13 conferences.

Idaho will see eight starters return from a defense that led the Big Sky in yards allowed per game last year. However, this year’s Vandals offense has undergone some changes.

Last year’s starting quarterback, Gevani McCoy, transferred to Oregon State University before his junior year. Both of last year’s leading wideouts, Hayden Hatten and Jermaine Jackson, moved on in pursuit of NFL careers. 

Also gone from Idaho’s 2024 roster is Anthony Woods, who was a major weapon last year as the Vandals’ starting running back. Last year, Woods tallied 207 carries for 1,155 yards (10th most in FCS) and 16 touchdowns (fourth most). Now a junior, Woods will play for the Big 12’s University of Utah Utes in 2024.

Despite these departures, Eck has plenty of returning players to be confident about. “Our O-line and D-line is really back, pretty much intact,” Eck said. “I think those guys have really come along, and I think that’s really the recipe to win in FCS football.”

Third-year sophomore quarterback Jack Layne will step into the spotlight this year after redshirting his freshman season and appearing as McCoy’s backup in 2023. Layne started once last season against Idaho State University, where he completed 20 of 26 passes for 275 yards and six touchdowns and turned in a 63-21 victory.

Layne’s main offensive weapon is not yet clear. Sophomore wideout Jordan Dwyer could step up after taking 20 catches for 328 yards and four touchdowns a season ago. In the backfield, juniors Elisha Cummings and South Dakota State University transfer Nate Thomas will likely compete for snaps.

“This team has to make its own identity,” Eck said. That identity will face a tough first test in Eugene on Saturday, when Eck will face off against Dan Lanning and the No. 3 ranked Oregon Ducks.

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Once a Husky, now a Duck

In Oregon’s 2023 Pac-12 Championship loss to Washington that was equal parts frustrating and heartbreaking, top Oregon wideout Troy Franklin was essentially a non-factor, held to four catches which totaled only 34 yards. 

Why? He was kept in a box by Jabbar Muhammad, one of the Pac-12’s best cornerbacks a year ago.

In 2023, Muhammad recorded 46 tackles, five tackles for loss, three interceptions, two sacks, 19 passes defended (tied for second in the nation) and 16 pass breakups (third in the nation). Muhammad’s dominant defensive performances last year were a key factor in getting the Huskies all the way to the National Championship Game.

The DeSoto, Texas, native’s ability to lock down opposing receivers earned him AP First-Team All Pac-12 honors and made him one of the transfer portal’s most desired options. Now, he’ll spend his senior year as an Oregon Duck, where he’ll have a chance to avenge Duck fans by taking his new school to the top of the college football world.

Muhammad played his first three seasons, the first of which was a COVID year, at Oklahoma State University. In 2022, during his last season with the Cowboys, he got a chance to match up against new Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Although Muhammad recorded five tackles and a forced fumble, Gabriel’s Oklahoma Sooners took a 28-13 win, and Muhammad was impressed by what he saw.

 “Everything went through him,” Muhammad said of Gabriel, who he described as a field general. “He was calm, nothing got under his skin and he went out there and executed.”

For an Oregon team that was in need of secondary help this offseason, Muhammad’s signing may have been the Ducks’ biggest defensive addition. His arrival at Oregon comes as his second transfer portal move. 

He transferred to Washington before the 2023 season and found his final home in Eugene. Although he’d begun to adjust to the transfer portal, the former Husky said playing for Oregon was still an interesting feeling at first.

“I got on the field and I’m like ‘Bro, what the heck? I’m at Oregon.’ It was crazy. Surreal,” Muhammad said to GoDucks, regarding his first practice as a Duck, which was held on only his second day in Eugene.

Despite Oregon and Washington’s storied and intense rivalry, Muhammad had great respect for the Ducks during his one-year stint as Husky.

“I think [Oregon] was a very disciplined and well-rounded program,” Muhammad said. “Obviously a good team, obviously have good skill, players and things like that.”

Although there’s significant hype that continues to surround the 5 ’10”, 180 lbs senior, Muhammad doesn’t let it affect the way he plays or acts. Unlike many defensive backs, Muhammad describes himself as a humble guy who isn’t much of a trash talker.

“I just know how hard it is to play DB, and I feel like if I go out there and talk trash, and let up a bomb for 60 yards on the next play, it doesn’t look too good,” Muhammad said.

Instead, Muhammad lets his play do the talking, something head coach Dan Lanning will surely appreciate. As Lanning famously told his 2023 Ducks before a 42-6 thrashing of the then-unbeaten and notoriously verbose Colorado Buffaloes, “Today, we talk with our pads.”

According to Muhammad, the 2024 Oregon squad is ready to do just that. While the offseason divisional shift from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten has come with the prospect of more skilled and physical opponents, Muhammad isn’t concerned.

