At First Glance: Week 7 at Oregon Ducks

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington (6) runs against Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun (1) in the second half in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Subscriber Content Week Seven: Oregon Ducks Date & Time: Saturday, October 11 – kickoff time is TBA Venue: Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon TV: TBA Ducks at a Glance Head Coach: Dan Lanning Entering his fourth season as Oregon head coach Record at Oregon: 35-6 (24-3) Overall Record: 35-6 Last Season: 13-1 (9-0) Oregon Returning Leaders Passing: Dante Moore – 7 for 8 for 49 yards in five games Rushing: Noah Whittington – 118 carries for 540 yards (4.58) with six touchdowns Receiving: Evan Stewart (injured) – 48 receptions for 613 yards (12.77) with five TDs Tackles: Bryce Boettcher – LB – 94 tackles with 50 solo Ducks Preseason Predictions Win Total: 10.5 (+118 Over/-144 Under) Playoff Odds: Yes (-225)/No (+180) To Win Big Ten: +340 (third in Big Ten) S&P+: 7th (4th offense/11th defense) 247Sports: 5th CBS Sports: 7th ESPN: 8th Impact Newcomers for the Ducks Dakorien Moore – 5-star WR – 5’11”/182 pounds Na’eem Offord – 5-star CB – 6’1”/185 pounds Makhi Hughes – RB – Tulane transfer – 5’11”/210 pounds Isaiah World – OT – Nevada transfer – 6’8”/309 pounds Bear Alexander – DT – USC transfer – 6’3”/315 pounds Biggest Questions Facing the Ducks Is Dante Moore ready to captain the ship? Oregon’s offense had a seamless transition from Bo Nix to Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore has plenty of talent but is the inexperienced former blue-chip recruit ready to lead the attack? Can the Ducks get more from the running game? They averaged only 4.4 yards per carry last season. New offensive line additions plus outstanding transfer Makhi Hughes hope to remedy that issue. What did the Ducks learn from the Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State? Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning leaves the field after a CFP Quarterfinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Program Preview Dan Lanning was hired by the Oregon Ducks prior to the 2022 season. Through three seasons, Lanning has a remarkable record of 35-6 with a grand total of only three conference losses. They joined the Big Ten last season and are still unbeaten in Big Ten play after going 9-0 and beating Penn State to win the Big Ten Championship. Oregon was the number one team in the country but had to face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. The Ducks were steamrolled by the Buckeyes in a surprisingly lopsided game that seemed like a perfect storm against Oregon. Despite the difficult ending to the season, the Ducks are recruiting as well as nearly anyone in the country and Dan Lanning kept his staff largely intact. Oregon is one of the select few programs nationally that expects to make the College Football Playoff and contend for a conference championship each and every season and anything less will certainly feel like a disappointment. They have lost a grand total of one home game under Dan Lanning and this game, along with the trip to Penn State, lines up as an extremely tall order for the Indiana Hoosiers. Combat Ducks quarterback Dante Moore throws out a pass as the Fighting Ducks face off against Mighty Oregon in the Oregon Ducks spring game on April 26, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Offensive Preview In 2023, the Oregon Ducks averaged 5.91 yards per carry, 7.82 yards per offensive play and racked up an average of 44.2 points per game. Bo Nix went to the NFL but Oregon plugged in transfer Dillon Gabriel to keep things humming along. They went 12-0 in the regular season, beat Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game were the number one seed in the College Football Playoff but the offense was not quite as electric as it was the season before. The yards per play dropped by nearly 1.5 yards, yards per carry went from 5.91 to 4.43 per rush and the points per game number went from 44.2 to 34.9. That’s still a great offense but it was not historically good like the 2023 attack was. Offensive coordinator Will Stein is a genius and while getting back to the 2023 level is unlikely, this is again going to be a high-flying offense. At quarterback, the Oregon Ducks will turn to former five-star recruit Dante Moore. Moore is a redshirt sophomore that began his collegiate career at UCLA before transferring to Oregon to sit behind Dillon Gabriel during the 2024 season. When the 2025 campaign kicks off, Moore will not have had much game experience but he will have had plenty of time learning the Ducks’ system and preparing to take the reins. An anonymous Big Ten coach told Athlon Sports that familiarity will matter quite a bit. “They’re pretty hyped on the quarterback Moore, who they’ve had in the system for a season already, which is a huge advantage. This isn’t modifying your book for a guy you get out of the portal; it’s a talented, developed player who already knows your system. I think that will show early on this season.” As mentioned previously, the running game needs to improve some this season after averaging less than 4.5 yards per rush last year. Improvement will rely on the offensive line (more on that in a bit) and the running backs and the Ducks landed perhaps the best transfer at that position on the market in Makhi Hughes. The Oregon insider from 247Sports called Hughes “a different breed than what Oregon has had at running back recently.” Considering those names include Bucky Irving and Jordan James, that is high praise indeed. Hughes was a workhorse for the Green Wave, toting the ball 265 times for 1,401 yards with 15 touchdowns last season. He’ll provide a real physical element to the Oregon rushing game, something they missed last season. Noah Whittington is a veteran that will get plenty of work but he does need to improve on