The Oregon Ducks’ season has already been battered enough by injuries to change the shape of everything around them, but the first availability report for Northwestern at least gives Dan Lanning’s group a reason to breathe a little easier.
Oregon entered the year ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll with national championship hopes, only to stumble to 4-3 as injuries piled up and Dante Moore was ruled out for the season after getting hurt in the fourth game. The problems have gone well beyond Moore, especially on offense, where the Ducks have spent weeks patching together answers.
That could start to change this week. When Wednesday night’s opening availability report dropped, Oregon’s wide receiver situation looked better than it has in a while.
Evan Stewart, Jalen Lott and Messiah Hampton, who all missed last week’s game, are off the report. Immanuel Iheanacho is back at practice and listed as questionable.
The Ducks did take another hit on Wednesday, though. Lanning said guard Dave Iuli and defensive lineman Matthew Johnson both had surgery and will miss several weeks.
Northwestern got a major note of its own on the report. Tight end Luke Dehnicke is listed as probable, which matters because he’s already shown he can tilt a game.
He has not played since Indiana on Sept. 25, when he caught seven passes for 140 yards. Before the injury, he had 11 catches for 208 yards in three games.
For Oregon, the return of help comes at an important time. The offense is adjusting from offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer to new playcaller Jay Johnson, and that job gets a lot less complicated if the Ducks can lean on more of their receivers again. Last week, Oregon’s wideout room was getting so thin that it was dipping deep into the bottom of the depth chart, with Stewart, Hampton, Lott and Jeremiah McClellan all sidelined.
Some of those absences may have involved punishments, but the Ducks appear to be trending in the right direction with Stewart, Hampton and Lott off the report. McClellan’s return should also be close, assuming there’s no setback, since he is nearing the end of the original six-week timeline.
That matters beyond just this matchup. Oregon still has roster construction questions to sort out, and the staff is going to need to spend heavily in the Transfer Portal.
Getting healthier now should help Lanning and his coaches figure out which younger players can be trusted going forward. Hampton, Lott and Iheanacho are the kind of freshmen who could become building blocks, and these final games will give Oregon a better sample of what they can bring.
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Oregon's Season Just Became A Much Bigger Dan Lanning Problem
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Drew Mehringers removal as offensive coordinator only sharpens the spotlight on Lanning, who is now having to recalibrate the offense on the fly. Assistant quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson has been elevated into the job, giving Oregon a new voice in a critical role at a moment when the Ducks can least afford more instability. For a program built to contend, the question is no longer just how this season turns out, but how much of the burden falls on Lanning to steady it. [Read more 🡒]
Chip Kelly Still Looms Over Oregon In A Game Ohio State Fans Know Matters
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Oregons New-Look Offense Faces A Huge Test Against Northwestern
The Ducks are getting a different kind of measuring stick this week, with a reshuffled offense heading into a matchup against Northwestern and its sturdy, well-schooled defense. Oregon made a change at offensive coordinator ahead of the game, and now the focus shifts to how quickly the new setup can settle in against a unit that likes to make life difficult from the first snap. Northwesterns defense usually lines up in a 4-2-5, and it brings an aggressive front seven with a secondary that can hold up behind it.
For Dylan Raiola and the Oregon offense, the challenge is finding room against a group built to squeeze plays at the line and limit clean throws downfield. Safety Robert Fitzgerald, linebacker Braydon Brus and cornerback Ore Adeyi give the Wildcats a spine on every level, which means Oregon will have to be sharp with protection, timing and any chances to create mismatches. It is the sort of test that can tell you a lot about a new-look attack, even before the final result tells the rest. [Read more 🡒]