Rece Davis isn’t ringing any alarm bells on Oregon, but he did leave Week 1 wanting a little more from the nation’s No. 2 team.
The Ducks survived Boise State 34-27 at a sold-out Autzen Stadium, and while the win came with plenty of highlights, Davis thought Oregon leaned too heavily on explosive individual plays to pull it out. His biggest takeaway was simple: the Ducks found a way, but they did not fully impose themselves.
“Maybe Oregon, I don’t know if they’re as good as we thought early on, but they don’t have to be right now,” Davis said on the Pat McAfee Show after week one. “When they’ve got guys like Dakorien Moore that can put on the brakes on you right at the end and then make big explosive plays - which really, to me, that was the difference in this game. It was easier for Oregon to score than it was for Boise State.”
That moment came in the fourth quarter, when Dante Moore hit Dakorien Moore in space and the receiver turned it into a 62-yard touchdown. Dakorien Moore planted his foot, caused two Boise State defenders to collide, then burst down the sideline to put Oregon ahead and ignite the Autzen crowd.
Davis made clear he wasn’t treating the result like a warning sign for the Ducks’ season. Still, he said he expected a cleaner, more commanding performance.
“Not worried about Oregon yet, but I did expect a little more dominance from them than I saw,” Davis said. “I think Boise might be as good as anybody in the Group of Six, but it’s still a little early.”
The final score was tight, but Oregon’s defense did enough to keep the Broncos from ever fully taking control. Boise State finished with 274 total yards, 93 rushing yards and 2.6 yards per carry. The Ducks also held the Broncos to 4 of 15 on third down, while piling up three sacks and eight quarterback hurries.
On offense, Dante Moore opened his Heisman Trophy campaign in style. He completed 28 of 37 passes for a career-high 378 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was just the second time in his career he had gone for at least 300 yards and three scores without a turnover.
The win also pushed Oregon to its nation-leading 39th victory since the start of 2023. The Ducks extended the country’s longest active nonconference home winning streak to 39 games, added a 16th straight September win and ran their streak to 41 consecutive games against unranked opponents.
Next comes another early test, this time on the road against Drew Mestemaker and Oklahoma State. Oregon visits Boone Pickens Stadium in a 9 a.m. PT kickoff on ESPN, and the Ducks will be looking to look sharper while cutting down the penalties after committing 10 against Boise State.
Davis also offered a broader view of why Oregon keeps winning on the recruiting trail in the NIL era. In an exclusive interview with Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amaranthus, he pointed to the mix of brand, environment and resources.
“I think that Oregon is cool. You see kids from all over the country that want to play here because it's dynamic, it's vibrant, they've got fantastic uniforms, elite facilities, they play for championships. I mean, it's got everything you could want,” Davis said.
He added that NIL has helped Oregon bridge some of the geography challenge that has long come with recruiting to the West Coast.
“The fact that players can make money now changes things. It doesn't help a guy from Georgia in terms of making it a shorter plane trip (to Eugene), but at least you can afford the plane trip now, or you can afford it for your parents. So I think all of that has really, worked well together to allow them to be able to recruit nationally and do so successfully,” Davis continued.
For Oregon, the question now isn’t whether the talent is there. It’s whether this team can clean things up, grow from a close opener and start delivering the dominant performances plenty of people expected from the start.
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