his efficiency. They need some more explosive runs from the rushing attack and redshirt freshman Da’Jaun Riggs is the man to watch. He had 11 carries for 82 yards last season and is expected to have a larger role this season as a “lightning” component to the “thunder” from Hughes. The other part of the rushing attack is the offensive line and Oregon is replacing four starters from a unit that has been in the top five of the Joe Moore Award voting each of the past two seasons. The coaching staff raves about the portal additions of right tackle Alex Harkey from Texas State, left tackle Isaiah World from Nevada and guard Emmanuel Pregnon from USC. World is projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and they believe all three of them are going to step in and start right away. Iapani Lalolulu is another potential draft pick at center. Isaiah World has a whole lot of potential and his physical gifts are undeniable but it’s fair to say that thus far, he is more hype and potential than realized production. Belief in Eugene is high that their coaching staff can get the most out of him. The largest question mark on this offense coming into the season was going to be the wide receiver position and that became even more of a certainty with the injury to talented veteran Evan Stewart. Stewart is likely to miss the season and he certainly won’t be ready for the game against IU. Who is going to step up and fill the void? Gary Bryant Jr. has immense talent but can’t stay healthy while Justius Lowe and Jurrion Dickey have failed to make much of an impact in their first two seasons. Malik Benson is a transfer from Florida State that appears adept at running a go route but not a whole lot else. Granted, Oregon’s system will certainly get more out of his speed than Florida State’s mess of an attack did. For sure, there is talent but each potential “answer” has some real red flags to it. Enter five-star freshman Dakorien Moore. The Texas native was a huge recruiting win for Oregon and he’s expected to jump in and contribute immediately. Moore is not a Jeremiah Smith or Ryan Williams level talent or physical specimen but he’s going to be really good. Concerns at wide receiver could be partially allayed by increasing the load for tight end Kenyon Sadiq and Louisville transfer tight end Jamari Johnson. Nov 30, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers running back Justice Ellison (6) runs the ball while Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Dillon Thieneman (31) defends in the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Defensive Preview The Oregon offense gets all of the love but the defense under Dan Lanning has been steadily improving and the 2024 unit was top 15 in the nation. The Ducks surrendered only 19.4 points per game and held opponents to only 5.14 yards per play. There are plenty of reasons to believe that the 2025 defense will be even better as Lanning continues to accumulate talent and plug holes via the transfer portal. The defensive line lost three draft picks and replacing guys like Derrick Harmon are the biggest concern for Lanning’s crew. A’Mauri Washington is 320 pounds and Oregon is counting on the culture of the program getting the most out of talented journeyman nose tackle Bear Alexander. They are able to redshirt young players and count on players like Aydin Breland, Tionne Gray and others to provide quality depth. The best edge rusher in the league might be Matayo Uiagalelei and he’ll anchor the pass rush after racking up 10.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in 2024 as a breakout star. At linebacker, Teitum Tuioti, Devon Jackson and returning leading tackler Brye Boettcher are all back with Devon Jackson having the potential to turn into an All-American. The one area of susceptibility last season was the secondary and that has been revamped heading into this season. Dillon Thieneman transferred in from Purdue and the coaches immediately fell in love with what he can bring. He has been called a “leader” and “tone setter” and is expected to be an All-Big Ten player. He’ll be paired with Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin to give Oregon a really athletic trio at the backend. Theran Johnson was brought in from Northwestern after playing extensively in the league for four seasons and Jahlil Florence was a starter in 2023 but missed most of last season with an injury. With those two, Oregon technically has two “new starters” but both have started in the Big Ten and been successful previously. The rest of the room is loaded with young players that were considered four and five-star talents. The most recent is a special talent by the name of Na’eem Offord, a top recruit from Birmingham. There are no shortage of options for the Ducks and they expect to be a top ten defense in 2025. Special Teams Preview Oregon’s special teams unit is ranked third in the post-spring SP+ rankings. Atticus Sappington returns as the place kicker after nailing 14 of his 16 attempts a season ago and the punter, Ross James, is back as well after averaging an impressive 45.46 yards per boot. There are plenty of options to return kicks but it was Noah Whittington that handled those duties last season. He averaged 29 yards per return but it’s not really something Oregon emphasizes or tries to do much. At minimum, special teams won’t be a question mark or area of concern for the Ducks and there is a chance this unit could swing a game or two in their favor. 2025 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS Week One: Old Dominion Week Two: Kennesaw State Week Three: Indiana State Week Four: Illinois Fighting Illini Week Five: Iowa Hawkeyes Subscribe to get access Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Log in

At First Glance: Week 7 at Oregon Ducks

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At First Glance: Week 7 at Oregon Ducks

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