“I think this team’s very talented. Physically, I think it’s also a very physical team,” Muhammad said. “I think this team’s gonna be pretty well adjusted to going to the Big Ten.”

In the leadup to Aug. 31’s season opener against the University of Idaho, Muhammad is preparing. He fully understands his new defensive playbook and is focused on improving in any way he can.

 “I’m kinda trying to just get better each and every day,” Muhammad said. 

Muhammad’s lockdown cover skills will be challenged during Oregon’s debut season with the Big Ten. Ohio State University’s Emeka Egbuka, the University of Illinois’ Zakhari Franklin and the University of Maryland’s Tai Felton are just a few of the many receiving talents posing a threat to Oregon’s secondary. 

The Ducks’ defense will rely heavily on Muhammad if they hope to reach a Big Ten championship game or earn a favorable seeding in the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

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Oregon’s weapons out wide

The Oregon Ducks’ 2023 passing offense broke team records. No Duck ever threw for more single-season yards than departing quarterback Bo Nix. No Duck had more single-season receiving yards than his now-Broncos teammate, Troy Franklin, and no Duck had more single-season receptions than Nix’s adoptive brother Tez Johnson. 

Of that group, only Johnson returns for 2024. With that in mind, how is it that the 2024 receiving corps might be even better? Is it possible that Oregon’s passing offense gets even more explosive?

The Ducks enter the 2024 college football season with perhaps the nation’s best overall roster. The team is full of talent, but its crown jewel may be the receiving corps, which publications like PFF, CBS Sports and On3 ranked as the nation’s best.

“We’re the best receiving room in the country,” Johnson said at Oregon’s media day. “As a group, nobody can touch us.”

Johnson came to Oregon in 2023 as a junior transfer from Troy University, where he’d had two solid seasons following 2020’s COVID year. Despite his skills, Johnson was known by many for being Nix’s adoptive brother.

That narrative changed during the season, as Johnson’s form continued to improve. He broke out against California in early November, when he hauled in 12 catches (his season high) for 180 yards (another season high) and two touchdowns.

He capped the season off with an impressive Fiesta Bowl, in which he tallied 11 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown. Those catches brought his season total to 86, which broke Oregon’s single-season record. He took those 86 catches for 1,182 yards (the third most in UO single-season history) and ten touchdowns (tied for fourth most).

Despite elevating his game in 2023, Johnson is focused on the future. “It doesn’t matter what I did last year,” Johnson said. “I haven’t done anything this year.”

This year, Johnson will line up alongside Texas A&M University transfer Evan Stewart to form what PFF’s Max Chadwick called “the best receiver duo in the sport.”

Stewart spent his first two seasons in an A&M offensive scheme that drew criticisms from players and pundits alike, ultimately resulting in the departure of head coach Jimbo Fisher and 2023 offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. 

Despite his tantalizing blend of speed, agility and route-running prowess, Stewart never achieved more than 500 yards or four touchdowns and ultimately decided to transfer. 247 Sports ranked Stewart as the No. 1 receiver and No. 2 overall player in the transfer portal. 

Stewart said that a chance to increase production was what drew him to Oregon.

“Everyone says I lack the production, which in my eyes, I do,” Stewart said. “Seeing Troy [Franklin] and Tez [Johnson] do the production they did last year, I definitely feel like I can do that or even more.”

Now a Duck, Stewart should instantly become one of quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s favorite targets. “I just want to help this team be the best team,” Stewart said.

While Johnson and Stewart occupy most of the spotlight, Gabriel will have plenty of other quality wideouts to throw to. Senior Traeshon Holden and junior Gary Bryant Jr. proved their skills in supporting roles last season.

“My role is going to be whatever I make it,” Holden said. “Whenever the ball comes to me, I know what I’m gonna do with it.” Holden had 37 catches for 452 yards and six touchdowns in 2023.

“I feel like I’m one of the best receivers in the country,” Holden said. “All I gotta do is show the country, and I feel like I’m gonna do that.”

2023 was Bryant Jr.’s first year with the Ducks after two years at USC. Bryant Jr. tallied 30 catches for 442 yards and four touchdowns and is excited to compete against teammates and opponents alike in 2024.

“My expectation is to go out there and win,” Bryant Jr. said. “That’s all I came here for, even last year, was to help this team go to a national championship and win it.”

Fans can also expect to get a first real look at 2023 five-star receiving prospect Jurrion Dickey, who’s previously been limited by injury. “Coming into this season, I feel like I upgraded a lot,” Dickey said. Offensive coordinator Will Stein called Dickey “a phenomenal player” who’s “ready now.”

The Ducks are loaded on the outside. If Gabriel can consistently put the ball in these receivers’ hands, it could free up his to hoist Oregon’s first ever national championship trophy.

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