The Oregon Ducks may have most of their offensive line sorted out, but one spot is still up for grabs, and it could keep shaping how this offense looks in the early going.
At left guard, Douglas Utu and Trent Ferguson are still battling for time, and Oregon coach Dan Lanning made it clear the competition is not over. The Ducks used both players in their season-opening win over Boise State, and that rotation is expected to continue when No. 6 Oregon heads to Stillwater for a Week 2 game against Oklahoma State on Sept. 12 at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Against the Broncos, Utu and Ferguson were split almost perfectly. Each played 35 snaps, while Oregon’s other four projected starters were on the field for nearly the entire game. Michael Bennett III was the lone exception among the rest of the line, logging 49 snaps at right guard.
Neither Utu, a sophomore, nor Ferguson, a junior, came through the opener cleanly. Lanning pointed to the room still available for growth, and Ferguson’s false start early in the third quarter was part of that picture.
The penalty wiped out a 10-yard run by Dierre Hill Jr. and turned what should have been a second-down situation into first-and-15 at the Oregon 30. The Ducks still responded, with Dante Moore leading a drive that ended in a 26-yard Gage Hurych field goal to tie the game at 17.
Oregon had already cut into Boise State’s lead before halftime, getting a 27-yard touchdown from tight end Jamari Johnson to make it 17-14 at the break.
Lanning said the Ducks will keep leaning on the two-guard setup for now.
“Yeah, combination again,” Lanning said of the Ducks’ rotation against the Cowboys. “Trent has shown that he’s able to, but I mean, obviously had the false start early.
Can’t have that, right? But he was able to go out there and execute, you know.”
Ferguson came into the season with only 61 career offensive snaps across 15 games, including 36 at left tackle and 21 more as an extra offensive lineman for a group that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. Lanning said there were still things Ferguson would want back, but he also noted the second half included some successful moments.
“And we had some success there in the second half,” Lanning said. “I think there’s some moments that he wants to have back.”
Ferguson’s size, 6-7 and 322 pounds, and his ability to bounce back after the early mistake should keep him in the mix. Utu, listed at 6-4 and 335 pounds, came into this season with just 10 career snaps in four games as a freshman in 2025, with half of those coming against Oklahoma State’s opponent on Saturday. A four-star recruit out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Utu was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 4 interior lineman in the country.
Even though Ferguson had more experience on paper, it was Utu who got the starting call against Boise State, joining Ziyare Addison, Fox Crader, Michael Bennett III and Iapani Laloulu up front. Together, Ferguson and Utu combined for 65 snaps in the opener, which was more than either had handled before and more than the 71 combined career snaps they brought into the season.
There is still some movement beyond left guard, too. Oregon used eight players along the offensive line against Boise State, and Lanning also addressed the roles of freshmen tackles Tommy Tofi and Immanuel Iheanacho. That discussion tied back to the same basic rule for everyone fighting for snaps, whether they are veterans or newcomers.
“You got to play better than the person that’s out there on the field in front of you,” Lanning said.
For now, the left guard job remains unsettled. Whether Utu keeps the start or Ferguson keeps closing the gap will be answered when the Ducks meet the Cowboys.
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