Oregon had a chance on Saturday afternoon to turn a difficult spot into something that still looked salvageable. UCLA came in ranked 21st, the Ducks were at home, and the setup offered a clean path to another win that would have helped the résumé while they tried to get through Dante Moore’s injury with a 2-0 record. Instead, the game unraveled into a mess that exposed just how badly things went sideways in Eugene.
The Ducks never found a rhythm early, spent three quarters spinning their wheels, and Dylan Raiola was eventually benched. By the time Oregon tried to claw back, the damage had already piled up. Six turnovers earlier in the game left too much to overcome, and the Ducks fell to 3-2 in a season that came in with championship or bust expectations.
That kind of day puts a spotlight on a lot of different people, and Oregon had no shortage of blame to spread around.
Dan Lanning is at the front of the line. This was the second time this season the Ducks looked completely unprepared, and it happened again against a team they had two weeks to get ready for.
After another flat showing, the lack of answers lands on the head coach. Oregon had already run into the same problem against Oklahoma State, and Saturday only made it harder to ignore.
Raiola’s outing was just as damaging. After he flashed in relief against USC, he got another chance to show he was different from the quarterback Nebraska moved on from.
Instead, he looked far too much like that version again - drifting in the pocket, making bad decisions, and missing throws. For anyone who thought he might be a better fit in the offense after last week, Saturday was a harsh reality check.
He was pulled in the fourth quarter for Brock Thomas.
The offensive staff didn’t escape either. Drew Mehringer had two weeks to put together a plan, and with the severity of the hit Dante Moore absorbed, there wasn’t much suspense about whether he’d be available.
Still, Oregon’s offense was flat-out awful. Nothing worked, and even though Raiola made the situation worse, Mehringer never found the adjustments needed to help him settle in.
The Ducks didn’t go to Brock Thomas nearly fast enough.
A’lique Terry also takes a hit here because the line simply did not hold up. Oregon leaned on the idea that its recruited talent would be enough instead of adding starting offensive linemen this offseason, and the results have not been there.
Through five games, the Ducks still haven’t started the same offensive line in back-to-back weeks, and the combinations they’ve used haven’t clicked. On Saturday, UCLA worked the line over, and that points back to the coaching.
Then there was Jordon Davison. Oregon did find a little something with the wildcat in the second quarter, but when they returned to it on UCLA’s 13-yard line, Davison fumbled at the mesh point and appeared to leave points on the field. A missed 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter only added to a long list of problems for the Ducks.
In Other News...
Oregons Bear Alexander Controversy Just Put Dan Lanning Under Pressure
The fallout from Oregons win over UCLA has extended well beyond the scoreboard, with defensive lineman Bear Alexander at the center of the conversation after video showed him punching quarterback Nico Iamaleava while Iamaleava was on the ground. The play came in the middle of a sequence that left UCLA fearing a serious knee injury for its quarterback, and it quickly drew public criticism from Bruins coach Bob Chesney, who called it egregious and regrettable.
Dan Lanning has now been put in the uncomfortable position of defending his player and the programs response, saying Alexander will not be disciplined because he believed the contact was part of an effort to dislodge the ball. Alexander has also expressed remorse and said he never intended to cause harm, but the incident has still become a test of how Oregon handles a moment that has landed far outside the normal bounds of postgame review. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lanning Just Put Dylan Raiola Back In Nebraskas Spotlight
After Oregons loss to UCLA, Dan Lanning had to turn the conversation from the result itself to the Ducks quarterback situation, and that quickly brought Dylan Raiola back into the spotlight. With Dante Moore dealing with a concussion, Lanning said Raiola will compete with Brock Thomas for the starting job, a development that adds another layer of intrigue to an offense still trying to find its footing.
Lanning also pointed to Raiolas composure after being replaced during the game, a small but meaningful sign in a week when the Ducks were looking for steadiness more than flash. He said the teams body language stayed positive even as the offense struggled, and added that some changes are coming to how Oregon operates without getting into specifics, leaving the bigger picture of the quarterback battle and the adjustments around it very much open. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lanning Signals Oregon Offensive Changes As Pressure Builds
After Oregons disappointing loss to UCLA, Dan Lanning made clear the Ducks are not standing still on offense. The head coach confirmed that changes are being made to the operation after a season of uneven production, a notable acknowledgment from a program that entered the year expecting much more from that side of the ball.
Lanning stopped short of spelling out what those changes will look like, and he did not say whether the staff itself will be altered. Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has taken heat for the inconsistency, but Lanning also pointed back to what Mehringer has done in the past while stressing the need for the group to improve moving forward. [Read more 🡒]