Oregon’s opening film from the Boise State game showed a Ducks team that kept a lot of its structure intact, while still mixing in some notable wrinkles along the offensive line.
One thing that stood out right away: the game’s final two possessions were left out of the performance metrics. Boise State was in desperation mode, and Oregon was simply working the clock, so neither drive fit what the staff was trying to measure in normal game action.
That leaves both teams with 11 meaningful possessions. Oregon also lost one possession to the muffed punt, while Boise State’s last snap of the second half was just a kneel down.
The personnel usage told its own story. Oregon cycled through a huge number of players on Saturday, but the skill spots on offense were handled with a pretty tight rotation. The starters mostly stayed on the field, and on defense the Ducks rotated heavily at defensive tackle while keeping other spots more condensed.
The offensive line, though, was where the most interesting movement happened.
Every snap featured OL #58 Ziyare Addison at left tackle, OL #59 Fox Crader at right tackle, and OL #72 Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu at center. Oregon only used OL #78 Gernorris Wilson in his #35 eligible receiver jersey as a sixth lineman a couple of times.
The guard spots were the unsettled part of the picture. In the entire first half, OL #55 David Utu lined up at left guard and Yale transfer OL #75 Michael Bennett handled right guard. After halftime, OL #56 Trent Ferguson took over at left guard, and OL #74 Dave Iuli replaced Bennett at right guard beginning with the final drive of the third quarter.
How much of that was Oregon testing combinations in live action, and how much might have been tied to minor lingering injuries is not clear. Wilson and Iuli had both been reported at different points in training camp as limited, so that may have been part of the equation.
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Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. both got involved in the backfield plan, while several pass catchers and offensive linemen logged meaningful time as the Ducks tried different combinations. For a team still settling into September, the real takeaway was not just who played, but how the usage broke down, and what those early patterns might mean once the competition stiffens and Oregon has to narrow the rotation. [Read more 🡒]